Libya will do all it can to protect its 75 per cent stake in Zamtel, the fixed-line telecoms firm in Zambia, whose government announced plans last week to seize Libya's stake in the firm, Libyan Foreign Minister Ashour bin Khayyal said Monday. 'The Zambian government has taken a unilateral action by nationalizing this company,' Khayyal said, adding he had spoken to his Zambian counterpart about the issue at the African Union summit in the Ethiopian capital. The previous Zambian government had sold the 75 percent stake to LAP Green Networks for $257 million in 2010. Libyan Foreign Minister Ashour bin Khayyal said: 'Definitely this money is Libyan money, and owned by the Libyan people. We will exercise all our efforts to protect this money.'

Michael Sata, the Zambian president, has been 'assassinated' according to a mischievous alteration to his profile on Wikipedia. Reports about Mr Sata's death are not new – there were several in the run-up to the election – but generally they emanate from concerns about his health. A chain smoker with a history of heart problems, he is thought to travel with a cardiologist and go to bed early each night to prevent overstrain. But speaking to The Daily Telegraph last week, he insisted he was going nowhere. 'David Cameron has more physicians than me. He has all sorts, for eyes, for teeth, me I only have one person,' he said. 'I am 74, even if I died today, it would not be untimely.'

We will consider arresting George Bush when Amnesty International 'give us the facts', said Zambia President Michael Sata on Sunday shortly before he saw off the visiting US former president. The Zambian president also said 'it’s a coincidence' that Mr Bush and Zimbabwe long-time ruler Robert Mugabe were in Zambia at the same time. Sata was responding to questions from journalists at KK International Airport in the capital Lusaka about Amnesty International’s calls on Zambia to arrest Mr Bush for human rights violations during his 2001-2009 Presidency.

Zambian miners ended a two week old strike for better pay in early November, winning back their jobs and a pay hike from a Chinese firm. Union officials said it was a sign that Chinese-owned companies in Zambia are starting to bow to government pressure over worker rights. Management at the Non-Ferrous China Africa locked out the workers who had gone on strike for a 100 percent raise from their base pay of $200 monthly. Zambia has seen a rash of strikes at Chinese and Indian-owned plants after newly-elected President Michael Sata proposed raising the minimum wage from the current rate of $84 a month.