NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's chief justice lashed out on Monday at budget cuts that he said were intended to undermine the court system and would hamper an anti-corruption drive.

LAGOS (Reuters) - An artist who was born in Britain and raised in Nigeria has announced plans for a programme to get painters, sculptors and other creatives living and working together in the West African nation's commercial capital Lagos.

HARARE (Reuters) - The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) on Monday detained and charged a cabinet minister and long-time ally of President Emmerson Mnangagwa for abuse of office alleged to have cost the government $3.7 million, the second high-profile graft case this year.

RAS LANUF, Libya (Reuters) - The reopening of a plastics factory in the Libyan oil port of Ras Lanuf has provided a rare boost to an economy ravaged by war and political divisions.

COTONOU, Benin (Reuters) - Benin authorities have opened an investigation after pirates abducted nine people from a Norwegian-flagged boat off the coast of the West African nation, the port of Cotonou said.

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian security forces have killed 83 suspected Islamist militants in operations in central and North Sinai over the past month, the military said on Monday.

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe police have given public sector workers permission to march for better pay on Wednesday in what is widely seen as a test of President Emmerson Mnangagwa's willingness to tolerate dissent.

PORT LOUIS (Reuters) - Mauritius' leader Pravind Kumar Jugnauth is banking on accomplishments like a minimum wage law to win a general election on Thursday but could face a tough challenge from two opponents promising to end graft and higher retirement benefits.

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria will keep its land borders closed to trade until at least January 31, 2020, the customs spokesman told Reuters on Sunday.

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said on Sunday the death toll from protests last month had risen to 86 and urged citizens to resist forces threatening to impede the country's progress.

OSLO (Reuters) - A vessel owned by Norwegian shipping firm J.J. Ugland was boarded by pirates while at anchor off the coast of Benin on Saturday, and nine crew members were kidnapped, the company said on Sunday.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Solani Rivele, a single mother of four, earns about 800 rand ($55) a week but owes 100 times that amount in loans. Millions of South Africans like her rely on credit to feed their families.