Margaret Atwood says thieves made concerted efforts to steal her manuscript for The Testaments, the sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale. The author and her publisher were targeted by “fake emails” from “cyber criminals”, trying to obtain the unpublished novel, she told the BBC. She described the attempts as a “phishing exercise” that could have led to blackmail or identity theft. ...

MPs have again rejected Boris Johnson’s calls for a snap election, as the five-week suspension of Parliament begins. In all, 293 MPs voted for the prime minister’s motion for an early poll, far short of the number needed. Earlier, opposition MPs confirmed they would not support an October poll, insisting a law blocking a no-deal Brexit must be implemented first. ...

Defunct National Democratic Congress (NDC) president Chishimba Kambwili says the Opposition Alliance remains intact. Mr. Kambwili says he does not see the Opposition Alliance fragmenting ahead of the 2021 general election. In an interview with QTV News, Mr. Kambwili has since reaffirmed his party’s commitment to the opposition Alliance. He says he personally has no problems with either UPND leader ...

Justice Minister Given Lubinda has encouraged people in the country to write wills in order to safeguard their children’s inheritance in the event of death. Mr. Lubinda has expressed concern that some families have denied children their inheritance after the death of their parents because of failure to write wills. He has told QTV News that the Ministry is working ...

Energy Minister Mathew Nkhuwa says plans to start tapping water from the Congo River to fill up the Kariba Dam are still active. Mr. Nkhuwa says the proposal is now being looked at by the Ministry of Water Development working hand-in-hand with the Ministry of Energy. He however, states that a feasibility study is yet to be conducted on whether ...

Government says it would not support the imposition of economic sanctions as a measure to compel the South African government to decisively deal with the issue of xenophobia. Information and Broadcasting Services Permanent Secretary Chanda Kasolo says government is fully aware of the damage that would be caused to both the Zambian and South African economies if sanctions were to ...

United Party for National Development [UPND] Rufunsa Member of Parliament, Sheal Mulyata has bemoaned the poor road network in the constituency. Mrs. Mulyata has told QTV News that government should accelerate the construction of the roads in the district. She has noted that the poor state of roads has resulted in some public transport operators shunning the area. Mrs. Mulyata ...

Sitibekiso Wamuyuwa – SESTUZ Secretary General Secondary Schools Teachers Union of Zambia (SESTUZ) General Secretary Sitibekiso Wamuyuwa has urged government to increase to 20% the budgetary allocation to the education sector in the 2020 national budget. Mr. Wamuyuwa has noted with concern that the education sector has suffered greatly over the years due to inadequate funding. He has told QTV ...

Patriots for Economic Progress (PEP) President Sean Tembo has expressed willingness to rejoin the Opposition Alliance provided an electoral pact is agreed. Mr. Tembo has since advised the Opposition Alliance to realize the urgent need to come up with an electoral pact. He says the Opposition Alliance should be wary that it risks disintegrating in the absence of an electoral ...

Opposition Green Party president Peter Sinkamba says government’s decision to start importing 300 megawatts of electricity from South Africa at a cost of US$13.5 million to mitigate the electricity power deficit is a waste of public resources. Mr. Sinkamba says government missed an opportunity when it failed to accept the offer by Mozambique to export power 500 megawatts to Zambia ...