The South African rand weakened against the dollar on Thursday as investors awaited U.S. jobs data and its implications for the Federal Reserve's monetary policy.
KENYA MARKETS
The Kenyan shilling weakened against the dollar on Thursday, as manufacturers hunted limited supplies of foreign exchange, traders said.
AFRICA MARKETS
Kenya's shilling and Nigeria's naira are forecast to weaken against the dollar in the next week to Thursday, while Zambia's kwacha is expected to be stable, traders said.
SUDAN POLITICS
The head of Sudan's army said on Thursday he remained committed to a plan for a new transition towards elections, despite disputes over the integration of a paramilitary force that have twice delayed the signing of a final deal.
CHAD WORLD BANK
The World Bank approved a grant of $150 million to help Chad reduce the risks of flooding and strengthen urban planning, it said on Thursday.
UGANDA CORRUPTION
A Ugandan court charged a minister on Thursday with several corruption offences connected to accusations of diverting metal roofing sheets meant to help residents in the restive northeastern Karamoja region, court documents showed.
GAMBIA BIRD FLU
Gambian authorities have detected the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu on a wild bird reserve, the ministry of agriculture said in a statement seen by Reuters on Thursday, less than one week after neighbouring Senegal reported an outbreak of the disease on a poultry farm.
ETHIOPIA SECURITY
The Ethiopian government said on Thursday it intends to integrate all regional special forces either into the national army, or the federal or regional police, a move likely to be perceived as an attempt to diminish the autonomy of individual regions.
ZAMBIA DEBT
The next International Monetary Fund (IMF) payout to Zambia from a total loan of $1.3 billion is contingent upon its bilateral creditors reaching an agreement on a long-delayed debt restructuring, the Fund said in a statement on Thursday.
UGANDA RATES
Uganda's central bank on Thursday held its key lending rate at 10.0%.
GUINEA DRUGS
The West African country of Guinea has seized around 1.5 tonnes of cocaine from a Sierra Leone-flagged ship docked at the port city of Kamsar, state television said.
For the latest precious metals report click on For the latest base metals report click on For the latest crude oil report click on
499 1232))