Mr. Kabwe says he has observed with concern a growing trend of people from a named opposition political party wearing military regalia.

He said criminals in Kitwe are taking advantage of this situation and are terrorizing residents using the military uniforms.

Mr. Kabwe said it is against the law for civilians to wear military uniform and has appealed to those doing so to stop.

He said those wearing military regalia are instilling fear in residents especially marketeers who are complaining of being intimidated by the same people.

Mr. Kabwe was speaking in a walk in interview with ZNBC News in Kitwe.

President Lungu says the meeting for all political parties has been called by the Catholic Bishops and that he is happy that two other Church mother bodies have been brought on board to moderate the meeting to be held at Kabingila House.

The Catholic Bishops have invited the Council of Church in Zambia -CCZ and the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia – EFZ – to be part of the meeting.

Special Assistant to the President for Press and Public Relations Amos Chanda says the President has agreed to attend the meeting because the concept letter prepared by the Catholic Bishops was in conformity with his plans.

And Mr. Chanda says the President is disturbed that former Vice President GUY SCOTT can be against the Church’s call for dialogue among political parties.

Mr. Chanda has told ZNBC News in an interview that the President says Dr. Scott’s utterance as quoted in some media publication is unfortunate.

And President Edgar Lungu has with immediate effected directed the Zambia Cooperatives Federation to work with the Zambia National Service to quicken the installation of the solar milling plants.

The President says he wants to see the solar milling plants to start offloading cheaper Mealie meal country wide.

President Lungu is not pleased that the price of Mealie meal has remained high in some parts of the country.

Special assistant to the President for Press and Public Relations Amos Chanda says the directive is with immediate effect.

Meanwhile ZCF Director General James Chirwa says over 65 solar milling plants that are installed in the various parts of the country are currently operational.

Mr. Chirwa says the solar milling plants that are operational have so far been distributed to five provinces, Lusaka, Northern, North Western, Muchinga and Eastern Provinces.

President Lungu has initiated the installation of solar milling plants that is been spearheaded by ZCF.

The trio include Kelvin Cornhill, Ackson Miyoba, and Lawrence Sakala were arrested on Friday March 18, 2016 after they surrendered themselves to the Police appeared in Monze Magistrates court for plea on Wednesday March 22, 2016.

All the three being represented by Muleza Mwiimbu and Company pleaded not guilty to the charges of assault of occasioning bodily harm (OABH) while Cornhill was also charged for robbery also denied the charge.

The Monze magistrates court has since granted the trio cash bail of K6, 000 each but were taken to Mazabuka State Prisons were they were remanded in custody until they paid.

Southern Province Police Commissioner Godwin Phiri said the trio were released after they fulfilled the bail conditions.

“The trio who have since been released from Mazabuka State Prison were briefly remanded, but managed to pay the said cash amounts,” he said.

Ms Kapata said events LICAF were key in uniting the country as they brought people from all walks of life regardless of their tribe.

Speaking upon arrival at Harry Mwaanga NKumbula International Airport yesterday, Ms Kapata said events that promote cultural values should be able to unite people regardless of their tribe.

“The spirit of one zambia one nation should be promoted as such events unfold and am happy that foreign countries have responded very well to our invitation,”she said.

And Chinese Ambassador to Zambia,Yang Youming said China and Zambia would continue engaging each other in promoting tourism, culture and education.

Mr Youming said the two countries needed to continue promoting cultural exchange programmes.

” We would like to show support in promoting Livingstone as a destination of choice and this collaboration will continue.

“That is why early this year I brought a group of Chinese cultural groups to Livingstone in a bid to enhance the cultural values for the two countries,”he said.
China has the largest numbers of foreign performers to this year’s LICAF.

Ms Kapata, who was in Livingstone to officially open the LICAF festival, was accompanied by Ms Youming and was welcomed by Southern province minister Nathaniel Mubukwanu, Livingstone District Commissioner Omar Munsanje, ZTA Managing Director Felix Chaila, LICAF officials and Patriotic Front (PF) officials.

Seven international countries namely Namibia, India, Seychelles, Egypt, Rwanda, China and Zimbabwe are attending the conference.

First Lady Mrs. Esther Lungu has urged Zambian diplomats to unite, love one another and serve the country well.

According to a statement released to the media by Zambia’s First Secretary for Press and Public Relations, Chibaula D. Silwamba, Mrs. Lungu left New York on Friday after the conclusion of the 60th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW60), where she addressed several High-Level panel discussions, with messages emphasizing empowerment and protection of the wellbeing of women and girls across the globe.

Talking to Zambian diplomats accredited to the United Nations, who saw her off at Mandarin Oriental Hotel Columbus Circle, Mrs. Lungu urged the diplomats to continue promoting the ethos of “One Zambia One Nation”.

“Thank you very much for the hospitality. You looked after us very well. We are now going back home. May God continue blessing you!” said Mrs. Lungu, on Good Friday. “Let’s remain united and continue loving one another. One Zambia One Nation!”

Mrs. Lungu was a high-level speaker at several panel discussions during the CSW, an annual meeting on the UN calendar that is exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women.

The CSW is instrumental in promoting women’s rights, documenting the reality of women’s lives throughout the world, and shaping global standards on gender equality and the empowerment of women.

The priority theme for CSW60 focused on women’s empowerment and its link to sustainable development.

Zambia’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Her Excellency Dr Mwaba Kasese-Bota, led the diplomatic staff in seeing off the First Lady and her delegation.

Ms Kamukoshi noted that lack of knowledge by police officers had contributed to illegal termination of pregnancies by women, which had at times resulted in deaths and other long-term health complications.

She was speaking in Kabwe yesterday when she officially opened a two-day workshop on reproductive health with special emphasis on abortion facilitated by IPAS Zambia.

IPAS-Zambia, which has worked in Zambia since 2006, seeks to expand access to safe and comprehensive abortion services and has been providing training and equipment at more than 40 healthcare facilities.

The training of police officers in Kabwe was aimed at imparting knowledge to law enforcement officers to help effectively deal with abortion cases in their respective stations.

Ms Kamukoshi said the Constitution had rightly provided ways in which a woman could terminate a pregnancy, but that the manner officers interpreted the same laws left much to be desired.

The Penal Code indicates that the bottom line was upon a doctor to determine who should terminate a pregnancy and under what circumstances such as when the life of a mother was in danger.

She noted that unsafe abortion was a violation of human rights, especially for the unborn baby.

Ms Kamukoshi said many women and girls had died from complications arising from unsafe abortions, while others had been left with serious injuries.

She was confident that the workshop would help police officers understand the law on abortion and help them educate others.