National power company Zesco has announced a series of scheduled eight-hour blackouts to ration electricity after the country is hit by a devastating drought due to a very poor rainy season

The Patriarchal Exarch of Africa, Russian Metropolitan Konstantin of Zaraisk, consecrated the foundation stone of the first Orthodox church under construction in Zambia

Nearly 10 million people are estimated to be affected by an El Nino-induced drought, about half of the country's population

The IMF said it will visit Zambia, presumably in mid-April, to assess the negative impact of the ongoing drought on the country's growth and budget

Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema has declared the drought a disaster and a national emergency, saying it has devastated food production and compromised power generation