KAMPALA (Reuters) - Israeli Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that he hopes long-standing African ally Uganda will open an embassy in Jerusalem soon, becoming the third nation to do so after the United States and Guatemala.

ABIDJAN, Feb 3 (Reuters) - No rain fell last week in most of Ivory Coast's cocoa regions, farmers told Reuters, adding to their concerns over the crop's development during a crucial growing period for the world's top producer.

GABORONE (Reuters) - Botswana's budget deficit is projected to narrow to 2.4% of GDP in 2020/21 from 3.9% in the fiscal year ending March, Finance Minister Thapelo Matsheka said on Monday.

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Swarms of desert locusts could ravage more countries in eastern Africa and threaten the livelihood of many more people, the United Nations' Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) said on Monday.

LISBON (Reuters) - It's good news that Angola's Isabel dos Santos has decided to sell her investments in Portuguese companies, Portugal's Economy Minister Pedro Siza Vieira told Reuters, saying that would avoid any potential damage to them as she battles fraud charges.

ACCRA (Reuters) - Ghana has ordered a probe into accusations of bribery by European planemaker Airbus to ensure the purchase of three military planes between 2009 and 2015.

ACCRA, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Ghana has ordered a probe into accusations of bribery by European planemaker Airbus to ensure the purchase of three military planes between 2009 and 2015.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Foreign ministers of countries seeking to broker a peace agreement in Libya are due to meet again in the middle of March, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Sunday.

DUBAI (Reuters) - United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan on Sunday allocated $2 billion for investment and development projects in Mauritania, as well as loans, UAE state news agency (WAM) said.

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - The United States on Sunday invited General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of Sudan's sovereign council, to visit Washington, the council said, highlighting warmer bilateral ties since the army toppled President Omar al-Bashir last year.

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - At least 20 people were killed and more than a dozen hurt in a stampede as worshippers rushed to be anointed during a church service in northern Tanzania, officials said on Sunday.

PARIS (Reuters) - France will deploy 600 more soldiers in the fight against Islamists militants in Africa's Sahel, south of the Sahara, French Defence Minister Florence Parly said on Sunday.

LAGOS (Reuters) - Eritrea denounced a U.S. ban on immigrant visas for its citizens as "unacceptable" on Saturday, while Nigeria's government said it had created a committee to address the issues that prompted U.S. President Donald Trump to add the country to the ban.

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - At least 20 people have been killed and over a dozen injured in a stampede during a church service at a stadium in northern Tanzania, a government official said on Sunday.

LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigeria's government has created a committee to address the issues that led to a suspension of U.S. immigrant visas to its citizens, the president's office said on Saturday.

KINSHASA (Reuters) - Suspected Islamist militants killed at least 62 civilians in a series of attacks this week in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where the army is waging a counter-insurgency campaign against the rebels, the government said on Saturday.

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Several thousand protesters took to the streets in Ethiopian cities this week, demanding Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed do more to tackle simmering ethnic violence following the kidnapping of a group of university students.

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Tanzania said on Saturday it had not been officially notified by the United States about a travel ban after it was targeted alongside five other countries by President Donald Trump's expanded travel restrictions on Friday.

CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced Hisham al-Ashmawy, a former special forces officer turned Islamist militant, and 36 others to death after they were convicted of terrorism, court officials said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States said on Friday it banned from visiting the country a Tanzanian official who announced a crackdown on homosexuality in Dar es Salaam in 2018.