The "Pleasure through Reading" project uses television programmes to stimulate and promote reading in Zambia. The project is being promoted by Window Images-Media in Development in the light of growing concern that reading habits in Zambia were rapidly falling and that most Zambians ranging from school going children to adults do not read for pleasure. The organisers hoped that through “Pleasure Through Reading” a broad cross-section of people would find the programme not only interesting and educative but also challenging and motivating to the extent of taking up reading.

Zambian girls are defying traditional barriers, teenage pregnancy and the risk of HIV infection to go back to school to finish their education. They are doing this despite the findings of a new report that girls in sub-Saharan Africa face the highest school drop-out rate in the world, with up to 83 percent of all girls who no longer attend school living in the region. But "The State of the World's Children", released last Thursday by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) also lists the Programme for the Advancement of Girls' Education (PAGE), a collaboration between the Zambian government and UNICEF, as an example of the type of action required by governments and the international community to reverse the trend.

The cholera outbreak in Lusaka has spread to Chongwe and Nampundwe areas. Central Board of Health (CBoH) director of technical support services, Dr. Victor Mukonka, said if people were not careful about keeping their surroundings clean, the cholera situation could get out of hand. Dr. Mukonka said four more new cases were also reported in Lusaka.

This International Food Policy Research Institute document examines the effectiveness of the 'conservation farming (CF) system', a package of agronomic practices for smallholders introduced to Zambia in 1996 and advocated by a range of stakeholders including donors, government and the private sector.

The trial of former Zambian President, Frederick Chiluba, charged with 168 counts of theft totalling more than $40m of public money, has begun. Mr Chiluba is accused of conspiring with a number of senior officials to divert public funds into a London bank account for private use.

Zambia launched its first draft Information Communication Technologies (ICT) policy at the national ICT conference organised by OneWorld Africa held on 27th-28th November 2003.

About 80 percent of Zambian wives find it acceptable to be beaten by their husbands "as a form of chastisement", according to the latest Zambia Demographic Health Survey. Out of 5,029 women interviewed countrywide, 79 percent said they should be beaten if they went out without their husband's permission. Sixty-one percent said a beating was acceptable if they denied their husbands sex, while 45 percent said a beating was in order if they cooked 'bad' food.

HIV/AIDS hits schools hard, affecting both teachers and pupils. What is the economic impact in the education sector? Researchers from Imperial College London estimate HIV-related costs to the Ministry of Education (MoE) and donors in Zambia. They argue for extra funds to provide an active care and prevention programme.

Worldwide, an estimated 11.8 million people aged 15 to 24 are infected with HIV, most of whom (77%) live in sub-Saharan Africa. In Zambia, 21% of the population fall within this age group. How much do young Zambians know about HIV and how does it affect their behaviour? Researchers from Population Services International put these questions to young men in Lusaka, Zambia.

The Post has asked for consent from State House to broadcast on Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) television part of President Levy Mwanawasa's speech in Mpika last week. Responding to State House principal private secretary Jack Kalala's press release of November 20, 2003 that President Mwanawasa's speech in Mpika was misrepresented by the newspaper, Post editor-in-chief Fred M'membe said the newspaper found no distortion in reporting that President Mwanawasa had said it would take four years to defend the 2001 presidential election petition case currently before the Supreme Court.

Although this year's good maize harvest in Zambia has alleviated food shortages, households in two provinces continue to face food insecurity, officials said. "There is still concern over the food situation in the Southern and Western Provinces," Elizabeth Phiri, secretary in charge of cooperatives and marketing in the Ministry of Agriculture told IRIN.

Chileshe Banda is an 18-year-old Zambian living in the capital Lusaka. According to research, her chances of becoming infected with the HIV virus are about five times greater than those of one of her male friends.

On November 11 2003, Omega Television- a privately owned, free-to-air station based in Lusaka - was ordered shut following the reversal of a High Court order allowing it to continue its test broadcasts to Lusaka.

Education is not a basic human right, Zambia's education minister Andrew Mulenga has told Parliament. This was after Chimbamilonga Movement for Multi Party Democracy (MMD) member of parliament Chipampe Sakalani asked him to explain why government was depriving children of their basic right to education.

A Zambian court has ruled that former president Frederick Chiluba isn't immune to prosecution for allegedly stealing millions in state funds, clearing the way for his high-profile trial to proceed.

FiFighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is forcing a "steady flow" of refugees into Zambia, a spokesman for the office of the UN High Commissioner for refugees (UNHCR) told IRIN on Friday. "The refugees have told us that the reason they are fleeing into Zambia is because there has been a number of militia actions and skirmishes, mostly in the eastern part of Congo near the border with Zambia, that they are running away from," Kelvin Shimo said in the Zambian capital, Lusaka.

It is frustrating and an embarrassment that after more than 50 years of development aid to countries like Zambia, the poverty levels are rising instead of declining. While the Zambian leadership - past and present - may have their share of blame in our current economic and social malaise, we feel the donor community with their insistence on the neoliberal prescriptions should equally shoulder the blame, argues this editorial in the Lusaka Post.

In many developing countries, stigma and discrimination together pose one of the most significant challenges to stemming the spread of HIV and Aids. People known to have HIV often are isolated and the targets of gossip and name-calling. They can lose status and decision-making power in the household and community, family and friends shun many, and they frequently lose their jobs and sometimes their housing. As a result, it is not surprising that people often go to great lengths to hide their HIV status or deny that they might have it - fuelling the spread of the epidemic.

On 1 November 2003, a team of two plainclothes and two armed and uniformed police officers raided the privately-owned Omega TV station, based in Lusaka, and ordered staff to immediately cease test broadcasts. The officers referred to "orders from above" as the reason for their actions. The station closed until 3 November, when the order was reversed by Lusaka Province Police Commanding Officer Chendela Musonda.

Organised returns from Zambia to Angola will be suspended next week as the onset of the rainy season renders roads impassable, said the UN refugee agency today. The last return convoy of Angolan refugees in Zambia will leave on November 11 for Cazombo in Angola's western province of Moxico, the main destination of Angolan refugees in Zambia. UNHCR will resume repatriation at the end of the rainy season in May next year.