Zambia has refused emergency food aid from the United States despite being one of the countries worst affected by famine in Africa.

A Zambian High Court judge will rule on 30 August whether the parliament had the right to lift former President Frederick Chiluba's immunity from prosecution.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) resident representative Mark Ellyne has said his organisation was not surprised at reported high levels of corruption under the Chiluba regime.

Former chief justice Matthew Ngulube has appeared before the task force probing corruption under the Chiluba regime. Sources said he was asked about the US $168,000 he received from former president Frederick Chiluba in suspicious circumstances.

Zambia has stepped up military patrols on its border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after several raids by rebel bandits over the past few weeks.

President Mwanawasa's fight against corruption is for cheap publicity, UPND first vice-president Sakwiba Sikota has charged.

This presents, in concise form, some of the main findings of the Zambian component of a study carried out in four African countries between 1997 and 2000. A political economy approach is used to examine the interaction between segments of government, donors, the private sector, and rural communities, both historically and in recent times. It is found that the structural adjustment framework adopted in 1989 has modified the interplay of forces contending for control over natural resources, but not to the benefit of rural communities and the poor in general. Some recommendations are advanced for policy review, changes in administration, and legislative change.

Do African adolescents know enough about AIDS to protect themselves against infection? What is the best way to educate them about the risks of HIV? A report from Population Services International evaluates a peer-led HIV prevention programme in a secondary school in Zambia.

Zambia is expected to import genetically modified maize (corn) from the United States to feed its 2.3 million starving citizens, according to the Biotechnology Trust of Africa, a regional charitable trust.

Corrupt practices in the private sector are on the increase, Institute of Southern African Development (ISAD) president Lewis Mosho has observed. Mosho said ISAD has identified that various forms of corruption exist in private sector firms and professional associations in their business dealings among themselves and between them and government institutions.

Patterns of risk behaviour and condom use among commercial sex workers (CSWs) have been heavily investigated in recent years. But what is known about the social context of these women's lives? What factors prevent them from having safer sex? Researchers from Population Services International investigate the lives of CSWs in Lusaka, Zambia.

The female condom could reduce the spread of HIV by increasing the prevention options available to sexually active adults. Marketing of the female condom at subsidised prices began in Lusaka, Zambia, in 1997. How effective has this been? Do people know about female condoms and are they likely to use them?

Homesick Angolan refugees are packing up their meagre belongings, throwing caution to the wind, and trekking back to battle-scarred homesteads many of them have not seen in decades.

A Supreme Court hearing into President Levy Mwanawasa's election victory last year has been adjourned after witnesses complained of intimidation. More than 70 witnesses were due to testify that they had been prevented from voting in last year's poll.

The government has established a special investigations and prosecutions task force to investigate criminal conduct related to serious mismanagement of public resources in the past 10 years.

Zambia's High Court has issued an injunction that temporarily blocks authorities from arresting and prosecuting former President Frederick Chiluba, who stands accused of misusing public funds.

Western donors this week shrugged off lingering concerns over the conduct of controversial general elections, held last December, to pledge a record US $1.3 billion in aid to Zambia this year.

Since independence, Zambia has received billions of dollars of development aid from Europe. Yet at least 75 percent of the population remains poor and over the last three decades, life has become increasingly difficult for the average Zambian. Has aid done anything to reduce poverty?

The clampdown on corruption in the regime of former Zambian President Frederick Chiluba has increased with the arrest of the country's ambassador to the US. A spokesman for Zambia's anti-corruption commission said Atan Shansonga had been arrested on charges linked to corruption under Mr Chiluba's presidency.

Urging young people to abstain from sex in Zambia may not appear to make sense in a country where 75 percent are sexually active, but an AIDS prevention program sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) shows young Zambians crave support for their decision to abstain and prevent HIV/AIDS.