Top news items in major Zambian media outlets

The following are the highlights of Zambia's major media outlets on Thursday.

-- Zambia's First Lady Esther Lungu said more than 40,000 women in Zambia have been treated for pre-cancerous lesions in relation to cervical cancer.

The Zambian first lady, speaking at the 10th Cervical, Breast and Prostate Cancer in Africa Conference in Ethiopia, said there was need to lower the burden of cancer and that Zambia, together with her cooperating partners, had managed to establish 60 cervical cancer screening centers and 25 referral points in its 10 provinces. (Times of Zambia)

-- The African Export and Import Bank (Afreximbank) has projected to provide 200 million U.S. dollars to some commercial banks in Zambia that are facing low liquidity to enable them continue providing lines of credit to facilitate trade.

Benedict Oramah, the bank's president said the low liquidity being experienced by the banking sector in Zambia has affected the capacity of some commercial banks to provide lines of credit to businesses, thus the need for the international financial institution to assist. (Zambia Daily Mail)

-- Zambia's investment agency has signed an Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement worth 190 million U.S. dollars with a United Kingdom firm for a bio-energy project in Kawambwa district in Luapula Province. The bio-energy project will be producing 120 million liters of fuel grade ethanol per annum from cassava.

Mary Ncube, the investment agency's chairperson said the project would directly support rural industrialization and enhance the social and economic well-being of people in the district, and contribute to reduction in petroleum product imports, resulting in savings of foreign exchange. (Daily Nation) Endit