BBC World Service

The World Bank says it is deeply concerned about a new law in Tanzania which means anyone questioning the government's official statistics faces a fine and at least three years in prison.

The World Bank suggests the law, if implemented, could undermine the country's development.

"It is critical for Tanzania, like any country, to utilise statistics laws to ensure that official statistics are of high quality and are trusted," it says in a statement.

It added that the authorities should "protect openness and transparency in the statistics' use, to further public dialogue for the benefit of the citizens".

Parliament recently approved the law, which opposition groups see as part of a wider government crackdown on dissent at a time when some opposition politicians have questioned the government's economic performance.

Anyone who gathers statistical data will have to get the findings approved by Tanzania's National Bureau of Statistics before the data can be released.

Image source, Getty Images

Up to 60 people, suspected to be migrants, are missing after the wooden fishing boat they were travelling in sunk during a storm off the coast of Guinea-Bissau, the authorities there say.

The navy was unable to help when the boat went down on Monday as it lacked the resources, national ports head Felix Siga told the BBC.

The coastguard has two speedboats, but they are often unable to leave the port because of a lack of fuel, AFP news agency reports, quoting a naval officer.

The boat, which had a capacity of about 60 people, has been recovered, but none of the passengers have been found, the authorities say.

Guinea-Bissau has sometimes been used as a departure port for migrants trying to reach Europe, reports the BBC's Khady Lo.

Image source, SHERIFO AND ASTER FAMILY

Ibrahim Sherifo, 30, has not seen or heard from his parents since he was 13 years old when they were "disappeared" in Eritrea.

They were arrested, along with 11 others, for criticising President Isaias Afwerki, who has run a one-party state since Eritrea won independence from Ethiopia in 1993.

Both his mother, Aster Fissehatsion, and his father, Mahmoud Ahmed Sherifo, were then prominent politicians and members of Eritrea's now defunct parliament.

At the time, his father was de facto deputy president of the country - and had been one of the top leaders of the EPLF rebel movement during the fight for independence.

The government accuses Ibrahim's parents of treason, but they have never appeared before a court of law - and have been held incommunicado for 17 years.

The recent thawing in relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia gives him hope about reforms at home, but it also leaves him bitter about his parents' wasted years.

Read the full story on the BBC website

Image source, Getty Images

Cameroon President Paul Biya has insisted his country will be ready to host next year's Africa Cup of Nations.

Mr Biya made the assurances to the president of the Confederation of African Football (Caf) Ahmad during a meeting in the capital, Yaounde on Tuesday.

In turn Ahmad added Caf had no plans to take the tournament away from Cameroon.

"President Biya has given us the assurance that he will give all to ensure that all the projects are completed on time," Mr Ahmad said.

"This meeting with President Paul Biya was for us to clear the air over recent stories on social media that Cameroon were going to forfeit the organisation of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations."

• Read more on this story.

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has called on the authorities in regional states to address the ethnic tensions that have led to tens of thousands of people being displaced by violence.

Mr Abiy also defended the radical reforms he has undertaken - they include opening up the political space and making peace with long time enemy Eritrea.

He was addressing a conference of the ruling EPRDF coalition - his first speech to the gathering as prime minister.

Mr Abiy's chief of staff has been tweeting extracts from his speech in which he called for unity.

Image source, AFP

US First Lady Melania Trump has been speaking to journalists after her visit to one of the former slave forts in Ghana.

She told journalists that she will never forget the visit and "the dungeon is really something that people should see and experience.

"And what happened so many years ago is really a tragedy.”

This is the second day of the first lady's four-nation trip to Africa. She will also visit Kenya, Malawi and Egypt.

See out earlier entry for more on this story.

The granddaughter of a woman who was evicted from the Chagos Islands by the British has been threatened with deportation from the UK, the Guardian newspaper reports, external.

Taniella Moustache's grandmother was forced to leave the Chagos Islands in 1971 by the British and she settled in the Seychelles, the Guardian says.

Her mother, Jeanette Valentin, who holds British citizenship, then went to live in Britain and she was later joined by her daughters.

But Ms Moustache could be deported and needs to raise money to help fight for the right to stay in the UK.

“[The UK government] removed my family [from the Chagos Islands] and put a military base there but now don’t want my kids to be British citizens,” Ms Valentin is quoted by the Guardian as saying.

It is now half a century since the UK took control of the Chagos Islands from its then colony, Mauritius, and evicted the entire population, before inviting the United States to build a military base on Diego Garcia, one of the larger atolls.

Image source, Science Photo Library

Cesaria Evora was a Cape Verdean singer who was discovered at the age of 47 and went on to achieve international fame and shine a light on the "morna" style of singing.

Cesaria is the fourth in a new eight-part series, African Women who Changed the World, which aims to shed light on great African women whose stories deserve to be heard.

This BBC Africa series has been produced using historical and iconographic research, but includes artistic interpretation.

Illustrations: George Wafula

Thomas Naadi
BBC Africa, Cape Coast

US First Lady Melania Trump is touring a former slave fort in Ghana on the second day of her four-nation solo trip to Africa.

Tens and thousands of enslaved Africans were held in the fort at Cape Coast, one of several along the coast of West Africa, under degrading and inhuman conditions before being shipped across the Atlantic.

Former US President Barack Obama in 2009 described it as a matter of profound sadness but also a place where the history of African-Americans began.

Journalists inside the fort have been sharing pictures of Mrs Trump being told about the history:

The first lady is also due to travel to Kenya, Malawi and Egypt in the week-long trip.

Image source, Reuters

South Africa's Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene has said he lost his job in former President Jacob Zuma's cabinet in 2015 because he did not back deals that would have benefited the Gupta family, the Reuters news agency reports.

Mr Nene made the comments to an inquiry that is looking into allegations that the Guptas - a family of wealthy business people - exercised undue political influence over the ex-president.

Mr Zuma and the Gupta family deny the allegations.

Mr Nene told the inquiry that he thought it was his refusal to back a plan to expand South Africa's production of nuclear power that led to his dismissal.

His sacking as finance minister in December 2015 and replacement by the relatively unknown Des van Rooyen caused uproar at the time. Mr van Rooyen was replaced within days of his appointment.

Mr Nene was reappointed finance minister in February shortly after President Cyril Ramaphosa came to power.

Ethiopia's reformist leader, Abiy Ahmed, is addressing his first conference of the ruling EPRDF coalition since becoming prime minister in April.

He has made a series of radical changes that have altered the political landscape in the country - including releasing hundreds of political prisoners, unbanning certain political groups and making peace with Eritrea.

Mr Abiy's chief of staff has been tweeting extracts from the speech including a passage on his view of leadership suggesting that "a true leader is one that produces more qualified successors and make herself/himself redundant".

Jonathan Paye-Layleh
BBC Africa, Monrovia

Image source, Getty Images

No cash has gone missing in Liberia despite reports of more than $100m (£76m) worth of freshly printed banknotes having disappeared, the head of the country's central bank has said.

Several central bank officials were banned from travelling abroad after the story broke last month as the government ordered an investigation into the alleged disappearance.

Information Minister Eugene Nagbe, announcing the investigation in September, said there were no records that the banknotes were delivered to the central bank or had been put into circulation.

Talking to journalists on Tuesday, bank governor Nathaniel Patray said the information was untrue.

He said 15.5bn Liberian dollars ($100m) printed in Sweden in banknotes have been delivered into the bank vaults.

“The CBL (Central Bank of Liberia) has no records showing that monies printed under its authority have not yet been delivered into its reserve vaults,” Mr Patray said.

The governor also called for the removal of the travel bans to allow his staff to work.

MPs in Uganda have once again backed a controversial tax on using mobile phone banking but have halved the levy to 0.5%.

In addition it is to only be levied on cash withdrawals rather than all transactions.

But no change has been made on the 200 Uganda shilling ($0.05, £0.04) daily tax on the use of social media.

The introduction of the taxes, to help curb a budget deficit, was met by a big outcry led by the musician-turned-MP Bobi Wine.

He has been tweeting about Tuesday evening's decision:

He said that the MPs have ignored the voice of the people:

But MPs who have backed the measure argued that it was important to find new ways to raise revenue and reduce the amount of government borrowing.

The influential women's league of South Africa's governing ANC has called for the castration of convicted rapists, the Daily Maverick reports, external.

It quotes a statement from the league's president Meokgo Matuba.

She says that the idea of chemical castration, the use of drugs to curb the libido, should be explored, but also says "any form of castration" should be considered.

Ms Matuba acknowledges that there may be human rights objections but says:

The release of the statement came just after the start of a trial for a man alleged to have raped a seven-year-old girl in a restaurant toilet.

The country has one of the highest incidences of rape in the world.

The police recorded 40,035 rapes in the 12 months leading to 31 March, an average of 110 each day, the fact-checking organisation Africa Check says.

Image source, Rodger Bosch

Wednesday's African proverb:

Image source, Getty Images

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

Welcome to the BBC Africa Live page where we'll be keeping you up to date with the latest news and developments on the continent.

Natasha Booty
BBC Africa Live

That's all from BBC Africa Live for now. You can keep up-to-date with what's happening across the continent by listening to the Africa Today podcast or checking the BBC News website.

A reminder of Tuesday's proverb:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

And we sign off with this video of three friends taking part in the #KupeDance challenge, started by Afrobeats musician A-Star, external:

US music star Kanye West's announcement that he will travel to "what is known as Africa" to finish work on his latest album has been mocked by people on social media:

But some think the criticism is unfairly harsh:

Ahmed Adan
BBC Africa, Mogadishu

Five people are known to have died in Somalia as villagers have fought back against al-Shabab’s demands for payments and new recruits.

Local vigilantes are trying to evict al-Shabab militants from their village in the Adan Yabal district of the Middle Shabelle region, and claim to have killed at least four of their fighters. The militia commander was also killed.

They had requested military and logistics support from the Somali government but decided to take matters into their own hands.

Fighting between clan militias and the Islamists began over the weekend after al-Shabab ordered locals to make an annual payment known as Zakat, and to hand over their children as recruits.

Al-Shabab controls some parts of south and central Somalia where the government has not been able to penetrate.

This is thought to be one of the first examples of locals in the areas that al-Shabab controls fighting back in spite of the fear of reprisals.

Milton Nkosi
BBC Africa, Johannesburg

Image source, Facebook

A South African radio host has been sacked after calling the leader of the opposition Economic Freedom Fighters party a monkey live on air.

Sasha Martinengo of Hot 91.9FM said on today's breakfast show "people still listen to this monkey”, referring to the radical MP Julius Malema.

Confirming the radio presenter's dismissal, Hot 91.9FM issued a statement apologising to Mr Malema and saying that Mr Martinengo's words had "violated the station’s code of conduct and commitment to our national democratic values".

"[Despite] the presenter’s immediate and unreserved apology, the station has forthwith elected to remove him from all involvement with the radio station with immediate effect," the statement from Hot 91.9FM added.

Mr Martinengo appeared to backtrack on his apology, tweeting "I'm sorry if I offended anyone, but I stand by what I said".

South Africa is still reeling from the racial divisions and injustices of apartheid 24 years on.

In recent months, a South African man was sacked from his job after filming himself in a racist rant about black people that went viral, and another man has been charged with racially abusive language against President Cyril Ramaphosa.