Posts in category: Uncategorized

A certain protein builds up in the brains of most Parkinson’s patients, a study confirmed on Thursday using a new technique hailed as a potential “game-changer” that could point towards a way to test for the debilitating disease.

 DISMISSED Police Inspector General Lemmy Kajoba has wished his predecessor Graphel Musamba best of luck as he takes charge of police service. Mr Kajoba has thanked President Hakainde Hichilema for having accorded him an opportunity to serve the nation in the position of IG. On Friday,Mr Kajoba was dismissed from his duties by President Hichilema. […]

 In the heart of Zambia, a revolution is underway. HNM Spice and Herbs, a brand under the HNM Group Company Limited, is empowering local farmers and disrupting the global spices and herbs industry. Established in 2016, this proudly Zambian company focuses on sourcing locally grown raw materials through community farmer out-grower schemes. Over the past […]

A man in Chile is infected with a bird flu that has concerning mutations, but the threat to people from the virus remains low, U.S. health officials said Friday.

Strokes cause numerous changes in gene activity in affected small blood vessels in the brain, and these changes are potentially targetable with existing or future drugs to mitigate brain injury or improve stroke recovery, according to a study led by Weill Cornell Medicine scientists.

A genetic study analyzing the microbiome (bacteria in the gut) of a large nationally representative sample of the Finnish population finds that geographic, demographic, diet, and lifestyle factors are driving the spread of antibiotic resistance in the general population.

Multidrug-resistant E. coli were found in 40% of supermarket meat samples tested in a Spanish study. E. coli strains capable of causing severe infections in people were also highly prevalent, this year’s European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID 2023, Copenhagen, 15-18 April) will hear.

By NATION REPORTER

The Patriotic Front (PF) has advised Government to immediately engage commercial farmers to consider growing winter maize before the food shortage degenerates into a crisis of unmanageable levels.

Brian Mundubile says the mealie meal crisis was likely to get worse if government was going to delay to put in immediate interventions such as encouraging commercial farmers to consider growing winter maize because Zambia was likely to record poor harvests as a result of the chaotic distribution of farming inputs. 

Mr Mundubile said the current mealie meal shortage could have been avoided had Government listened to the many pleas that many Zambians made, especially opposition Members of Parliament who had strongly advised the Executive against the exportation of maize.

Mr. Mundubile said Government, however, remained adamant which had resulted to the shortage of mealie meal, forcing citizens to begin queuing and scrambling for the commodity. 

Mr. Mundubile has predicted that there was a likelihood that the country is going to experience perennial food shortages not only because of the chaotic distribution of fertilizer but also because of the poor rainfall in some productive parts of the country.

He said the leadership has to work and find a durable solution away from Government giving contradictory statements and importing Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs).

Mr. Mundubile said the country had a lot of commercial farmers that Government should engage to appreciate why they were not growing winter maize on their own. 

“Government should address their challenges in order to cure this current challenge of food crisis expeditiously. On behalf of the MPs and indeed my party, we feel very strongly about going forward and find find solution to this food crisis,” Mr Mundubile said. 

Mr. Mundubile said one of the biggest problems that commercial farmers may have was the cost of electricity as fields would not be rain-fed, thereby needed a lot of electricity to produce crops. 

He said the farmers could be motivated to grow winter maize if Government could come in to incentivize them by subsidising the cost of electricity.

By OLIVER SAMBOKO 

CHINA will always remain a reliable friend and sincere development partner to the Zambian government and its people, Chinese Ambassador to Zambia, DU Xiaohui has retaliated. 

He was speaking at the official opening ceremony for 2023 Short-term Training Programs dubbed Seminar on Leadership Development for Zambia to be held from 14th to 28th April 14 to 28, 2023 in Zhejiang province.

The training program will be the first in-person to be hosted by China for Zambia after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.   

Ambassador Du said the all-weather friendship between China and Zambia initiated by the founding fathers Chairman Mao Zedong and President Kenneth David Kaunda will always remain the cornerstone of development cooperation between the nations. 

He said as part of continued cooperation between his country and Zambia, President Xi Jinping and President Hichilema had had successful telephone conversation, marking new progress in the bilateral relations. 

Mr Du revealed that in 2022 the bilateral trade between China and Zambia reached $6.73 billion US dollars, up by 30.2 percent year on year, creating a new historical record. 

He last month, he joined President Hakainde Hichilema at the opening ceremony of the 750 megawatts plus 12-megawatt Kafue Gorge Lower Project which is are a testament to the substantial support and assistance that the all-weather friendship has brought to Zambia. 

Ambassador Du said as part of effort to help Zambian on its developmental path, since 2014, more than 6,000 Zambians have been trained in three programs provided by China, namely, the Multilateral Training Program, the Bilateral Training Program and the MOFCOM Degree Education Program. 

“The programs have invited people from various fields, including officials and technical staff from relevant government departments and institutions, professors and faculty members of Zambian universities, doctors, journalists, and experts from think tanks and research institutes,” he said. 

He said the training programs also cover agriculture, health, energy, mining, infrastructure, trade, tourism and other areas, dedicated to turning Zambia’s strength in human resources into competitiveness in economic development, so as to bring more benefits to the people. 

He said China will always deliver on its promises and ensure the promotion of people-to-people friendship and harmonious coexistence, adding that China-Zambia training cooperation also emphasizes on advancement of bilateral relations from a strategic and long-term perspective, that create sound environment for mutual beneficial cooperation between China and Zambia. 

Meanwhile, speaking at the same event, Office of the Vice president, Permanent Secretary Lillian Kapusana, the leadership development training program is very important to Zambia’s development s if falls under tier three of the 8th national development.

She the country wants to learn more from China because the Chinese development model is working considering the development China has achieved over the years. 

Ms Kapusana said the new dawn government developmental agenda is anchored on the 8th national development and the vision 2030.  

The Zambia Medical Association (ZMA) has decried the continued perennial critical shortage of essential medicines and other medical supplies in hospitals which is now forcing health facilities to use operational grants to procure drugs.