Tracy Nduati, 30, says she hopes to instil confidence in plus-size women in Africa, after winning the first edition of Miss Kenya Plus Size World, BBC Swahili reports.

The competition initially attracted 150 competitors and 20 made it to Saturday's final that saw Ms Nduati take the crown.

An elated Ms Nduati, who weighs 20 stone (130kg), spoke of the challenges plus-size women face and the stigma they have to deal with.

She described how in Kenya she is forced to pay double the amount for a bus fare, as she is accused of occupying "lots of space". Other competitors related similar stories.

Ms Nduati also said how her former boyfriend told her that he was ashamed to be seen with her because of her size, and would prefer her to stay at home and do chores.

She will now represent Kenya at an international competition in the US next month.

Earlier this year, Mariam Namukasa entered the Miss Curvy Uganda competition, watch her story:

Mali's prime minister has pledged to beef up security in the country's central region that has seen several attacks described as tit-for-tat ethnic clashes, AFP news agency reports.

During a five-day tour of the region, Boubou Cisse said the government would "create a bigger security net", AFP quotes him as saying.

"Our forces will be deployed on the ground. A total of 3,500 men will be put in place," he added.

In the past year, dozens of people have been killed as members of the predominantly pastoral Fulani community have clashed with the more settled Dogon community.

The UN says that some 70,000 people have fled the violence, AFP reports.

Read more:

• Mali attack: Behind the Dogon-Fulani violence in Mopti

New York Times international editor Michael Slackman has owned up to approving a job advert for an Africa correspondent that was full of cliched descriptions of the continent, external.

It talked about reporting from "the deserts of Sudan and the pirate seas of the Horn of Africa, down through the forests of Congo and the shores of Tanzania".

The advert attracted criticism and mockery.

A video of three women reading out the text was widely shared:

A lot of people were also sharing one man's satirical video application where he appears to be walking through a jungle:

In a Twitter thread, Mr Slackman said the advert was the result of taking a short cut, where he just approved the text of a job description from 18 months ago:

Addressing the criticism that the advert reflected the New York Times' view of the continent, the paper's international editor said it was "committed to covering Africa, not as if it were some stereotype, but because it matters":

So will this end the criticism? While some have welcomed the apology, others are not satisfied.

A prominent Kenyan commentator wondered why the advert was allowed to go through 18 months ago without any query:

BBC World Service

The Supreme Court in Algeria has ordered the detention of a former head of the FLN political party, which dominated the country's government for decades.

State television said Djamel Ould Abbes was facing allegations that included squandering public money.

He is the latest in a series of senior political and business figures who have found themselves caught up in corruption inquiries.

The investigations into members of the elite began when President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was forced to resign in April, after weeks of huge pro-democracy demonstrations.

Two Tanzanian government ministers have engaged in a Twitter exchange over a project to build a cable car on Mount Kilimanjaro, the continent's highest peak, AFP news agency reports.

Tourism Minister Hamisi Kigwangalla announced the plan in April but his colleague, Environment Minister January Makamba, appeared to throw a spanner in the works at the weekend. He tweeted that it would be his ministry that would conduct studies in the potential environmental damage.

AFP reports that, in one of a number of tweets, Mr Kigwangalla responded by asking: "Do you think we can set up a project without taking into account laws for the protection of the environment?"

The environment minister then tried to cool things down by tweeting that he was just stating "what the law requires" and not trying to "bash or attack my esteemed colleague":

On Monday morning, Mr Makamba was posting replies to people who were praising his "wisdom" and "maturity" in not escalating the row.

Mr Kigwangalla hopes the cable car can boost tourism at Mount Kilimanjaro. Each year, about 50,000 people climb the 6,000m peak

Last month, the minister tried to encourage Tanzanian celebrities to go up the mountain for charity, which has become a popular challenge for celebrities from elsewhere in the world.

Image source, Reuters

President Andry Rajoelina says "there’s a national pride" in Madagascar after the Africa Cup of Nations debutants qualified for the quarter-finals of the competition.

Madagascar produced another upset to beat Democratic Republic of Congo 4-2 on penalties after a 2-2 draw.

The president, who chartered a plane to bring supporters to the competition in Egypt, told the BBC that "we have been able to prove that this is a winning team."

He said that now they have reached the quarter-finals "we are going to go to the end and win [the competition] and impress our adversaries".

In Sunday's other game, goals from Youcef Belaili, Riyad Mahrez and Adam Ounas saw Algeria cruise past Guinea 3-0 in Cairo.

Algeria face either Mali or Ivory Coast in the last eight on Thursday.

Monday's fixtures:

• Mali v Ivory Coast
• Ghana v Tunisia

Image source, AFP

A South African who won the chance to be the first black African in space has died in a motorbike accident before turning his dream into reality.

Mandla Maseko, 30, was killed on Saturday, a family statement says.

In 2013, the South African Air Force member beat one million entrants to win one of 23 places at a space academy in the US.

Nicknamed Afronaut and Spaceboy, Maseko described himself as a typical township boy from Pretoria.

He had spent a week at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida doing tests in preparation for an hour-long sub-orbital flight, originally scheduled for 2015.

Maseko said he wanted to do something that would motivate and inspire young people in Africa and prove that they could achieve anything whatever their background.

• The first black African heading into space

Anna Holligan
BBC News, The Hague

Image source, AFP

Judges at the International Criminal Court are preparing to hand down a verdict in the case of Bosco Ntaganda nicknamed "The Terminator".

He is a former child soldier accused of 13 counts of war crimes and five counts of crimes against humanity. These include murder and rape allegedly committed during the conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2002 and 2003.

The former military commander denies the charges.

Mr Ntaganda was kidnapped as a child and groomed to be a soldier.

His lawyers asked the judges to treat him not as a warlord but victim of circumstance born into a conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

The prosecutor argued this was no excuse for ruthless attacks committed in adulthood.

The charge sheet is long, and harrowing: women and young girls raped or kept as sex slaves, civilians murdered, children conscripted into his rebel forces and used to fight on the frontline.

This case matters to the thousands of survivors across the east of the DR Congo, whose hopes and expectations now rest in The Hague.

Profile: Bosco Ntaganda the Congolese 'Terminator'

Our proverb of the day:

Click here to send us your African proverbs.

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