ABIDJAN, May 7 (Reuters) - Successes in the battle to reduce plant-eating caterpillars gave a boost to Ivory Coast's April-to-September cocoa mid-crop last week, though a lack of rain tempered optimism, farmers said.

KIGALI (Reuters) - Landslides caused by heavy rains killed at least 18 people in Rwanda's Northern and Western province over the weekend, pushing the death toll since January to more than 200, a government official said.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African police clashed on Monday with residents in the township of Soweto who staged a protest after squatters tried to erect shacks in nearby fields - the latest of many flare-ups over the vexed issued of land distribution.

----------------------------------------------------------- This Diary is filed daily. ** Indicates new events ----------------------------------------------------------- MONDAY, MAY 7 ** KHARTOUM - The prime minister of the Kingdom of Lesotho, Dr Thomas Motsoahae Thabane, visits Sudan on invitation of the First Vice-President of the Republic and National Prime Minister, Lt-Gen Bakri Hassan Salih (to May 8).

TUNIS (Reuters) - Tunisia's Islamist Ennahda party claimed victory late on Sunday in the country's first free municipal elections, a key step in a democratic transition marred by economic disappointment.

ABUJA (Reuters) - At least 45 people died in an attack on a village in northern Nigeria, a police official told Reuters on Sunday, the latest in a string of incidents underscoring insecurity in parts of the country.

* Q1 EARNINGS PER SHARE VIEW $-0.13 -- THOMSON REUTERS I/B/E/S

The following company announcements, scheduled economic indicators, debt and currency market moves and political events may affect African markets on Monday. - - - - - GLOBAL MARKETS Asian shares crept higher on Monday after a tame reading on U.S. wages lowered the risk of faster rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, although Sino-U.S. trade tensions and a looming deadline for the Iranian nuclear deal argued for caution. WORLD OIL PRICES U.S. oil prices rose a

* SEEKS TRADING HALT PENDING AN ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING MATERIAL EXPLORATION RESULTS FROM DRILLING AT WA GOLD PROJECT, GHANA Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: