JOHANNESBURG, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Rising importer demand is likely to weigh on East African currencies against the dollar next week, but tight monetary policy in Zambia is expected to prop up the kwacha.

MAIDUGURI Nigeria (Reuters) - Hundreds of civilians are fleeing Nigeria's northeastern city of Maiduguri as fears grow that Islamist Boko Haram militants may try to assault the Borno state capital after seizing towns and territory around it, residents said on Thursday.

PRETORIA (Reuters) - South Africa's main opposition party said on Thursday it would seek a reopening of a corruption inquiry against President Jacob Zuma after the release of secret evidence cited in a 2009 decision to drop the case.

PARIS (Reuters) - France said on Thursday it would send about 20 specialists in biological disasters to West Africa to help stop the spread of Ebola after international health organisations lamented the lack of aid from the West to tackle the epidemic.

LAGOS, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Ecobank on Thursday said Qatar National Bank (QNB) had acquired a 12.5 percent stake in the African lender from Nigeria's government-owned "bad bank" AMCON.

DUBAI/LAGOS, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Qatar National Bank (QNB) , the Gulf's largest bank, said on Thursday it was buying a 12.5 percent stake in pan-African lender Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (Ecobank).

GENEVA (Reuters) - Nigerian authorities are monitoring nearly 400 people for signs of Ebola after they came in contact with a Port Harcourt doctor who died of the disease but hid the fact that he had been exposed, a senior Nigerian health official said on Thursday.

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South Africa has rejected a visa application by the Dalai Lama, its third refusal to admit the spiritual leader of the disputed Tibet region in five years, his local representative said on Thursday.

CAIRO (Reuters) - After leaving his upscale Cairo neighbourhood to fight with the Islamic State militant group in Syria and Iraq, Younes says he learned how to work as a sniper, fire heavy weaponry and behead prisoners using the proper technique.

DUBAI, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Qatar National Bank, the Gulf's largest bank, said on Thursday it was acquiring a 12.5 percent stake in pan-African lender Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (Ecobank).

BENGHAZI Libya (Reuters) - Government forces and helicopters belonging to a Libyan renegade general bombed ammunition sites of suspected Islamist militants in the eastern city of Benghazi, a military commander and residents said.

CAIRO (Reuters) - Power cuts hit many parts of Egypt on Thursday, causing blackouts and halting some public transport in the Arab world's most populous country.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fear of contracting the deadly Ebola virus is hampering efforts to recruit international health workers and slowing the delivery of protective garments and other vital materials to stricken areas in West Africa, World Health Organization officials said on Wednesday.

PORTLAND Ore. (Reuters) - Oregon researchers developing a vaccine that has shown promise in preventing HIV infection in primates said on Wednesday they have been awarded a $25 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Sanlam Ltd, South Africa's largest insurer by market value, plans to spend up to 550 million rand ($52 million) to increase its stake in the insurance arm of India's Shriram Group to 49 percent by the end of the year, its chief executive said on Thursday.

NAIROBI (Reuters) - A hail of U.S. missiles aimed at the leader of Somalia's al Shabaab militants may have left a gaping hole in the group's leadership, potentially the biggest challenge to its unity since it emerged as a fighting force eight years ago.

WINNIPEG Manitoba (Reuters) - Canada's experimental Ebola vaccine was stuck in the government lab that developed it as officials puzzled over how to safely transport it, three weeks after it was offered to Africa to fight the deadly epidemic.

NAIROBI, Sept 4 (Reuters) - The following company announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect African markets on Thursday. - - - - - EVENTS: *KENYA- The central bank to auction 91-day Treasury bills worth a total 4 billion shillings. GLOBAL MARKETS Asian shares steadied near seven-year highs on Thursday, underpinned by hopes of a ceasefire in Ukraine, though a cautious mood prevailed for now ahead of the European Centr