Africa Briefs

Israeli PM in Uganda to boost tiesIsrael's Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Uganda on Monday for a meeting with president Yoweri Museveni, on a trip to boost ties with the East African nation.As he left Israel, Netanyahu said that he was "strengthening our relationship" with Uganda, and that he hoped to "have very good news for the State of Israel" from the trip."I am now on another visit to Africa, this is my fifth visit in about three and a half years," Netanyahu told reporters."These are ties that are very important in the political, economic, security and other fields."In recent years, Israel has boosted its links with African nations, improving ties following a difficult period when many post-independence African leaders sided with Israel's Arab rivals, and viewed Israel's support for apartheid South Africa with intense suspicion.Israel currently has diplomatic relations with 39 out of 47 sub-Saharan African states. – Nampa/AFPIvorian farmers fret over cocoa cropNo 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.Farmers in the bush said weather conditions in February would be crucial for the start of the mid-growing season, which runs from April to September, as plenty of pods, known as cherelles, and flowers were on trees.At least one adequate downpour every two weeks would be needed to boost the crop, the farmers said.They added that the main crop was less abundant than in the first three months of the harvest and the beans being harvested were smaller than they were a month ago.Temperatures on average ranged from 27.41 to 29.37 degrees Celsius. – Nampa/ReutersAlgeria's forex reserves drop OPEC member Algeria's foreign exchange reserves fell by US$10.6 billion in the last nine months, central bank governor Ayman Benabderahmane said on Monday, adding to financial pressure caused by a fall in energy earnings."Reserves are now US$62 billion," Benabderahmane told state news agency APS.Algeria, a major energy exporter, depends on its oil and gas sales for 60% of government revenue. However, sales have fallen since oil prices began to drop in 2014 and Algeria's foreign currency reserves have more than halved since then.The government said in October that it plans to seek foreign loans in 2020 and cut public spending by 9.2% as it grapples with lower revenue from energy sales. – Nampa/ReutersUAE invests in MauritaniaThe United Arab Emirates will pump US$2.0 billion into investment and development projects in Mauritania, state media said Sunday during a visit by the country's new leader renowned for his anti-jihadist stand.The West African country's president Mohamed Ould Ghazouani met Abu Dhabi crown prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and other Emirati officials during the visit.Many see Ghazouani, a onetime chief of general staff, as the mastermind behind a security strategy that has kept jihadist movements out of Mauritania even as they ravaged parts of neighbouring Mali.Mauritania's defence ministry has denied media reports that the UAE was constructing a military base in the country.With a GDP of US$5.2 billion in 2018 according to the World Bank, it ranks among the poorest countries in the world despite rich deposits of gold, iron and copper. – Nampa/AFPSomalia declares locusts 'national emergency'Somalia has declared a locust infestation sweeping the Horn of Africa to be a national emergency, as insects devastate food supplies in one of the poorest and most vulnerable regions in the world.Experts say the locust swarms are the result of extreme weather swings, and Somalia's declaration - the first country in the region to do so - is aimed at boosting national efforts in tackling the hungry insects.The locusts have led to what the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has termed the "worst situation in 25 years" in the Horn of Africa.The emergency declaration was made to focus efforts and raise funds, because it was critical to contain the locust swarms before harvests are due in April, the ministry said.There have been six major desert locust plagues in the 1900s, the last of which was in 1987-89. The last major upsurge was in 2003-05. – Nampa/AFP

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