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New research from QIMR Berghofer has found that the hormone testosterone may play an important role in the development of endometrial cancer.

THE Copper Queens have witnessed a significant rise on the FIFA Women’s World Ranking, moving from 77th to 69th following their World Cup debut in New Zealand. This is the record highest the Copper Queens has ever been ranked and the team has also seen their rank on the continent improve by two notches. These […]

By SHARON ZULU 

PRESIDENT Hakainde Hichilema has said the BRICS summit serves as a stepping stone to enhance coordination between BRICS and Africa which enables an effective response to our global social, political, economic, and environmental challenges.

Speaking during the BRICS – Africa outreach and BRICS Plus dialogues on the sidelines of the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, President Hichilema says BRICS and Africa should enable an effective response to global social, political, economic, and environmental challenges.

President Hichilema said the BRICS community, representing more than 42 percent of the global population, 30 percent of the world’s territory, 23 percent of GDP, and 18 percent of global trade was presenting significant opportunities for global citizens.

President Hichilema said Zambia was thus eager to strengthen partnerships that would bring mutual benefits, and fortifying economic ties with likeminded countries, based on the complementary nature of resources.

“Zambia is thus eager to strengthen partnerships that bring mutual benefits, and is also keen on fortifying economic ties with likeminded countries, based on the complementary nature of resources,” President Hichilema said.

The head of State is also advocating for a revitalized international order that is rule-based, fair, and inclusive, addressing opportunities and challenges in solidarity, to achieve outcomes that are mutually beneficial.

“We extended our congratulations to His Excellency Cyril Ramaphosa, the President of the Republic of South Africa, for convening the BRICS – Africa Summit and the BRICS plus dialogues,” President Hichilema said. 

The theme of the BRICS Summit being held in South Africa is: “Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development, and Inclusive Multilateralism” 

“We called on the Summit to serve as a stepping stone to enhance coordination between BRICS and Africa, enabling an effective response to our global social, political, economic, and environmental challenges,” President Hichilema said.

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 between BRICS, Africa

Good news for patients with acquired or congenital immunodeficiency: The results of a clinical phase II study at the University Hospital Tübingen led by Prof. Dr. Juliane Walz and Prof. Dr. Helmut Salih show an effective activation of T cells against the coronavirus. After showing positive results in healthy volunteers in the previous phase I, the T-cell activator CoVac-1 reproduced these effects in cancer patients for the first time. The results have been published in the journal Nature Communications.

A study led by Johns Hopkins University researchers suggests that the use of pulse oximeters in hospitalized COVID-19 patients often overestimated true arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2), especially in those of minority race, and led to delayed therapy in a high proportion of patients of all races.

By PRINCE MABUMBA

INFRASTRUCTURE, Housing and Urban Development Minister, Charles Milupi, has hailed Messrs. Turbo Kachin Investment Consortium Limited for subcontracting local contractors on the Chingola-Kasumbalesa road rehabilitation project.

Mr Milupi says it is pleasing to see the contractor obeying the country’s laws.

The minister says, the main contractors ensured that the locals are engaged in various works and this will help the works to be done according to the stipulated timeframe.

And Mr Milupi has expressed satisfaction at the quality of works so far on the project. Mr Milupi says, the rehabilitation works on the Chingola-Kasumbalesa road under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) financing model are being delivered within the three perimeters of specified quality, right cost and timeliness. “I am very impressed with the quality of work. It’s been done at the right cost and is being delivered on time.

“This road is as good as any other road you can find anywhere in the world. The duration for the works is 18 months. The contractor started in April 2023 this year, and they will complete by December this year,” he says.

Meanwhile, Road Development Agency (RDA) Board Chairperson, Mulchand Kuntawala says also included in the scope of works are lay-bys and truck parks to service drivers who are an important asset in the transportation industry.

Mr Kuntawala says, a weighbridge will also be constructed to regulate weights being transported on the road. RDA Acting Director and Chief Executive Officer, Grace Mutembo says safeguard measures has been put in place to ensure quality works are delivered.

Ms Mutembo says a monitoring and evaluation team and a laboratory has been set up as a means of achieving total quality management.

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By Stanslous Ngosa

DATING back to between 325 and 350 AD, the Speyer wine bottle is thought to be the world’s oldest bottle of wine. Now held in the Wine Museum in the German city of Speyer, where it was rediscovered in 1867, an analysis of its contents revealed that it holds an ethanol-based liquid. 

But the glass bottle remains unopened and the vintage unknown. Any prospective wine tasters should be wary – preserved historic beverages can be pungent, to say the least.

According to BBC Future, the widespread use of glass as a storage vessel throughout history highlights the material’s resilience and functionality. Glass is a a useful material for everything from preserving food to carrying the signals that power the internet. 

So essential is glass to human development that the United Nations named 2022 the International Year of Glass to celebrate its contribution to cultural and scientific development.

Glass has sometimes been referred to as a material which can infinitely be recycled without it impacting its quality, purity or durability. Recycled glass can be crushed into glass cullets, which can be melted down and used to produce more glass. 

Glass used for packaging has a high recycling rate compared to other packaging materials. In Europe, the average glass recycling rate is 76 percent, compared to 41 percent for plastic packaging and 31 percent for wooden packaging.

When glass is left in the natural environment, it is less likely to cause pollution than plastic. Unlike plastics, which break down into microplastics that can leach into our soils and water, glass is non-toxic. 

“Glass is mainly made of silica, which is a natural substance,” says Franziska Trautmann, the co-founder of Glass Half Full, a New Orleans-based company that recycles glass into sand that can be used for coastal restoration and disaster relief. 

Silica, also known as silica dioxide, makes up 59 percent of the Earth’s crust. Since it is a natural compound, there is no concern about leaching or environmental degradation.

Because of this, glass is often touted as a more sustainable alternative to plastic.

However, glass bottles have a higher environmental footprint than plastic and other bottled container materials including drinks cartons and aluminum cans. 

The mining of silica sand can cause significant environmental damage, ranging from land deterioration to the loss of biodiversity. Violations of basic workers’ rights have also been found in Shankargarh, India, which is the biggest supplier of silica sand to the country’s glass industry. 

Some studies have also shown that extended exposure to silica dust can pose a public health risk, as it can lead to acute silicosis, an irreversible, long-term lung disease caused by the inhalation of silica dust over an extended period of time. Silicosis may first appear as a persistent cough or shortness of breath, and may result in respiratory failure.

Extracting sand for glass production may also have contributed to the current global sand shortage. Sand is the second most-used resource in the world after water – people use some 50 billion tonnes of “aggregate,” the industry term for sand and gravel, each year.

Its uses range from land regeneration to microchips. According to the UN, sand is now used faster than it can be replenished.

Glass requires higher temperatures than plastic and aluminum to melt and form, says Alice Brock, a PhD researcher at University of Southampton in the UK. Raw materials for making virgin glass also release greenhouse gases during the melting process, adding to its environmental footprint. 

According to the International Energy Agency, the container and flat-glass industries emit over 60 megatonnes of CO2 per year. It may seem surprising, but Brock’s study found that plastic bottles are less environmentally damaging than glass bottles. 

Although plastic cannot be endlessly recycled, the manufacturing process is less energy-intensive, as there is a lower melting point for plastics compared with glass.

The raw materials for glass are melted together in a furnace at 1, 500C (2732F). The molten glass is then removed from the furnace, shaped and moulded. Glass production facilities often add a portion of recycled glass cullets into the raw material mix. 

Generally, a 10 percent increase in glass cullet into the container glass melting mixture can decrease energy consumption by 2-3 percent. 

This is because it requires a lower melting point to melt glass cullet compared to the virgin materials used to produce glass. In turn, this slightly reduces the CO2 emissions produced during manufacturing.

A key problem with glass recycling is that it does not eradicate the remelting process, which is the most energy intensive part of glass production. It accounts for 75 percent of the energy consumption during production. 

Even though glass containers can be reused an average of 12-20 times, glass is often treated as single-use. Single-use glass disposed of at landfills can take up to one million years to decompose. 

Glass recycling rates vary significantly across the globe. The EU and the UK have an average recycling rate of 74 percent and 76 percent, while the US figure was 31.3 percent in 2018. 

One reason for the US’s poorer figures is that recycled material is usually collected in a “single stream,” meaning all materials are mixed together. Single-stream recycling often complicates the sorting process, since glass must be separated from other recyclables and sorted by colour, before it can be remelted. 

Often, it is too time-consuming, and therefore expensive, to separate mixed coloured glass at a recycling facility. Instead of being converted to new bottles, the broken pieces of mixed glass are turned into glass fibre products that can be used for insulation. 

Glass cullet is the highest quality when it is separated from other recyclables from the beginning – this is known as multi-stream recycling.

The colour of glass affects how pure the stream needs to be. While green glass can use 95 percent of recycled glass; white or colourless glass, also known as “flint glass”, has higher quality specifications and only permits up to 60 percent recycled glass because any contamination affects the quality.

Recycled glass must first be crushed into cullets before being melted into a new product – which is partly why recycled glass might only be fractionally less energy-intensive than virgin glass.

There is no doubt that glass still plays an important role in many industries. Its durability and non-toxic properties make it ideal for foods and materials which require preserving. 

However, the assumption that glass is sustainable merely because it is infinitely recyclable is misconstrued. Considering its entire lifecycle, glass production may be equally as detrimental to the environment as plastic.

The next time you want to discard a glass bottle, perhaps consider reusing it first. Glass is a resilient, long-lasting material that is not made to be thrown away after only being used once.

.The author is a Communication Expert specialised in Agriculture, Environment and Public Health Journalism. Comment: +260977694310 

Email; ngosastan@gmail.com, stanslousngosa@yahoo.com, 

By NATION REPORTER 

STATE House should openly respond to the expose’ that some of its staff are involved in the raging and infamous Gold and cash scandal that has so far seen the arrest and detention of five foreign nationals and four Zambians, including Shadreck Kasanda, George Mpombo has said.

As the gold and cash scandal has continued to rage, Makebi Zulu Advocates, a law firm representing Mr Kasanda has disclosed that some State House personnel are in fact deeply involved in the indignity yet the law enforcement agencies have not moved to arrest them.

And now, Kasanda’s Attorneys are demanding the withdrawal of the charges against him (Kasanda) and his immediate release or the State would have to face the temerity of the name and shame should the law firm decide to take legal action.  

Dr Mpombo, the former Minister of Defence says it was interesting that Mr Kasanda, who was currently in detention is daring the State to free him and failure to which, he would he would have no option but to make a full disclosure of the State House officials who participated in the scandal.

He said President Hakainde Hichilema had so far challenged himself that whoever would be found to have been involved in the gold and cash scandal at the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport, including State House staff, the law would have to take its full course.

He said there had been attempts to exonerate State House but the revelations by Makebi Zulu Advocates had exposed the cover up that no State House official was not involved in the matter.

Dr Mpombo said that the head of State should therefore upon return from South Africa tell Zambians the truth rather than skirting around the scandal in which his own staff were involved.

“I feel the powers that be need to clear the air because if they decide to keep quiet, a very bad picture will be sent. Now that it has come out that in fact some State House officials are involved in the scandal, the authorities cannot continue to maintain the silence with the hope that the matter will die away. Zambians have every reason to demand the truth from State House,” Dr Mpombo said.

Makebi Zulu Advocates, the legal firm representing Kasanda has written to the Attorney General, demanding that its client be released as failure to do so would result in their client giving full disclosure of the involvement of a State House official.

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By NATION REPORTER 

ACTIONAID Zambia says poverty levels will increase in Zambia due to the conditions placed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF)  

Speaking during the launch of the IMF analysis on austerity and fiscal policy program in the country in Lusaka yesterday, ActionAid consultant and researcher Ignitius Masilokwa said focusing on macroeconomic benchmarks had not helped in improving pro-poor outcomes, which has affected the growth of the country’s economy.

He said that while the IMF set targets for measuring results in relations to macroeconomic stability, the same could not be done for employment, poverty reduction and inequality.

Mr Masilokowa said it was clear from the foregoing that, IMF policies were not as pro-poor as perceived nor do they promote sustainable growth.

Meanwhile ActionAid Zambia interim country director Andrew Chikowore has said in pursuit of an equitable and stable development, government should resist austerity measures placed by the IMF.

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By ROGERS KALERO

KITWE Mayor Mpasa Mwaya yesterday afternoon walked out on Minister of Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development Charles Milupi during the tour of Chibuluma road after telling him that his government was exhibiting the worst form of disorganization in running the country’s affairs.

Ms Mwaya was not impressed that Mr Milupi was in her city to unveil the contractor for the Chibuluma Road without the courtesy of informing or inviting her to be part of the event as the most senior civic leader of Kitwe.

When Ms Mwaya was informed that Mr Milupi was inspecting roads in Kitwe, the Mayor decided to follow the Infrastructure Minister to find out why she had been ignored but was instead told by the government Minister her presence was not needed.

It was at this point that Mayor Mwaya decided walked out on Mr Milupi after the Minister told her that he had the right to choose which office or district he would visit and would not deliver development to, if he do wished

The Minister’s response came after Ms Mwaya bemoaned lack of engagement to her office yet the council was troubled in responding to residents’ cries, mending potholes, doing dust suppression in Chibuluma road and calming them 

Ms Mwaya, who was not informed about the Minister’s tour and was only told later by Town Clerk Patrick Kambita and decided to meet the Mr Milupi and expressed concern why her office was not informed about the Minister’s tour

Ms Mwaya asked if it was because she was from the opposition Patriotic Front (PF) that was why each time the Minister was in the district never passes through her office

But, in response, the Mr Milupi said he had the right to choose which office or district he would visit and would not deliver development if he do wished.

The response from the Minister annoyed the Kitwe Mayor who walked out on Mr Milupi but only after telling him that his government was exhibiting the worst ‘Chipante Pante’ kind of government compared to how the PF was running the country.

But, when contacted for a comment, Mr Milupi said the Chibuluma road was not a council project, but a government project and so there was no need to report to the Mayor

Mr Milupi said the new dawn government was working and the people of the Copperbelt were happy that the their government was working hard to deliver on its campaign promises

“I am surprised that the Kitwe Mayor came out the way she came out on Camera, but that is her prerogative and she can say what she wants to say. The new dawn is here to work and deliver on its campaign promises. We will not be distracted,’’ Mr Milupi said

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