Zambia's already understaffed schools were dealt another blow this week after the government announced that some 9,000 teachers would not be deployed because of a lack of resources. The education ministry's press officer, Michael Katowa, on Tuesday countered media reports that the failure to employ teachers trained in 2002 and 2003 was due to World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) budget conditionalities.

The Lusaka High Court has ruled that it was wrong for former president Frederick Chiluba to award houses bought with public funds to lawyers Vincent Malambo and Eric Silwamba after they represented him in the 1996 presidential election petition. Judge Christopher Mushabati said this in the case in which Malambo and Silwamba were contesting the seizure of their houses by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

Zambian authorities are considering tough measures to contain a cholera outbreak which has claimed 110 lives, 80 of them in a treatment centre in the capital, Lusaka. Among the measures being considered is the restriction of movement from areas affected by cholera, and the prevention of large gatherings such as weddings and funerals, Central Board of Health spokesman, Dr Victor Mukonka, told IRIN on Friday.

Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa announced his government will provide free anti-retroviral drugs to about 100,000 patients by next year through the public health system. In a state-of-the-nation address to parliament, Mwanawasa said 10,000 HIV-infected people have so far been put on anti-retroviral therapy provided by the government.

Judge Phillip Musonda announced on January 26 that he would communicate his ruling in the Roy Clarke deportation case in 40 days time. The lawyer representing Roy Clarke, a British national facing deportation from Zambia for having written a satirical article which officials deemed insulting of President Mwanawasa and some ministers, on January 26 argued in the Lusaka High Court that the decision to deport his client was "illegal", "irrational" and "improper".

Zambian health officials have warned of the emergence of strains of the HI virus that are resistant to current antiretroviral (ARV) drug treatment. Dr Ben Chirwa, director general of the Central Board of Health, said a recent laboratory study conducted at the University Teaching Hospital in the capital, Lusaka, had confirmed the drug-resistant strain, and its emergence was "clearly an indication that people are not being consistent with their medication."

Armed police officers allowed over 200 Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) cadres to beat up several people at the Supreme Court buildings, in Lusaka, Zambia during the hearing of The Post columnist Roy Clarke's judicial review case in the Lusaka High Court. This is in a case in which Clarke was given the deportation order for allegedly insulting president Mwanawasa in his weekly column.

What is multigrade teaching? How do teachers manage a multigrade classroom? The websites provided (http://multigrade01.tripod.com/multinset/ and http://petermerckx.tripod.com/multinset/) give guidelines for organising a multigrade teaching workshop, tips for the multigrade teacher and demonstration lesson plans.

The Zambia National Women's Lobby (ZNWL) has proposed that issues of gender equity should be enshrined in the electoral laws. The Women's movement submitted in Lusaka that all structures managing elections must be committed to the concept of gender equity and employ women at all levels of development. ZNWL chairperson Mary Nandazi said acts of violence during elections had negatively affected women's participation in elections and called for intensified police operations to ensure the security of the electorate.

Trade unionists in Zambia have threatened industrial action if the government goes ahead with plans to impose a six-month wage freeze on civil servants' salaries. Earlier this month the authorities said the austerity measure was part of broader economic reforms aimed at reigning in government overspending.

This paper from the International Food Policy Research Institute 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 from donors, government and private sector. Evidence suggests that the effectiveness of conservation farming will vary not only across regions but also across crops and over time. Therefore, it will be important to establish long-term monitoring efforts for conservation farming and control plots across a broad range of geographic settings, crops and seasons.

Former Zambian intelligence boss Xavier Chungu, facing corruption charges with former president Frederick Chiluba, was arrested late Monday on charges of vehicle theft, a security source said on Tuesday. Chungu, who with Chiluba is accused of stealing more than 40 million dollars (31.5 million euros) from the state during Chiluba's 10-year presidency from 1991, was arrested at his suburban home in the capital and is currently in detention, the source said. "They have picked him up in connection with theft of motor vehicles which is a non-bailable offence," the source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Human rights activists in Zambia scored another victory recently when they got parliament to outlaw corporal punishment in the country. Just six months ago, government also abolished capital punishment and commuted all death sentences to life imprisonment. Legal Affairs Minister George Kunda said corporal punishment could no longer be tolerated, as it went against constitutional provisions that forbade torture and all forms of punishment that were inhuman or degrading. The scrapping of corporal punishment has come as a particular relief to school children who often suffer severe beatings under the guise of regular disciplining. This is despite the fact that school regulations are supposed to control the use of caning.

The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) has confirmed that Roy Clarke, a columnist for "The Post" newspaper, has come out of hiding following a 13 January Lusaka High Court ruling allowing him to continue enjoying his status as a permanent Zambian resident until the court hears the case in which he is challenging his deportation order. In an interview, Clarke expressed hope that he will not be harassed until his case goes to court on 26 January. This follows a furore following publication of a satirical story in his "The Spectator" column, published in "The Post" newspaper. In the story, Clarke used animal figures, including monkeys, giraffes and baboons, in a satirical commentary on the current social, economic and political situation in Zambia.

The Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) said on Tuesday it was concerned over the government's apparent "lack of regard" for the "rule of law." LAZ's comments came in the wake of President Levy Mwanawasa's move to dismiss the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Mukelabai Mukelabai, allegedly unconstitutionally.

Government has been urged to extend its fight against corruption to oil companies where the practice is said to be high. This instead of increasing taxes on minibus operators as a way to boost revenue. Opposition Patriotic Front President Michael Sata says it is unfair for Government to highly tax people at grassroots level instead of fighting corruption in parastatal companies and other government organs.

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.

With one third of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (MTCT) occurring through breast-feeding, advice not to breast-feed appears sensible, and is standard practice in well-resourced countries. However in poorly resourced environments breast-feeding offers substantial advantages to all infants in protecting against infectious diseases such as gastrointestinal infection, meningitis, sepsis and bronchiolitis.

Zambia’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services has ordered the community based commercial radio station, Breeze FM, to stop the relay of British Broadcasting Corporation programmes.

Six people have died from cholera and another 165 are reported to be in a serious condition as the disease sweeps through Zambia's capital, Lusaka. It appears that local authorities have been caught flat-footed by the outbreak. They are now engaged in a frantic bid to contain the disease, which is transmitted through contaminated water and food. Cholera typically occurs in Zambia during the country's rainy season.