LAGOS (Reuters) - A closely-watched trial of 47 Nigerian men charged with public displays of affection with members of the same sex, seen as a test of a law criminalising homosexuality, was delayed for a third time on Wednesday after a lead witness did not appear.

ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Ivory Coast's navy has seized a record amount of cocaine plastic-wrapped in small bundles bearing the tattered logos of French fashion house Louis Vuitton and Pacena Black, a dark beer from Bolivia.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Kenya sees no conflict in pursuing close ties with both the United States and China, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said on Wednesday, a day before he meets U.S. President Donald Trump to start talks on a potential free trade agreement

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan has agreed to allow flights heading to Israel to cross its airspace, a military spokesman said on Wednesday, two days after Sudan's military head of state held a surprise meeting with Israel's prime minister.

MASERU (Reuters) - The Lesotho prime minister's wife Maesaiah Thabane was released on bail overnight, ahead of her trial for the murder of his previous wife, her lawyer told Reuters on Thursday.

TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia's new government must be broad-based to implement sorely needed reforms, the leader of the largest party in parliament said on Wednesday, in comments that signalled the country could face a snap election.

DAKAR/LONDON (Reuters) - An isolation ward stands ready at a hospital in Khartoum, Sudan. Laboratories in Senegal and Madagascar have the testing equipment they need. Passengers arriving at airports in Gambia, Cameroon and Guinea are being screened for fever and other viral symptoms.

MILAN (Reuters) - A Milan court has rejected a prosecution request to hear testimony from a former legal adviser of Eni who has accused the company of spying on judges, offering a boost to the Italian oil firm as it fights bribery allegations over a Nigerian oil field.

MASERU (Reuters) - The wife of Lesotho's Prime Minister Thomas Thabane appeared in court on Wednesday charged with murdering his previous wife two days before he took office in 2017.

DAKAR/LONDON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - An isolation ward stands ready at a hospital in Khartoum, Sudan. Laboratories in Senegal and Madagascar have the testing equipment they need. Passengers arriving at airports in Gambia, Cameroon and Guinea are being screened for fever and other viral symptoms.

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - The first payments to miners who contracted the fatal lung diseases silicosis and tuberculosis from a 5 billion rand ($340 million) class action settlement by gold producers are expected in the second quarter of 2020, a lawyer for the companies said on Wednesday.

LAGOS (Reuters) - Her family wanted her to be a doctor or a lawyer, but on discovering as a teenager she could contort her body in unusual ways, Nigerian Ifeoma Amazobi decided that would be how she made a living.

LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigerian authorities seized $8 million in cash stashed in six plastic bags on a bus at the international airport in the commercial capital of Lagos, the customs service said on Wednesday.

ACCRA, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Ghana has raised $3 billion in a eurobond auction that was oversubscribed five times, the government said on Wednesday.

GENEVA/UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday called the situation in Libya a "scandal" even as his envoy cited a "genuine will" by rival military factions as they planned their first meeting to secure a lasting ceasefire.

ACCRA, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Ghana has raised $3 billion in a eurobond auction that was oversubscribed five times, the government spokesman said on Wednesday.

LAGOS (Reuters) - After months of delays, Nigerian prosecutors began presenting their evidence against 47 men charged with public displays of affection with members of the same sex, but asked for an adjournment after calling one witness.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Lesotho police have charged Prime Minister Thomas Thabane's wife with the murder of his previous spouse, the South African Broadcasting Corporation on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nigeria has begun working on the security and information sharing requirements for the lifting of a U.S. travel ban on prospective immigrants from the African nation, Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama said on Tuesday.

BLANTYRE (Reuters) - Malawi's presidency on Wednesday said it would appeal a court ruling overturning the election result that returned Peter Mutharika to power, saying that it cannot be allowed to stand.