Posts in category: Uncategorized

The amount of screen time spent by one-year-olds is associated with developmental delays. This finding, by researchers at Tohoku University, with collaborators at Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, was published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

By LUCY PHIRI

THE gold and US$5.6 million heist scandal which has since sucked in some State House personnel yesterday took a complete new and dramatic twist after the State decided to discharge five Egyptians and one Zambian from the espionage case through a nolle prosequi while committing five Zambians including Shadreck Kasanda to the High Court on the same offence.

And Makebi Zulu of Makebi Zulu Advocates has described reports that two of the Egyptians who were discharged through a nolle prosequi have been re-arrested.

Mr Zulu said he was of the strong belief that the report that the two unnamed Egyptian suspects in the gold scandal had been re-arrested was only meant to hoodwink Zambians that the State was still investigating the matter.

On Thursday, Kasanda, one of the 11 suspects in the gold and US$5.6 million scandal dropped a bombshell when he accused Sevyanji Sinkala, President Hakainde Hichilema’s lawyer in the 2017 treason trial and the current chairman of the Zambia Airports Corporation Limited as the man who demanded US$3 million to facilitate the release of all the suspects, five of whom are Egyptians.

According to Kasanda, Mr Sinkala is the man who went to Kamwala Remand Prison and allegedly demanded US$3 million in exchange for the release of the gold suspects. 

But yesterday, the matter took a complete twist when the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Gilbert Phiri instructed that the five Egyptian nationals and Osward Diangamo be discharged on a nolle prosequi but committed the Zambian suspects to the High Court for espionage.

Lusaka Chief resident magistrate Davies Chibwili then discharged five Egyptians and one Zambian in a case they are charged with Espionage contrary to section 318 (a) of the State Security Act Chapter 111 of 2012 of the Laws of Zambia.

State Prosecutor Gracilia Mulenga informed the court that the State had received instructions from the DPP to discontinue court proceedings against Walid Refaat Fahmi Botros a general manager, Mounir Shaker Gerges Award a factory owner, Mohamed Gooda a pension Colonel, Yasser Mokhtar Abdelghafor, health and safety environment officer, Michael Adel Micheal Batros an accountable business man and Chairperson of the Bene Mukuni Traditional Ceremony Organising Committee -Mulungu Oswald Diangamo.

Magistrate Chibwili ruled that in circumstances where DPP had entered a nolle prosequi against the accused persons, the defense had no powers to make any comments. “Following the instructions from DPP, the court has no option but to discharge the said accused persons. I therefore discharge the six accused persons,” Magistrate Chibwili ruled.

In this matter, Lusaka Businessman and goldsmith Shadreck Kasanda is jointly charged with chief executive officer of Mahogany air Jim Belemu, Managing Director – ZamQlik Solutions Limited,Patrick Kwangu a business man, and Robinson Monga a police officer.

Others who were jointly charged with him include; Chairperson of the Bene Mukuni Traditional Ceremony Organising Committee -Mulungu Oswald Diangamo and five Egyptians.

Meanwhile, the court has warned the Drug Enforcement Commission officers (DEC) who abducted Kasanda on the day he was scheduled to appear before court that their action was tantamount to contempt of court.

Magistrate Chibwili has therefore warned the officers, who were involved in snatching of Kasanda to desist as it was contemptuous and that they could can be charged.

He has also ruled that the officers interfered with the interest of justice and the actions interrupted the court’s proceedings.

“I have looked at the claim, and the actions by the laws enforcement, they delayed court proceedings knowing that people are watching and it involves foreigners and the case has attracted foreign audience,” Magistrate Chibwili ruled.

And in an interview with Journalists, Kasanda said he hoped for justice and said the entire debacle was in fact not a no gold scam.

He said he is just a businessman and not a gold scammer.

“I am just a businessman and not a gold scammer. We are all Zambians. Some people have been paid,” Kasanda said.

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PATSON Daka will have to fight for his place or settle for a place in some minor leagues after missing out on a move to Bournemouth on deadline day yesterday. Social media went into overdrive when transfer guru Fabrizio Romano reported that Daka was on the verge of joining the Premier League side, but the […]

By NATION REPORTER 

REVELATIONS that President Hakainde Hichilema was among the suspects behind the abduction and keeping in captive of Fenula and her husband Milton Hatembo are grave and should compel the Church, the civil society organisations (CSO) and other interest group to demand the truth from the State, Chishimba Kambwili has said.

And Mr Kambwili has revealed that the State is allegedly planning to arrest and harm Ms Rachel Chileshe, the UPND member who has made startling revelations that President Hichilema, Ackson Sejani, Cornelius Mweetwa, Marshal Muchende and Chief Mukuni were involved in the abduction of the Hatembos.

Mr Kambwili is calling for investigative wings to critically look into the accusations Ms Chileshe had made against President Hichilema and others in the Hatembo’s abduction conspiracy instead of plotting to victmise her.

Mr Kambwili, who is a PF presidential aspirant said the law enforcers should not rush to arrest Ms. Chileshe but should investigate the matter so that Zambians could have the truth about the Hatembos’ abduction saga.

He said if the investigative wings were inadequate in handling the investigations into the revelations that the Hatembos were kept captive for several months before the 2021 general elections, outside assistance should be sought.

Mr Kambwili said the accusations against President Hichilema, as an opposition leader that he was a suspect in the disappearance of the Hatembos at the pick of electioneering were grave and should therefore be investigated thoroughly.

Mr Kambwili has called on the church and the all Non-governmental organizations to pile pressure on the State to investigate the matter thoroughly.

“We have heard whispers that law enforcement want to arrest Rachel and charge her with criminal libel. That should not be the case. Look into the matter very carefully and let Zambians know the truth. ,” he said.

Mr Kambwili said it was unfair to go and arrest Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) president Edith Nawakwi for abduction when the people who did were free according to what was revealed.

He also if Mr Hichilema was really involved in the abduction of the Hatembo’s as was raveled by Ms. Chileshe the president must resign from his position.

Mr Kambwili said if the president knew where the Hatembos were being kept, then government compensated the people that were arrested for that issue that was tantamount to defrauding the state.

“Those are serious matter that we cannot just gloss over, investigative wings must quickly move in, if what Racheal revealed is trued people must be arrested for obtaining money by false Pretence, for defrauding the government and HH must resign on moral grounds,” he said.

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fears there shall be a ripple effect in the prices of basic needs leading to more hardships for ordinary Zambians

By NATION REPORTER 

THE uncontrollable and continued rising of the cost of fuel Archbishop has exposed the lies of President Hakainde Hichilema and the UPND to Zambians that things would be better, cheaper and easier under their leadership, Emeritus Archbishop Telesphore Mpundu has said.

Archbishop Mpundu says the continued rise of the fuel prices which by yesterday saw the cost of petrol and diesel hit on all time high was likely to condemn Zambians into deeper poverty.

The retired Catholic prelate said the UPND government was not cheating anyone because Zambians have lost hope that their lives shall even improve under the new dawn administration. 

“When the price of fuel is increased, everything else goes up. The UPND is not cheating anyone but merely failing to arrest the situation of high cost of living” Archbishop Mpundu said.

Archbishop Mpundu said even UPND praise singer would have to feel and bear the effects of the poor economic policies being implemented by their government as they would also be buying fuel at a high price.

He said however that the praise singers should know that the people they were praising as being good leaders were in fact enjoying free food, fuel, accommodation as well as medical care while they were being subjected to high cost of living.

Archbishop Mpundu said the problem of Zambians was that once one was elected as head of State, they often begin to think they were geniuses and the smartest such that they stop listening to the people who elected them.

“The best Government could do is to call for an indaba of experts to find a way of alleviating the suffering of Zambians. The best is to consult with other people instead of giving promises,” Archbishop Mpundu said.

He said Zambia had enough brains to offer solutions but the UPND administration was too proud to accept that they had failed and needed to consult those from outside themselves. 

Archbishop Mpundu said had President Hichilema and his government admitted that they had challenges and had failed, people would come on board and assist them.

He warned that things would get worse for Zambia as the UPND government had not shown any signs of reversing the economic trend of the country.

Archbishop Mpundu said no one ever thought Dr. Kenneth Kaunda would leave government but when time came, not even the strongest form of resistance could stop the revolution. He said it was food riots which proved that Dr. Kaunda was not invincible and that the UPND government had caused food shortages apart from its high cost and should have learnt better from the previous adminstrations.

The clergyman said ulutoshi (Nshima) mattered a lot and it was clear that UPND has failed to feed the people who voted for them to look after the affairs of the country.

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…the Socialist Party is accusing the UPND of having weaponised the State Security system to harass, fight political opponents

By SHARON ZULU

THE continued abuse of State security in harassing and fighting political opponents is shrinking the political space in Zambia, the Socialist Party has observed.

Joseph Chibanga, the Socialist Party mobilisation member says the Patriotic Front (PF) lost power because the former ruling party abused the State security to intimidate and fight its political opponents.

Mr Chibanga said the UPND government should have learnt from what had happened to the PF and should have charted a different and more civilized style of conducting politics while in power. 

He said the PF lost power due to the misuse of the Zambia police and it was disheartening that history was repeating itself, cautioning that the UPND was making itself unpopular and unwanted to Zambians because it had adopted the same arrogant and uncaring attitude that had been rejected.

“The political space in Zambia is fast shrinking in Zambia under the UPND government. The UPND has converted the Zambia Police into a tool of oppression and repression…the same things   that forced Zambians to vote out the PF. We are experiencing the highest forms of intolerance under the UPND and the UPND should know that Zambians hate violence,” Mr Chibanga said.

Mr Chibanga said the Zambia Police should never be used as a tool to oppress political opponents but protect the society irrespective of their political and social status in society.

He said it was shocking that the UPND had embarked on a dangerous political trajectory of converting the Zambia Police into a tool of repression against its perceived political foes.

Mr Chibanga said     there was a likel;hood that the UPND was going to fall in the same way the PF had fallen because the ruling party had failed to abandon aggression as a means of governing the country.

Mr Chibanga said Zambians were expecting the UPND government to govern the country differently from the PF but that things had remained the same and in some cases worse that what citizens had anticipated.

He says, Zambians should be worried that they voted for a political party that is now bringing confusion in the country.

“People of Zambia are now regretting having voted for the UPND because they did not expect what is currently happening. Had they known the UPND was going to be worse than the PF, I think they would have chosen to vote for a better party than the UPND,” Mr Chibanga said.

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A team of UC Davis and University of Oxford researchers have developed an innovative tool: SparkMaster 2. The open-source software allows scientists to analyze normal and abnormal calcium signals in cells automatically.

Despite advances in treatment for high cholesterol, heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the U.S. Scientists at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) are investigating the role of a form of cholesterol called very-low-density lipoprotein—and their findings may lead to new treatment options in the future.

By BUUMBA CHIMBULU

SOME participants at the third African Conference on Debt and Development (AfCoDD III) have enhanced calls for Africa to have representation in the G20 common framework to ensure countries on the continent are not left exposed.

These participants feel that having a voice and being present when the debt deals are being discussed will save African countries from finding themselves in deals that have stiff conditions, leaving them vulnerable.

These sentiments came up during a panel discussion on “Driving Economic Transformation: African Borrower Coordination in Action,” On Wednesday in Dakar, Senegal.

The objective of the session was to find out how the Borrower’s Club will help increase Africa’s development issues.

During a panel discussion, Martha Kwataine, Malawi’s Presidential Advisor on development for non-government organisations, said it was unfair for countries to be absent while they were being discussed for possible debt restructuring.

Ms Kwataine felt that not being part of the discussions left African countries vulnerable.

“It is not fair that countries are not there when debt talks are taking place as this leaves these countries vulnerable. It is not fair” she said.

These ideas were supported by Lee Evert from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa who advocated for the inclusion for the continent to have representation during the desk talks.

Ms Evert pointed out that her organisation was advocating to proper operation of the G20 common framework to ensure that it was not disadvantage any country.

She said the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank were among the stakeholders the organisation had engaged for this advocacy.

Meanwhile, African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD) Executive Director Jason Braganza, pointed out that having a seat at the G20 common framework meant that the continent had to give up on some clubs such as the Borrower’s Club.

And Patrick Ndzana Oloma, African Union Commission Policy Advisor warned that countries on the continent risked negotiating debt deals with strange conditions if they continued not to have representation at the G20 common framework.

Dr Olama said these stiff conditions would lead to affected African countries not to have capacity to pay back their debt.

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Drugs and medical devices rarely come from the nonprofit world. There are more than 2,600 for-profit pharmaceutical companies in the United States, but only three nonprofits have products on the American market.