EVENTS:

Zambia's finance minister Situmbeko Musokotwane will present the 2025 national budget on Friday.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Chinese stocks are headed for the best week since 2008 as Beijing rolled out a huge stimulus package to revive the economy, lifting Asian shares to 2-1/2-year highs, while a sharp fall in oil prices bodes well for disinflation globally.

MKTS/GLOB

WORLD OIL PRICES

Oil prices eased for a third day on Friday and wereon track to fall for the week as investors focused on expectations of increased output from Libya and the broader OPEC+ group, although fresh stimulus from top importer China limited losses.

O/R

EMERGING MARKETS

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AFRICA STOCKS

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SOUTH AFRICA MARKETS

South Africa's rand edged higher on Thursday, with stronger risk appetite among investors after rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve last week and positive sentiment in the months following May's national election.

AFRICA MARKETS

The Kenyan, Ugandan and Nigerian currencies are expected to strengthen in the next week to Thursday, Ghana's is forecast to weaken and Zambia's could be little changed, traders said.

KENYA MARKETS

Kenya's shilling was steady on Thursday, as the central bank bought dollars to stabilise fluctuations in the market and bolster their reserves, a commercial trader said.

SUDAN POLITICS

Sudan's army launched artillery and airstrikes in Sudan's capital on Thursday in its biggest operation to regain ground there since early in its 17-month war with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), witnesses and military sources said.

AFRICA DEBT-SWAPS

At least five African countries are working on what could be the world's first joint "debt-for-nature" swap to raise at least $2 billion to protect a coral-rich swathe of Indian Ocean, according to a global conservation group.

UGANDA POWER

Uganda on Thursday commissioned its largest electricity generation plant, a 600 megawatt (MW) power plant built on the River Nile that cost $1.7 billion, financed with a loan from China.

UGANDA WORLD BANK

The World Bank said on Thursday it is rolling out measures to ensure the recipients of any fresh lending to Uganda are not discriminated against by a tough anti-gay law.

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