Top news items in major Zambian media outlets

LUSAKA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The following are news highlights in Zambia's major media outlets on Friday:

-- The Zambian government has assured journalists that plans to introduce a law to curb cybercrime is meant to protect citizens and not infringe on freedom of expression.

Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services Dora Siliya said the cyber laws are not meant to clamp down on journalists, but protect the media and enhance professionalism as well as protect the public from false information. (Times of Zambia)

-- Angolan President Joao Lourenco has urged the business community in the two countries to unite and invest in projects that will enhance trade and create jobs.

The Angolan president, who was in Zambia for a two-day state visit, said the business community in his country was willing to invest in various sectors of the Zambian economy. (Zambia Daily Mail)

-- Over 930 tonnes of sugar is currently being smuggled into Zambia on a monthly basis through various border posts, the country's biggest sugar producer has said. (Daily Nation)

-- Zambia has witnessed a sharp rise in the cost of living in the last six years since the current government came into power, an organization fighting poverty and injustice has said.

ActionAid said when the current governing party took power in 2011, it had promised lower taxes and more money in people's pockets but that the opposite has since happened as taxes have skyrocketed, leaving people with little money to take home. (The Mast) Enditem