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Earlier this month, health authorities confirmed that BA.2.86, a highly mutated variant of the virus that causes COVID-19, is at risk of spreading rapidly in countries around the world. With updated shots rolling out this week across the United States, it remains to be seen whether this newest vaccine campaign will prove effective in slowing the spread of BA.2.86 or other emerging variants.

By GIDEON NYENDWA

LIQUID Intelligent Technologies Zambia has launched Azure Stack to ensure that businesses should access local cloud solutions that are cost-effective, meet local data regulatory requirements and efficiently run latency-sensitive business applications.

Liquid Cloud and Cyber security Country Executive, Shuko Chinga said Azure Stack is a service that consolidates computing products and services into one location.

Mr Chinga said the service deals with large service and storage that people have been innovating and whatever they do was saved on Azure because it was cheaper than buying the equipment.

He said what had been a problem was that in Zambia, there were issues of data protection and date residency and the challenge customers were facing wanting to use the services that did seat in the country.

Mr Chinga said Zambians did not know how to make use of their data and kept data protection act into consideration and that Azure Stack was coming in as an extension of all the computing services in Zambia.

“Now we can use all those service while being in compliance with the local laws. We can do things like voice to text and vice versa and image editing without having to spend on the infrastructure costs,” Mr Chinga said.

According to the Zambia Inclusive Digital Economy Status Report 2022, the local digital economy score is 45 percent, which indicates that Zambia is still in the start-up phase.

Liquid Intelligent Technologies Zambia Chief Executive Officer, Mark Townsend said the statistics were indicating that as an economy, Zambia still needed to make cloud more easily accessible to ensure the country was 100 percent ready.

“With the unveiling of the Azure Stack, Liquid Zambia has reiterated its commitment to working with the public and private sector to convert Zambia into a digital economy,” he said.

He said Liquid recognised that every client was unique, and with the availability of Stack in the country, it was perfectly positioned to cater to businesses of all sizes, through the investment.

Mr Townsend said his organisation would empower its existing customers with a highly secure cloud solution, reduce latency, and enable real-time business continuity with flexible adoption models.

Mr Townsend said Local businesses, especially Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), were rapidly seeing the benefits of migrating to the cloud.

“However, the associated high cost of cloud adoption has always been a deterrent. But now, the availability of Azure Stack in the country, combined with Liquid Zambia’s expertise, has levelled the playing field for local businesses compared to their international counterparts.”

“Having worked extensively with our customers over the years, we understand the changing needs of businesses. We are excited to bring this cloud solution to local businesses, helping them speed up their journey to the cloud with a flexible, fully managed Azure stack solution where and when needed,” Mr Townsend added.

UNITED Nations Secretary General António Guterres has made an apt observation that democracy is under threat while authoritarianism is on the match, hate speech on the rise and inequalities growing.

Mr Gutteres was speaking during the opening session of the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly General Debate in New York this week.

Although Mr Gutteres was not directly referring to Zambia, it is important that Zambians take serious note of his speech for much of what he said is of relevance to the Zambian situation.

It is important that Zambians do not regard the speech as being directed at “other countries” for democracy is a global issue.

This year’s General Debate is being held under the theme; “Rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity: Accelerating action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals towards peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability for all.”

Mr Guterres said in the face of increased threats to democracy, authoritarianism and the continued rise of hate speech among individual nations, the world still needed statesmanship and not gamesmanship and gridlock.

“Our world is becoming unhinged. Geopolitical tensions are rising. Global challenges are mounting. Democracy is under threat.  Authoritarianism is on the march.  

Inequalities are growing.  And hate speech is on the rise. In the face of all these challenges and more, compromise has become a dirty word. Our world needs statesmanship, not gamesmanship and gridlock.”

Mr Gutteres’ speech must evoke debate in Zambia as opposition parties have accused the new dawn administration of paying lip service to upholding democratic tenets.

Opposition parties and civil society organisations have complained about the diminishing democratic space in the country in which the opposition is not allowed to hold public meetings.

A case in point is the refusal by the Zambia Police Service to stop the Patriotic Front from holding a mass rally in Lusaka at which they planned to launch their manifesto.

Police cancelled the meeting citing security concerns.  When the PF said they would go ahead with the meeting, Police marshalled more than enough officers to seal off the venue earmarked for the rally.

In the meantime, the ruling United Party for National Development was hold to stage solidarity marches on the Copperbelt.

More worrying however is the manner that the country’s sixth President, Edgar Lungu has been treated by the government, sparking heated debate.

Mr Lungu was prevented from attending a church-organised gathering in Ndola citing vague security concerns, and that he did not have a permit to attend.

Even before the issue had died, he was stopped from travelling to South Africa for a medical review.

To cap it all, Mr Lungu was stopped from travelling to South Korea for a world peace conference to which he had been invited – after all the airport formalities had been done.

Emeritus Archbishop Telesphore Mpundu said Zambia was fast sliding into authoritarianism because those in leadership were doing nothing apart from harassing, humiliating and persecuting former President Lungu in their wicked pursuit of vengeance.

Zambians must therefore protect the country’s reputation as a beacon of peace and democratic model by heeding the UN chief’s counsel and protect democracy.

The ease with which ChatGPT can produce coherent content and convincing answers has raised fears that it will enable cheating on university campuses and replace workers in fields ranging from journalism to medicine.

HH, says Nakacinda

…for Paramount Chief Mpezeni to insinuate that former President Lungu was not giving chance to President Hichilema to govern

By Nation Reporter

THE Patriotic Front (PF) says it is determined to reinstate the highest levels of discipline with justice within the process of its rebranding, the principles, values and norms that were once pulverised, leading to the loss of power in 2021, Raphael Nakacinda, the secretary general has said.

And Mr Nakacinda says former President Edgar Lungu has not offended his successor, President Hakainde Hichilema for anyone to call for the reconciliation of the two leaders.

Mr Nakacinda says former President Lungu has instead suffered harassment, humiliation, victimisation and retribution at the hands of President Hichilema and it would therefore be in order for Zambians to call the head of State to order.

Mr Nakacinda wondered what it was former President Lungu could have done for Paramount Chief Mpezeni to have accused the former head of State not affording President Hichilema time to work.

“There is nothing to reconcile over. What is it that President Lungu has done to call for reconciliation? There is no subject of reconciliation. From the time President Lungu handed over power to President Hichilema, what has he done to warrant someone to say they should reconcile. Are you susggesting that former President Lungu has offended President Hichilema apart from jogging, going to church and going to funerals?  In fact the one who should be called to order is President Hichilema.” Mr Nakacinda said.

And Mr Nakacinda says Zambians have painfully realised that the UPND is nothing but a business conglomerate whose economic decisions were based on profit-making and not serving Zambians.

Mr Nakacinda has also called on President Hichilema to declare hunger a disaster because Zambians are faced with starvation as a result of the reckless exportation of maize without caring about the future.

Mr Nakacinda said the PF shall remain a proponent of democratic values and principles and shall uphold the highest standards of intraparty discipline and justice as it is preparing itself to regain its lost glory and rebound as the governing party in the next general elections.

“In recent times, our party, the Patriotic Front has faced challenges that have tested our unity and core values. We acknowledge that the essence of a vibrant democracy is rooted in a robust, disciplined, and equitable party system. Therefore, the Patriotic Front as a party is resolute in its determination to reinstate discipline with justice,” Mr Nakacinda said.

Mr Nakacinda said the former ruling party shall institute clear and transparent procedures meant to address internal matters which would ensure that disciplinary actions were taken against its errant following the due process of the party constitution and without bias.

“We shall invest in educating our members about the significance of discipline and justice within a democratic party. This will encompass training programs on party ethics and values. Our party leaders and members will be held accountable for their actions. No one will be exempt from the principles of discipline and justice that our party upholds.” Mr Nakacinda said it was the belief of the PF that economic growth should always benefit all Zambians and not just a selected few class of the people in government.   

Stanford Medicine researchers are hopeful that a proof-of-concept treatment in mice—blood stem cell transplants—may reduce signs of Alzheimer’s disease.

By Nation Reporter

ELISHA Matambo says the Patriotic Front (PF) should stop pretending that they can be the messiah of Zambians because it caused a lot of damage to the country both socially and economically.

And Mr Matambo, the Copperbelt Province Minister says Zambians are happy with the achievements the UPND government and President Hakainde Hichilema have so far scored in just two years of being in power as compared to the disastrous ten-year rule of the PF.

 Mr Matambo is demanding that the PF should apologise to Zambians and the people of the Copperbelt in particular for the economic miseries and hardships the region had been subjected to in the ten years of reign.

Mr Matambo said the PF should give the UPND chance to govern and deliver its promise to Zambians without getting distracted by criticism and propaganda that the UPND had failed to meet the expectations of the people.  He said Zambians were happy that peace had returned in the country which according to him was engulfed with violence and tribalism during the time the PF was in government.

“Zambians did not vote for the UPND and President Hichilema in vain and even the heavens know that we are delivering. Zambians are happy and speaking for the Copperbelt, there has never been a better time for the people than when the UPND is in power. Let the PF stop pretending that they can be the Messiah to redeem Zambians after creating their problems. In fact, we expect the PF to apologise to Zambians, especially to the people on the Copperbelt which was even nicknamed Beirut because the violence,” Mr Matambo said.  

Mr Matambo said Zambia was more united now than ever before because President Hichilema had been a proponent of peace, unity and forgiveness while condemning regionalism which he said had divided the country.

He said the PF should give the UPND chance to govern and should desist from condemning everything the new dawn was doing to correct the damage.

Mr Matambo said the UPND in government had scored monumental achievements in alleviating the economic problems of the people through the increased Constituency Development Fund (CDF) and free education which had seen thousands of orphaned children enter into school.

Mr Matambo said the UPND government had performed well in their two years of being in government, something he said had put smiles on the faces of many Zambians who voted for President Hichilema.

Mr Matambo said in an interview in Kitwe that the UPND would remain the most attractive political organisation on the Copperbelt and that it would sail through in the 2026 general elections. He claimed that the new dawn administration had met most of its promises and expectations which according to him would guarantee the ruling party victory in 2026. He said the UPND government had in two years performed better than the successive governments and that was why Zambians were happy and giving the ruling party massive support.

FOUR people have been arrested over the theft of 500 bricks meant for the construction of waterborne toilets in Kwacha Township by Nkana Water Supply and Sanitation Company (NWSC),” NWSC Public Relations Officer Agness Simwinga has said

Ms Simwinga said the bricks were procured under the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) and were meant for the construction of waterborne toilets by the water utility company in Kwacha Township to improve sanitation.

Ms Simwinga said the water utility company was saddened at the recent reports of theft of material for the same project as well as rampant thefts and vandalism of water installations in various parts of the city and areas where the utility company was providing services.

“It is not only saddening but also retrogressive that well-meant projects are being vandalised or having the material stolen. So as I’m talking, four people have been arrested over theft of 500 bricks belonging to NWSC. 

“The bricks were procured under DMMU and are meant to help in the construction of waterborne toilets in Kwacha.” Recently there have been reports of materials being stolen and sold to residents in the area. We thank our customers for their vigilance,” Ms Simwinga said.

Ms Simwinga said the huge investment which the water utility company has been putting in its infrastructure and operations has not been yielding desirable results because of rampant thefts and vandalism.

She said the water utility company with support from the government has been putting investment in its infrastructure and operations in order to improve service delivery, but the rampant thefts and vandalism have continued to adversely affect its service delivery.

She said the water utility company was facing a number of challenges which included vandalism and theft of water installations, non-payment of water bills and the construction of structures on top of sewer and water lines which was making it difficult to carry out major rehabilitation works like the case was in Bulangililo and Kwacha.

“We are however grateful to the government for its support to start various projects which included the Nkana Water Supply and Sanitation Phase two project which aimed at improving water supply in various parts of Kitwe. I must say we are grateful that the government has always been supportive by sourcing funds aimed at improving water supply and sanitation in Kitwe.

 ‘However, cases of vandalism and theft of water installations has been serious challenges on our efforts to improve water supply. As a company, we are disappointed that when we put investment to improve service delivery, it does not pay back because of thefts and vandalism. Vandalism and thefts have been retrogressive because you end up replacing the same stolen and vandalised infrastructure instead of progressing,” she said.

Children exposed to higher levels of synthetic chemicals in everyday products, such as water-resistant clothes, umbrellas and food packaging, are more likely to mature later during puberty, according to research presented at the 61st Annual European Society for Pediatric Endocrinology Meeting in The Hague. The findings may help better regulate the industrial production and use of these chemicals on a national and international level.

In a new study from the NIH’s Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program, higher prenatal phthalate levels were associated with a slightly increased risk of postpartum depression.