Police have warned that they will arrest any person found in possession of offensive weapons at political public meetings.

Assistant commissioner in Charge of Operations Solomon Jere says political party cadres who have developed a habit of wielding knives, machetes and stones at any slight provocation will face the wrath of the law.

He says police will not tolerate the use of weapons especially as the country goes to the polls next month.

Dr Jere also urged members of the public to report any violence to an emergency call center which has been set up at the police headquarters.

On Sunday machete wielding Patriotic Front cadres kept vigil at their rally held at the Freedom Statue in Lusaka.

Other cadres where armed with catapults.

During the same rally PF Secretary General Wynter Kabimba directed party cadres to hit back hard at political opponents if provoked.

And Inspector General of Police Francis Kabonde has warned politicians and members of the public against circulating rumours that border on national security.

Mr. Kabonde told a media briefing on Friday that the police will deal firmly with anyone found spreading rumours orally or through the print media.

He says spreading false information has the potential to bring anarchy and civil unrest in the country.

He has dismissed allegations by Kanyama constituency PF candidate Colonel Jerry Chanda that the ruling MMD has invited soldiers from Zimbabwe to reinforce ahead of the tripartite elections.

Mr. Kabonde says the allegations by Colonel Chanda are currently under investigations.

He has appealed to Zambians not to take seriously any rumours and avoid being excited over the current political debates among political players.

The Inspector General of Police further urged political parties and candidates not to go to the extremes in their political campaigns as this can lead to provocation and intimidation.

Mr. Kabonde says the Police will provide maximum security to all political parties before, during and after the elections, adding that it is not true that the Police have been impartial in dealing with erring party cadres.

ZNBC

Standard Bank Group has predicted victory for President Rupiah Banda in the September 20 general elections.

The research wing of Standard Bank says President Banda and the MMD will emerge winners of the 2011 elections, supported by the positive economic outlook.

The bank says the country’s per capita growth has been accelerating since President Rupiah Banda assumed office in 2008.

This is contained in the August 9, Standard Bank Group Africa Research report for Zambia.

The report however notes that the elections have put pressure on the kwacha which it anticipates to weaken as the political discourse gets heated up.

The bank expects the kwacha to move to K5,250 to one dollar.

Standard Bank Group becomes the third institution to tip President Banda as winner in the September 20 polls.

Early this month the Economic Intelligence Unit predicted for the fourth time running that President Banda will emerge winner in this year’s general elections.

Last week SYNOVATE, a leading research firm in the SADC region also predicted that President Banda will win the September polls with 42 percent.

ZNBC

PATRIOTIC Front president Michael Sata has outlined his vision for Southern Province promising to make maximum use of the vast land and water resources in the region.

Addressing a mass rally in Choma yesterday at Kings Centre grounds, Mr Sata told the cheering crowds that the neglect of the region will end next month when the PF takes power from the corrupt and incompetent Rupiah Banda administration.

Mr Sata said given the excellent location of Choma, the town was best suited to be the provincial capital but the MMD government has failed to make good use of this unique geographical position.

The PF leader said the town had also produced illustrious men and women that contributed immensely to Zambia’s freedom struggle. He paid tribute to Mr Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula, one of Zambia’s best known pioneers of the freedom struggle.

The PF leader has been on a campaign trail in Southern Province since Wednesday.

This afternoon, the PF leader will be addressing another rally in Livingstone to spell the PF vision for the tourist carpital.

BICEPS

Without a doubt the most worked on body part for men has to be the arms , the biceps in particular. It is practically impossible to walk into any gym and find that no one is working on their biceps. You may ask ” If it is so popular ,then how come not many people have huge arms?”  Two things;

technique- It is very important to have the correct technique , otherwise you risk injuring  yourself.

commitment- If you don’t see the results you were wishing for , don’t give up , building muscle takes time . Just be consistent and positive minded.

BEST BICEP WORKOUTS

In order to fully work on your biceps you will need access to weights. If you do not have any and are not a member of a gym , you have to be innovative and use some simple house hold items.  For example you can fill an empty 2 litre container with water , close it tight and use it as a makeshift dumbbell. You can also fill the bottle with sand to increase the weight.

STANDING BAR CURLS

Given the main role of the biceps is elbow flexion, the logical movement for stimulating the most amount of muscle in this region is the curl, and the most basic of all the curling movements is the standing barbell version, universally known as the greatest biceps exercise ever. If you are at home you can use a broom stick . Tie water bottles to each end of it.

How it is done;

• Hold bar with a shoulder-width grip, with arms straight towards the floor and elbows locked an inch from your sides.
• Curl weight towards the chest, while keeping the elbows and back fixed.
• Contact the biceps as the bar reaches the front of the chest.
• Resist weight as it slowly lowers to the floor for a full stretch.

Precaustion;

• For beginners start with small weights to get the range of motion correct.
• Lift the bar up and down slowly to really target the biceps.

 ALTERNATING ROTATING DUMBBELL CURL

This is a simple yet effective exercise.  By alternating, you can focus maximal intensity on each arm separately.

How it is done;

• grab two dumbbells (or water bottles) and hold them down at your sides, arms straight, palms facing your body. keep your elbows tucked into your sides as soon as you start curling.
•  start the movement with a hammer curl position ( that is your palms facing your side), then as the dumbbell clears your body, begin to rotate it so that at the end of the movement, your palms are facing your head.
• Once you lower the dumbbell back to the starting position, start curling with the next arm.

Precaution

• Start with smaller weights then steadily increase after time.
• Keep your elbows tight to your side and curl up slowly.

 CLOSE GRIP CHIN UPS

These are one of the best mass building bicep exercises . By keeping your hands close together and focusing on your biceps to lift your body, you will be essentially doing body weight curls.

There is a big difference between pull ups and chin ups. While pull ups are good for your arms and back, close grip chin ups concentrate more on the biceps.

How it is done;

•  find a straight bar that you can comfortably reach from a standing position. Grip the bar with an underhand grip (your palms should be facing you). Keep your hands a short distance apart; they should be right outside your chin on either side.
•  Pull yourself up until your chin is over the bar , then go back down. That is one rep , do as many as you can.

 BY KAPA187

The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has called on the police service to realign itself to efficiently deal with concerns raised by all political parties without any bias.

ECZ Chairperson Irene Mambilima says the commission is concerned with allegations of laxity on the part of the police suggesting that they have a soft spot for the ruling MMD.

Justice Mambilima observes that the law should be left to take its course regardless of political affiliation of the offender.

Speaking at the political party liaison committee meeting in Lusaka this morning, Justice Mambilima also expressed concern with the unfriendly relationships that are developing during campaigns among political parties.

Justice Mambilima has further questioned why the country has seen an increase in political acrimony when all players publicly declared during the filing-in of nominations that they would abide by the electoral code of conduct.

She notes political party leaders should ensure that their supporters refrain from attending their meetings with offensive weapons with intentions of hurting other people adding that there can be no justification for hate speech and incitement of violence.

The ECZ chairperson has also advised political parties to avail their rally schedules to the commission and the police to enable effective policing of their meetings.

PRESIDENT Rupiah Banda’s political advisor Francis Chigunta has advised Patriotic Front (PF) campaigners to focus on issue-based campaigns and not character assassination.

Dr Chigunta said the behaviour of PF campaigners such as Father Frank Bwalya and others was uncalled for and baseless because it was not issue-based.

He said in an interview in Kitwe yesterday that, the PF Campaigners had run out of ideas and had nothing to offer the people of Zambia hence resorting to campaigns of attacking the Head of State on his education background.

Dr Chigunta was reacting to Father Bwalya’s allegations that President Banda was not educated and that was why he removed the qualification of a holding a degree for a presidential candidate.

He said President Banda was a solid leader who had attained his education in Ethiopia and Cambridge and was comfortable in the company of educated assistance unlike his opposition leader who was surrounded by hooligans who had nothing to advice.

Dr Chigunta said PF leader Micheal Sata’s education background was nothing to talk about because he was not an educated person.

“I would like to condemn the behaviour of PF campaigners like Father Frank Bwalya and others who have run out of ideas and have nothing to offer the people of Zambia.

“Attacking the education of the Republican President is baseless because he is a solid leader who attended his education in Ethiopia and Cambridge,” he said.

Dr Chigunta said because of the educated team that the President was surrounded with, that was why they had come up with a developmental program known as the Seven point plan to develop the country. He said no leader had come up with something serious and issue based program like that.

Dr Chigunta advised PF campaigners to address their campaigns on issues and not personality and that even the electoral code of conduct did not permit personality attacks.

He said the people of Zambia wanted to hear what every leader would do for them and not character assassination campaigns.

And addressing a rally at Kitwe s freedom park grounds, Father Bwalya said President Banda had decided to remove the qualification of a degree holder as a qualification for any person aspiring to stand as presidential candidate because he was not a degree holder himself.

And speaking at the same rally, PF Roan constituency aspiring candidate Chishimba Kambwili urged the electorate to vote for Mr Sata in the September 20 elections.

[Times of Zambia]