Zambia refutes takeover claim
SYDNEY: A new technology is being trialled to catch drivers in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) using their cellphones, in an effort to reduce the rising number of related fatalities, authorities have said.
NSW’s Minister for Roads, Maritime and Freight Melinda Pavey said on Sunday that during a month-long preliminary test in October, more than 11 000 drivers were detected using a cellphone illegally.
The system uses high-definition cameras and intelligent monitoring to detect when a driver is using their phone, and can operate at all times day and night, and in all kinds of weather. Australian company Acusensus has been selected to implement the systems for a further trial period for three months.
The creator, Alex Jannik, said he pursued the concept after his friend was killed in a road accident. “Since my friend James was killed by an impaired and phone-distracted driver five years ago, I have had a strong desire to develop this technology to save lives,” Jannik said.
“Seventy-four percent of the NSW community support the use of cameras to enforce mobile phone offences,” Pavey said.
In NSW it is illegal for drivers to hold their phone while behind the wheel, but they can talk, select music or use navigation if the phone is in a cradle. African News Agency (ANA) BEIJING: China hopes the US can learn a lesson and “not blurt things out”, the foreign ministry said yesterday, after Zambia denied claims by a White House official that China was about to take over its state power utility to recover debt.
US National Security Adviser John Bolton said on Thursday that China’s quest for more power in Africa was evident in nations like Zambia, where China was poised to take over utility company Zesco to collect the $6 billion (R86.1bn) to $10bn debt.
Zambian presidential spokesperson Amos Chanda said China was not planning to take over Zesco and that the figure of between $6bn and $10bn given by Bolton was wrong.
Zambia’s total external debt was now $9.7bn including $3.1bn owed to China, he said.
Speaking in Beijing at a daily news briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said it wasn’t the first time a US official had been caught out on that kind of issue.
“I hope they can learn a lesson and reflect on things, and going forward not blurt things out again,” Hua said.
Bolton had called the business practices of China and Russia in Africa “corrupt” and “predatory” and said the US planned to counter their economic and political influence.
In June, Zambia decided to delay all planned borrowing indefinitely, slowing down the accumulation of new debt amid worries about the risk of debt distress. President Edgar Lungu said Zambia was committed to improving the transparency of its debt management and would ensure that debt levels remained sustainable. | Reuters