Zambia leader hit by 'press leak'

A cheeky monkey decided to spend a penny on Zambian President Rupiah Banda - as he held a news conference on the economy in the capital Lusaka.

Mr Banda was not peeved, making light of the rude interruption as he sat under a tree in State House grounds.

Journalists laughed as Mr Banda jokingly remonstrated with the offender: "You [monkey] have urinated on my jacket."

"Perhaps these are blessings," he said, looking up at the animal in the tree.

The BBC's Musonda Chibamba in Zambia says she is not aware of any superstition in the country connecting monkey urine to good fortune.

There are also many species of antelope and bird in the State House grounds, according to Reuters news agency.

Mr Banda devoted much of the news conference to reassuring Zambians over the financial downturn resulting from falling prices for the country's main export, copper.

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Zambian State House
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