Zambia–US Critical Minerals Push: Zambia and the US have signed an amendment to the $491m Millennium Challenge Corporation compact, expanding agriculture funding to critical minerals infrastructure along the Lobito Corridor, with priority road segments in North-Western and Copperbelt and support for electricity, irrigation, logistics and SME access to finance. Mining Capital Markets: ZCCM-IH is in Paris for investment talks ahead of its Capital Markets and Investor Day, while it says Vedanta’s planned CopperTech IPO could speed up the $2.7bn Konkola Deep Mine expansion by bringing cash forward to 2028. Fuel Supply Dispute: Vitol is supplying diesel to Zambia via the Tazama pipeline on an emergency, exclusive basis, after IMF pressure to restore open access and publish the terms of the arrangement. Energy Projects: ZESCO reports progress on the Gouli Thermal Power Plant, targeting 135MW by Dec 2026 and 270MW total by June 2027, as Zambia diversifies generation. Agribusiness & Jobs: Israel’s Ramat Negev centre trained 740 Zambian students in modern, water-efficient agriculture through an 11-month paid internship; locally, Mansa Sugar plans a $100m Chembe expansion to lift processing capacity to 3,500 tonnes/day. Social Protection & Governance: Government praised civil servants for national progress and urged integrity; the WCFCB was rebranded to modernise its worker compensation identity. Sports & Business: Access Bank sponsors the NAPSA Pensioners Marathon with K450,000.