Twenty-one people have died in Cameroon after consuming an alcoholic beverage known to be highly toxic, BBC Afrique reports. 

Another 22 people who drank Odontol - the name of the killer drink - have been taken to hospital, according to Cameroon's state medial. 

Local authorities in southern Cameroon, where the deaths occurred, have now banned the production of Odontol. 

The beverage is a mix of palm wine, sugar and the bark of a plant locally called essok. 

Shingai Nyoka
BBC Africa, Harare

Image source, AFP

Zimbabweans in the diaspora will be barred from voting in the countries where they live in the election due in 2018, the electoral commission has said. 

This is despite a 2013 constitutional amendment which gives the disapora population the vote. 

The electoral commission said people living abroad would have to come home to register, and then again to vote. 

This is because new laws have not been put in place since the constitution was amended. The current law limits postal votes to those in government service abroad. 

The commission's decision is a huge blow to the millions of Zimbabweans in the diaspora who have waged a long campaign to get the vote.

Opposition parties have condemned the decision as a deliberate attempt by the state to disenfranchise millions of Zimbabweans.  

Image source, AFP

President Robert Mugabe, who has been in power since independence in 1980, has said he will stand for re-election. 

Up to four million Zimbabweans have left the country as a result of the political and economic crisis that has gripped Zimbabwe for more than a decade. 

Some have been given asylum in other states while others are living illegally.  

Image source, Getty Images

A Museum of Women's History has opened in Zambia.

It will be dedicated to researching and displaying African indigenous knowledge and living histories focused on women, a press release says, adding: 

Adelaide Arthur
BBC News

Image source, Graphic Online

The queen mother of the Ashanti kingdom in Ghana has died aged 109, local media report.

Nana Afia Kobi Serwaa Ampem II reigned for 39 years in what is a very powerful traditional role.

The queen mother is considered the mother of the Ashanti people and is responsible for the welfare of women.

She is chosen by elders from within the Oyoko clan - one of the eight clans that make up the Ashanti kingdom - and rules for life.     

She is also responsible for selecting a suitable candidate for the throne when it becomes vacant.

In 1999 she nominated her son, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, to become the current Ashanti king.

Nana Afia Kobi, the Ashanti kingdom’s 13th queen mother, is reported to have died "peacefully in her sleep" on Tuesday, according to the state-owned Daily Graphic newspaper, external.  

Chiefs in the kingdom, which is in central Ghana, are being informed of her death and are expected to meet on Thursday to plan her funeral. 

The Ashanti elders do not like to make a public announcement about royal deaths until after ceremonial details for a burial have been decided.

Mohanad Hashim
BBC Africa

Image source, AFP

Sudanese social media is abuzz with reports that US President-elect Donald Trump's new chief of staff, Reince Priebus, has Sudanese roots. 

Most Sudanese are quoting an entry in Wikipedia, external and sharing an article in Arabic, external linking his mother to a famous quarter of Omdurman, known as Al-Massalma, where many of Sudan's Christian minorities lived. 

In an interview with The Next Generation Initiative, external, Mr Preibus said his mother was born in Sudan and met his father there in the 1960s: 

However many of the widely circulated Sudanese claims mistakenly say Mr Priebus's mother Roula is the younger sister of Aziza Mendel, a Sudanese Jew who was Miss Sudan in the 1950s.

The Mendels were a prominent Jewish family in Sudan who converted to Islam in the early 20th Century.

Outside court, South Africa's three big political parties - the governing African National Congress (ANC), the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) - all jostled for the attention of the crowds that came to support Victor Mlotshwa.

The video has highlighted racial tensions in some communities here. A farm worker, who identified himself only as Bheki, told me that abuse at the hands of farmers was common.

Mr Mlotshwa, still visibly shaken, told me he felt humiliated. The young man says he was tied up for hours and beaten up.

South Africa has come a long way since the days of white-minority rule - but this case has been a reminder for some that racism did not end with apartheid and in small communities, change comes at a slow pace - if at all.  

South African farmers Theo Martins Jackson and Willem Oosthuizen, suspected of forcing a young black man into a coffin after finding him trespassing, enter the magistrates court in Middelburg town.  

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

The victim, Victor Mlotshwa, watches during the proceedings. He told the BBC he feared for his life during the attack, when the farmers are said to have threatened to pour petrol on the coffin and set it alight.

Image source, AP

Image source, Reuters

The farmers have not yet commented on the allegations and have been remanded in custody. 

Mr Mlotshwa's mother was overcome with emotion during the court appearance

Image source, Reuters

Outside there were noisy demonstrations by supporters of South Africa's major political parties and the hashtag #RacismMustFail trended on social media. 

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Ould Mkhaitir

Mauritania's Supreme Court has postponed a decision on pardoning a blogger sentenced to death for apostasy, a BBC reporter in the capital Nouakchott says.

A decision will now be made on 20 December.

Mohamed Ould Cheikh Ould Mkhaitir, 29, was arrested in January 2014 for an article in which he lashed out at those who use religion as a means of discrimination against members of certain ethnic groups.

The article was later taken down after it led to accusations of blasphemy.

Mr Mkhaitir then apologised and said he never meant to insult the religion.

The Supreme Court is looking to establish whether the blogger's repentance is sincere.

However, religious clerics and many members of the public are calling for the blogger to be shown no mercy.

Image source, Reuters

Campaign group Human Rights Watch (HRW) has responded to Kenya's plan to delay the repatriation of Somali refugees by saying the Dadaab camp should not be closed at all until Somalia is a safe place to return to.

Gerry Simpson, HRW senior refugee researcher, said:

Kenya has said the decision to close the camp is based on "security considerations".

See earlier post for more details

South Africa's governing African National Congress (ANC) has called on the courts to show "no mercy" towards racists, as two white men appeared in court after being arrested for allegedly putting a black man in a coffin and threatening to set it alight.

The men have not yet been asked to plead following reports that they will face charges of "kidnapping and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm".

In a series of tweets, the ANC said:  

The main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) has also condemned the alleged racist attack: 

As we reported earlier, Kenya is suspending the repatriation of Somali refugees and closure of the Dadaab refugee camp for six months.

In his statement, Interior Minister Gen Joseph Nkaissery says this was in response to a request from the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.

Gen Nkaissery says repatriation will take place in a "humane, safe and dignified manner", following allegations by rights groups that the Kenyan authorities have been coercing refugees to leave.

The Kenyans have drawn up a month-by-month plan that includes: ending the double registration of refugees as Kenyan citizens; relocating non-Somali refugees to other camps; relocating Somali refugees to third countries; repatriating Somali refugees; and finally closing Dadaab.  

This cartoon from the Facebook account of South Africa's Sowetan Live news site, external is doing well on social media. 

It depicts a police officer outside a building, confronting the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Julius Malema.

Mr Malema has led calls for black South Africans to occupy land that he says was stolen under white minority rule.

EFF supporters are currently outside a courtroom in Middelburg where two white men have appeared accused of forcing a black man inside a coffin.

They have been repeating those calls to seize land.

South African athlete Wayde van Niekerk was named male athlete of the Olympic Games by the Association of National Olympic Committees at an awards ceremony in Doha on Tuesday night.

Van Niekerk won gold in the 400m race in a world record breaking time of 43.03 seconds, beating the previous record of 43.18 seconds that had been held by US sprinter Michael Johnson for 17 years.

The South African also became the only male runner ever to win the race from the outside lane, Eyewitness News, external reported.

The BBC World Service will launch 11 new language services as part of its biggest expansion "since the 1940s", the corporation has announced.

The expansion is a result of the funding boost announced by the UK government last year.

The new languages will be Afaan Oromo, Amharic, Gujarati, Igbo, Korean, Marathi, Pidgin, Punjabi, Telugu, Tigrinya, and Yoruba.

The first new services are expected to launch in 2017.

"This is a historic day for the BBC, as we announce the biggest expansion of the World Service since the 1940s," said BBC director general Tony Hall.

"The BBC World Service is a jewel in the crown - for the BBC and for Britain.

"As we move towards our centenary, my vision is of a confident, outward-looking BBC which brings the best of our independent, impartial journalism and world-class entertainment to half a billion people around the world.

"Today is a key step towards that aim."

The plans include the expansion of digital services to offer more mobile and video content and a greater social media presence.

Image source, THINKSTOCK / BBC

Read the full BBC story here

Image source, AFP

Campaigning has started in Gambia for the presidential election due to take place on 1 December, AFP news agency reports. 

Incumbent President Yahya Jammeh is seeking re-election for a fifth term - and for the first time he is facing a single opposition candidate. 

Most of the major Gambian opposition parties earlier this month picked businessman Adama Barrow of the United Democratic Party (UDP) to run against him.

Image source, AFP

The Gambia, a popular tourist destination because of its beaches, has never experienced a democratic transition of power since independence. 

Mr Jammeh took over in a 1994 coup. His critics accuse him of running a repressive state, an allegation he denies.   

He has also been accused by rights groups of using violence to silence critics in the lead-up to the election.  

The Kenyan government has suspended the repatriation of Somali refugees by six months to allow for more consultation and funding. 

However, Interior Minister Gen Joseph Nkaissery said voluntary repatriation of the close to 280,000 people at the world's largest refugee camp, Dadaab, would continue.

The announcement comes a day after human rights groups accused the government of coercing refugees to return home despite harsh conditions in their country. 

The government has announced plans to close the camp by end of this month. 

The man who was the victim of an alleged racist attack in South Africa is outside court, in the colours of the governing African National Congress (ANC), as this tweet by our reporter shows:  

See earlier post for more details.

Residents have been uploading photos and videos of a tornado spotted yesterday afternoon in Grootvlei southeast of Johannesburg. The twister reportedly did not cause any significant damage.

Image source, You Tube

Two white South Africans have appeared in court after being arrested for allegedly forcing a black man inside a coffin and threatening to pour petrol over him and set it alight.

A BBC reporter is in court in the town of Middelburg in Mpumalanga province: 

Our reporter adds that the accused abandoned their bid for bail after the state said it would oppose it. The state argued that they could intimidate the alleged victim, Victor Rethabile Mlotshwa, if they were released.

The case was adjourned to January. 

Outside court, South Africa's three main political parties - the African National Congress (ANC), Democratic Alliance (DA) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) - were protesting against the alleged racist attack:

Another BBC reporter is also tweeting from outside court: 

Read: South Africa still awaits its golden age

Anna Holligan
Reporter BBC News, The Hague

Image source, Getty Images

The governing council of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is meeting in The Hague today, amid a growing challenge to its authority from Africa. 

Human rights groups have said they plan to use the annual meeting to pressure South Africa, Burundi, and The Gambia to reverse their decision to repudiate the court's jurisdiction. 

The three nations have argued that the court is biased against Africa. 

There are also concerns that some African nations could push for a change in the ICC constitution to guarantee immunity for heads of state and other senior officials.

The court has indicted 39 people since it was set up in 2002, all of them Africans. 

Read: What South Africa leaving the ICC could mean?