THE news that Zambia's poverty levels have reduced from 80 per cent to 64 per cent should be taken as a big achievement for the country that has for many years been fighting poverty.

ZAMBIA recorded reduced poverty levels from 80 to 64 percent midway through the Fifth National Development Plan (FNDP) but the country failed to achieve the target average economic growth rate Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane has said.

VICE-PRESIDENT George Kunda has told Parliament that the Government has approved a new organisational structure for the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) that will expand and strengthen the institution's capacity to fight corruption.

SPECIAL assistant to the President for political affairs, Akashambatwa Mbikusita-Lewanika has said that he is not fighting the Litunga of the Barotse Royal Establishment (BRE) or blaming him for the alleged weakening of the MMD in Western Province.

LUANSHYA Pastors Fellowship says it is happy that Roan Member of Parliament Chishimba Kambwili has recognised the goodness of the new Chinese investment and urged politicians not to condemn anything conceptualised by the Government.

VIOLENCE that characterised the campaigns for the Solwezi Central constituency parliamentary by-election recurred yesterday in an election that registered a low turnout of voters partly due to the rains.

ZAMBIA arrived in Dar es Salaam today, ready for the Africa Under-19 women cricket tournament that starts at Annadil Burhani ground in the city tomorrow.

THE United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) has developed three mini-renewable energy resources projects aimed at reducing the global green house emissions and boost the delivery of electricity to rural areas.

THE donor community has urged the media in Zambia to be more proactive on reporting on the plight of children if the world and the country are to be safer places for children.

SPEAKER of the National Assembly Amusaa Mwanamwambwa has reaffirmed Parliament's commitment to upholding and enhancing democracy.

THE Committee of Citizens (CC) has said it will tomorrow release the letter by former Taskforce on Corruption executive chairperson, Max Nkole and expose his alleged contradictory stance on the acquittal of former president Frederick Chiluba.

THE Government will in the next few weeks advertise infrastructural projects in various parts of the country under the Private Public Partnership (PPP) initiative where Zambians and foreign firms are expected to participate in the venture, Finance and National Planning

A 19-year-old boy was yesterday given two years probation for manslaughter by a Kitwe High Court after he admitted to causing the death of his schoolmate.

The United Nations refugee agency today condemned the latest xenophobic attacks that have driven some 3,000 foreigners, including refugees and asylum-seekers from Zimbabwe, from a community in South Africa.

Farmers in De Doorns have rejected allegations that they are paying Zimbabwean immigrants lower than the minimum wage and are therefore responsible for the xenophobic attacks that erupted in the region this week.

The Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) tasked to oversee government's preparation for the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup has expressed satisfaction at the progress made ahead of the tournament.

A report describing soldiers' service conditions as a "ticking time bomb" demanded urgent action and should be made public, Democratic Alliance MP David Maynier said yesterday.

A TOP think-tank sharply raised its forecasts for the global recovery yesterday, and gave a surprisingly upbeat assessment of SA's economy over the next two years.

DAILY and weekly newspapers have all lost circulation, except for the Afrikaans daily Die Son, and the Zulu daily Isolezwe, according to the third-quarter year-on-year figures released yesterday by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC).

Armscor CEO Sipho Thomo has been suspended on full pay pending the outcome of a disciplinary hearing after defiantly refusing to accede to yet another request by the corporation's board for him to resign.