Top news items in major Zambian media outlets

The following are news highlights in Zambia's major media outlets on Tuesday.

-- A fire swept through a popular market in Lusaka, the Zambian capital, in which over 120 shops were gutted and goods worth millions destroyed.

The fire, which swept through Kamwala Market, started on Sunday around 6 p.m and was only doused on Monday morning. The local authority is yet to establish what caused the fire. (Zambia Daily Mail)

-- An influential social and economic lobby said it will support a planned International Monetary Fund (IMF) supported economic stabilization and growth program for Zambia.

The Jesuit Center for Theological Reflections (JCTR) said it would back the proposed IMF support if no stringent conditionalities was attached as the package would help the government address the current balance of payment situation. (Times of Zambia)

-- One officer died while four others sustained injuries when Zambian President Edgar Lungu's motorcade was involved in an accident in central Zambia's Serenje district as the president was heading north of the country to tour development projects.

Central Province Police Commissioner Lombe Kamukoshi said the accident happened on Sunday evening after the left rear tyre on one of the vehicles in the presidential convoy burst, resulting in the vehicle losing control and overturning.(Daily Nation)

-- Five people, among them a pregnant woman and a baby, drowned in northern Zambia's Mpika district when a canoe they were on capsized as they were returning from Easter celebrations. (The MAST) Endit