The son of James Gandolfini is to take on his father’s most famous role in a prequel to hit HBO show The Sopranos. Michael Gandolfini, 19, said he was “thrilled” to be cast as the young Tony Soprano in The Many Saints of Newark, a film currently in development. “It’s a profound honour to continue my dad’s legacy,” he said ...

A government-appointed human rights group in Zimbabwe has accused soldiers of using “systematic torture” in a crackdown on protests. The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission strongly criticised authorities for using troops to quell demonstrations. Unrest broke out more than a week ago following a sharp rise in fuel prices. A government spokesman defended the crackdown, telling the BBC: “When things get ...

Delaying or cancelling Brexit would be a “calamitous” breach of trust with the electorate and worse than leaving the EU with no deal, Liam Fox has said. The Brexiteer minister told BBC’s Radio 4’s Today programme MPs pushing for a delay actually wanted to stop Brexit. He said this was the “worst outcome” of the current wrangles. MPs are proposing ...

The Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has called for a serious audit of mining firms to ascertain whether indeed they will make losses in view of the new mine tax regime. ZCTU Secretary General Cosmas Mukuka says if this forensic audit confirms that mines will indeed make losses, a meeting between government, the mines and workers’ unions should be ...

The Zambia Center for Interparty Dialogue (ZCID) says it is not yet part of the preparations for the National Dialogue which is set to be launched on the 18th of January next week. Spokesperson Jackson Silavwe says the ZCID has however resolved to engage the three church mother bodies leading the National Dialogue on the unresolved issues relating the dialogue ...

Lady Gaga has apologised for working with embattled R&B star R Kelly, and vowed to remove their duet, Do What U Want, from streaming services. It comes after the broadcast of a new documentary about Kelly, which detailed allegations of sexual and physical abuse against women and underage girls, spanning several decades. Gaga called the stories “horrifying” and “indefensible”, adding: ...

Opposition candidate Felix Tshisekedi has won DR Congo’s presidential election, electoral officials say. The announcement, made overnight, sparked accusations of an “electoral coup” from runner-up Martin Fayulu. France said the figures did not match results collated on the ground by monitors from the Catholic Church. The ruling party, whose candidate finished third, has not yet contested the result, sparking accusations ...

Three criminals have killed a wife of a Lusaka Protective Unit police officer in an attack that happened in the early hours of Thursday, today ,the 10th of January. The criminals are said to have attacked the family of Sergeant Billy Simwamba, 39, at his residence in Makeni Villa around 02:00 hours using iron bars. Zambia Police spokesperson Esther Katongo ...

Cabinet is yet to table the issue of whether an inquiry into the privatization of Zambian assets can be instituted or not. Minister of Finance Margaret Mwanakatwe says at the point the institution of this inquiry has been discussed and decided upon in Cabinet, it will be made public. Mrs. Mwanakatwe says the nation will be informed of the opening ...

The Office of the Auditor General will this year conduct a special audit in the use of the Constituency Development Funds (CDF). Minister of Local Government Vincent Mwale says government wants to see returns from the money it disburses to various constituencies under this fund. Mr. Mwale says budgetary allocations of CDF are intended for development of  constituencies and not ...