Tildah

David Kazadi and Mwaka Halwiindi are appearing in court this morning on charges related to the production of obscene material.

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Church calls for dialogue between govt and Lungu family after court ruling on burial!

The Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia -EFZ- has appealed to government and the family of late former President Edgar Lungu to resolve their differences and accord him a dignified burial.

The appeal follows the South Africa Supreme Court of Appeal’s decision to set aside an August 2025 High Court order for Mr. Lungu’s repatriation after it ruled that government failed to establish a legal right, under common law or contract, to override the family’s burial decision.

EFZ Executive Director Bishop Allan Kasungami said Mr. Lungu should be buried in Zambia to allow many citizens an opportunity to give him a dignified send-off.

In an interview with Phoenix News, Bishop Kasungami emphasized that Mr. Lungu was not just a husband or father, but a President to all Zambians and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and therefore deserves a dignified send-off.

Meanwhile, Council of Churches in Zambia -CCZ- Board President Reverend Ackson Banda maintained that the church will not observe Mr. Lungu’s future memorials until his remains are buried in his homeland.

Reverend Banda told Phoenix News that Mr. Lungu deserves a befitting burial in Zambia, not in a foreign country especially that he remains a former Head of State.

-Phoenix FM

Government moves to repatriate citizens from South Africa

By Ellen Hambuba

More than 100 Zambian nationals living in South Africa have registered for voluntary repatriation following reports of anti-immigration protests in some parts of the country.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Permanent Secretary, ETAMBUYU GUNDERSEN, says Government has stepped up arrangements to support the safe return of citizens who have expressed interest in coming back home.

Mrs. GUNDERSEN says the repatriation programme is being implemented through a multi-sectoral framework involving the Disaster Risk Management Division, Cabinet Office, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and the Zambia High Commission in Pretoria.

She has also urged Zambians residing in South Africa to register on the ZamSA Connect platform, which is designed to maintain an updated database of nationals in the country and assist the Mission in providing timely consular support when needed.

In a statement to ZNBC news, Mrs. GUNDERSEN said registration can be done via the Mission’s dedicated WhatsApp line on +27 70 397 5908 or through the online ZamSA Connect platform.

-ZNBC

South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal is expected to deliver its ruling this morning in the legal dispute over the burial arrangements of former President Edgar Lungu.

The case stems from an appeal by the Lungu family seeking to overturn a Pretoria High Court judgment that ordered the repatriation of Lungu’s remains from South Africa to Zambia for a state funeral.

The outcome of the appeal is expected to determine where and under what arrangements the former president will be laid to rest.

First round of US-Iran talks ends with encouraging progress, mediators say

The first round of negotiations between the US and Iran to reach a final deal to end the war has ended with "encouraging progress", mediators Qatar and Pakistan say.

In a joint statement early on Monday, Qatar and Pakistan said that a "High Level Committee" had agreed to "a roadmap towards reaching a final deal within 60 days".

Iran's foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said there had been "major progress" towards ending the conflict in Lebanon.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed last week includes a commitment to ending the fighting on "all fronts" - including Lebanon - and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

"Pakistani and Qatari mediation has delivered major progress to end Lebanon War," Araghchi posted on social media.

"Oil and petrochem exports are waived, blockade lifted, some frozen assets released, and major reconstruction & development plan launched for Iran."

The talks began on Sunday in Switzerland, after last week's initial agreement between the US and Iran. Technical talks will continue throughout the week.

The mediators' joint statement said that a "communication line" had been formed "to avoid incidents and miscommunication with the aim of safe passage for commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz".

Both sides also agreed to the creation of a "de-confliction cell" between the US, Iran and Lebanon, facilitated by the mediating countries, to end military operations in Lebanon, their statement said. Araghchi described this as the "first real test".

Since the MoU was signed, there has been an upsurge in fighting between Lebanese armed group Hezbollah and Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, and Israeli air strikes that the health ministry says have killed dozens of Lebanese including women and children.

A new ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah was declared on Friday. Continued clashes and air strikes prompted Iran on Saturday to announce it had shut the Strait of Hormuz, though tracking data shows vessels have continued to pass through it.

Earlier, as the talks began in the Swiss city of Lucerne, Trump posted that Iran "must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble" and threatened to "hit Iran very hard again" if they did not.

Iran's lead negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf responded by saying: "Don't they think that if their threats had any effect, they wouldn't be in this desperate situation today?... No matter how much they talk, it is we who take action."

On Sunday, fighting was reported to have diminished but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted that the Israeli military would remain in southern Lebanon for as long as was necessary to protect northern Israel.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem has rejected any Israeli military presence in southern Lebanon and said Hezbollah would defend itself.

Speaking before the talks at the Swiss resort of Bürgenstock, US lead negotiator Vice-President JD Vance said Trump had asked negotiators to "turn over a new leaf".

He added that if Iran's leadership was willing to give up being a "driver of regional instability" and its "nuclear weapons ambitions for the longer term", then the US "is willing to fundamentally transform our relationship with that country".

Iran has insisted its nuclear programme is peaceful.

Under the initial deal signed last week, Iran was to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the key shipping channel through which 20% of the world's oil and natural gas travels.

The US also agreed to lift a military blockade on ships going to and from Iranian ports.

The deal also includes a $300bn (£224bn) plan for Iran's "reconstruction", and the US terminating "all types of sanctions" on it.

But the issue of Iran's nuclear programme is still to be negotiated.

On Sunday some vessels appeared to be entering, exiting and transiting the strait, according to location data on the maritime tracking website MarineTraffic, despite Iran's claim - disputed by the US - to have closed the strait.

-BBC