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watch One-Minute World News Great Lakes Last Updated: Tuesday,
21 October, 2003, 11:21 GMT 12:21 UK Locust outbreak threatens
Africa Swarms can devour fields of crops in a few minutes Crops
in north Africa are under threat from swarms of locusts, says
the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.  Outbreaks of locusts
have been reported in Mauritania, Niger and Sudan and observers
fear they could spread across the northern half of the
continent.  Affected governments and international donors have
been alerted.  "The situation has the potential to develop
rapidly and it could be a matter of weeks," said the FAO's
Locust Group in a statement.    They said there were five survey
teams operating in north-western Mauritania, including two with
pesticide-spraying capabilities.  Five aircraft are on standby
in north-eastern Sudan where mature adult locust swarms have
been seen laying eggs along the Atbara river.  In northern
Niger, locusts have been reported a