HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Friday described Western sanctions as a "cancer" sapping the economy, and his supporters denounced the measures during marches held around the southern African country.

ABIDJAN/LONDON, Oct 25 (Reuters) - The Cocoa Coffee Council (CCC) has signed a block deal with food group Olam for the sale of 100,000 tonnes of cocoa export contracts for the 2020/21 season that includes a premium to support farmers, sources at CCC told Reuters on Friday.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Hackers have shut down the cyber network of Johannesburg City Council, targeting computers of local government employees in South Africa's economic hub, city officials said on Friday.

RABAT (Reuters) - Moroccan security services have broken up a suspected Islamic State cell, arresting six members near Casablanca and in the northern towns of Chefchaouen and Ouazzane, a police spokesman said on Friday.

LUSAKA (Reuters) - Japanese renewable energy company Univergy Solar is to invest more than $200 million in two solar power projects in Zambia that will add 200 megawatts (MW) to the country's national grid next year, the government said on Friday.

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Prominent activist Jawar Mohammed does not rule out challenging his erstwhile ally, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, in next year's election, he told Reuters on Friday, after days of demonstrations by his supporters resulted in 16 deaths.

HARARE (Reuters) - Supporters of the Zimbabwe government marched in the capital on Friday denouncing Western sanctions that President Emmerson Mnangagwa says have sapped the economy, but his opponents stayed away, accusing him of trying to distract attention from his failings.

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Boeing, acting without adequate oversight from U.S. regulators, failed to grasp risks in the design of cockpit software on its 737 MAX airliner, sowing the seeds for a Lion Air crash that also involved errors by airline workers and crew, Indonesian investigators found.

GABORONE (Reuters) - The ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) has won the general election after securing 29 national assembly seats, representing 51% of the vote, the chief justice announced on Friday.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Central African Republic is considering hosting a Russian military base and would like Moscow to supply it with new weapons, RIA news agency cited the country's president as saying on Friday.