Human rights activists in Zambia scored another victory recently when they got parliament to outlaw corporal punishment in the country. Just six months ago, government also abolished capital punishment and commuted all death sentences to life imprisonment. Legal Affairs Minister George Kunda said corporal punishment could no longer be tolerated, as it went against constitutional provisions that forbade torture and all forms of punishment that were inhuman or degrading. The scrapping of corporal punishment has come as a particular relief to school children who often suffer severe beatings under the guise of regular disciplining. This is despite the fact that school regulations are supposed to control the use of caning.

The police have defied a High Court order passed on 9 January ordering them to vacate premises of the Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ), publishers of the banned The Daily News and The Daily News on Sunday. Despite being served with the order, police ignored it and stayed put at the premises, preventing journalists from accessing the newsroom. The government argues that there is nothing in the order granting the ANZ the right to resume publishing. The government has appealed to the Supreme Court to have the paper remain closed.

The government of Cote d'Ivoire has sent officials to four towns in the rebel-held north of the country to prepare examinations for thousands of pupils living in rebel territory who were unable to sit their normal exams in June last year, Education Ministry officials said on Monday. Education Minister Michel Amani-N'guessan announced on state television at the weekend that the government would deploy a “minimal administration” to prepare the ground for about 46,000 children to sit exams in the rebel-held cities of Bouake, Korhogo, Odienne and Man.