Lusaka/Johannesburg - Over 14 African heads of state, including Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, were expected to attend the funeral in Zambia Wednesday of late president Levy Mwanawasa.

Mwanawasa, dubbed Mr Integrity for his anti-corruption crusade and his outspokenness on Mugabe's authoritarian rule, died in a Paris hospital two weeks ago at the age of 59 of the effects of a massive stroke. He would have turned 60 on Wednesday.

Lusaka  - Acting Zambian president Rupiah Banda on Monday declared as a public holiday September 3, the day on which the late President Levy Mwanawasa is to be interred.

The date, which also coincides with what would have been Mwanawasa's 60th birthday, is to be observed as a holiday "from now on henceforth," by the wishes of the Zambian general public, announced Cabinet Secretary Joshua Kanganja in nationwide broadcast.

Lusaka - The body of late Zambian president Levy Mwanawasa arrived back home from Paris Saturday in a gold coffin draped in a Zambian flag to a sombre ceremony at Lusaka International Airport.

The plane touched down in overcast conditions at 9 am (0800 GMT) to a 21-gun salute and a fly-past by Zambia Air Force jets.

The mood of sorrow that hung over his return contrasted with the joyful send-off he received when he left the country nearly two months ago for an African Union (AU) summit in Egypt.

Lusaka - The Zambian government announced Friday that the country's late president Levy Mwanawasa would be buried on September 3 after his body had been taken around the country for public viewing.

The date had been chosen to coincide with Mwanawasa's birthday, secretary to the cabinet Dr Joshua Kanganja said.

Mwanawasa would have turned 60 on September 30.

Mwanawasa's body is due to arrive back in the former British colony on Saturday from Paris, where he died on Tuesday after suffering a massive stroke in late June. His remains are to lie in state at Mulungushi International Conference Centre before being taken to all the country's nine provinces.

Lusaka  - The body of late president Levy Mwanawasa will arrive back in Zambia on Sunday, the secretary to the cabinet Dr Joshua Kanganja announced in a statement Wednesday.

The state funeral will be held at Lusaka show grounds, Kanganja said, and urged all Zambians of goodwill to show their last respects.

Mwanawasa died Tuesday at the age of 59 in a Paris hospital where he had been receiving treatment following a stroke earlier this year.

Lusaka - Zambia's cabinet met Wednesday to make arrangements for President Levy Mwanawasa's state funeral as tributes continued to pour in for the man referred to by some in Zambia as the "people's president."

Mwanawasa, 59, who was renowned for his anti-corruption crusade and criticism of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, died in a military hospital in Paris after suffering a massive stroke in Egypt in late June.

South African President Thabo Mbeki on Wednesday followed UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, US President George W Bush, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, African Union commission chief Jean Ping and other leaders in expressing his condolences.