Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa's election campaign used money from the state-owned electric company to print campaign posters, and regional chiefs were wooed with gifts of cash and vehicles, two former ruling party leaders testified Wednesday at a hearing into last year's election.

A government ban on genetically-modified (GM) foods has resulted in a scramble to source stock to feed the thousands of refugees camped in Zambia. The World Food Programme (WFP) was forced to distribute US-donated milled GM maize to refugees in the first week of November, as the government ban was announced on 29 October, giving the agency little time to source non-GM food.

Zambia's five rare white rhinos are facing starvation due to a drought that has nearly destroyed grazing pastures in the famine-threatened southern African country, officials said on Thursday. The Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) said the drought had already claimed 48 other wild animals in the Musi-O-Tunya national park in southern Zambia since June.

What is the impact of trade on women's lives? How can we assess – or even predict – it? This research analyses the effects of changes in economic policies on women in Bangladesh and Zambia. It concludes that complementary policies are needed to enhance women’s ability to respond to economic incentives; reduce the many competing demands on their time; and improve their overall well-being and social welfare, which are not necessarily increased by economic gains.

The Zambian government has thwarted attempts by the Zambia Independent Media Association and six opposition members to table three bills, that ensure greater freedom of the press. Instead it is deciding to introduce its own media freedom bills instead.

Spiraling inflation has been worsened by a serious food shortage, which spells further hardship for ordinary Zambians, the majority of whom are low-income earners, analysts have warned. Mulenga Kabungo, a married Zambian police officer with six children, is among those expected to be worst hit by rising food prices, especially that of the staple maize meal.

Under a mango tree, three men squatted in the dust with pliers, twisting thick wire from poachers' snares into decorative baskets. Trimmed in gold, red, and blue, they sell them to tourists for $6 each. "We help save the animals and people find another way to make money," said Kelvin Phiri, a craftsman and founder of Mango Tree Crafts, a cooperative formed four months ago in this eastern Zambian valley.

The Zambian government has thwarted attempts by the Zambia Independent Media Association (ZIMA) and six opposition members to table three bills to ensure greater freedom of the press, deciding to introduce its own media freedom bills instead.

The Danish government has given the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) US $2.6 million for refugees and their host communities in Zambia's Western Province. "The money will be spent on health, schools, community projects and social services in refugee hosting communities," UNHCR spokesman Kelvin Shimo told IRIN.

As Master of Ceremonies at the launch of the National Movement Against Corruption (NAMAC), the most embarrassing moment came when I had to ask President Mwanawasa to sign the integrity pledge. A few minutes earlier, I had received a note from among the organisers reminding me about the pledge. Time came when I took up the floor. With much hesitation, I asked the audience to raise their hands if they were of the idea the President committed himself on paper about corruption.

The Zambian Government has finally decided not to accept a donation of genetically-modified food for nearly three million of its people facing famine.

In a new report on Zambia, produced to coincide with the 23-25 October WTO review of that countries' trade policy, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions has condemned "serious and widespread" usage of child labour as well as a deterioration in workers' basic rights.

Two former ministers have been arrested in connection with the disappearance of 2-billion kwacha in government money. An investigative tribunal last year found Peter Machungwa, then home affairs minister, and his counterpart in the works and supply ministry, Godden Mandandi, guilty of illegally diverting the money allocated to the parliament.

The Zambian government on Wednesday said a final decision on whether it would accept genetically modified (GM) food aid was "imminent". Officials, however, could not confirm an exact date when the announcement would be made.

Southern Africa's food crisis has affected animals as well as people, prompting Zambia to start distributing food to the country's starving wildlife, a conservation official said Friday.   Food shortages caused by poor weather and made worse by political problems in southern Africa are threatening not only 14 million people in the region but also thousands of wild animals, said the Zambia Wildlife Authority's director-general, Hapenga Kabeta.

Zambian subsistence farmers are reporting successes with conservation farming which advocates new methods of maximising crops in areas with low rainfall and difficult conditions.

Hungry Zambian villagers have looted bags of rejected genetically modified (GM) relief maize from a storage shed, an international NGO confirmed on Wednesday.

Reforms and squeeze on education funds has hit education in developing countries as teachers' morale dips to an all time low. Research in Papua New Guinea, Zambia and Malawi highlights a crisis in education because of poor motivation amongst teachers.

Zambia is to receive $50-million in credit from the World Bank (WB) for current drought and food shortages in the country.The funds will be released under the Emergency Drought Recovery Project (EDRP), and will go towards logistical and humanitarian support in ongoing food distribution.

As many as 30,000 "old caseload" Angolan refugees could opt for integration in Zambian society and stay behind when the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) begins its repatriation programme next year.