Africa highlights: Cameroon pupils brave bomb to attend school

Our satirical Resident Presidents - Kibarkingmad and Olushambles - limber up their football skills ahead of Liberia's presidential run-off between Vice-President Joseph Bokai and former footballer George Weah.

Sit back and listen to their bickering:

A UN body working to stop torture says it has suspended a visit to Rwanda because of what it called a series of obstructions imposed by the authorities.

The UN said these included problems accessing places of detention, concerns over the confidentiality of interviews and fears that some interviewees could face reprisals.

It is only the third time in a decade that the UN Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture has suspended a mission.

There was no immediate response from the Rwandan authorities.

As a result of the Ebola virus and a fall in commodity prices, Liberia's economy has not grown at all since 2014.

But one in-flow of money that has not been affected is remittances, which mainly come from the US.

Watch my report:

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A big controlled explosion went off outside the gates of a secondary school in the Cameroonian city of Bamenda this morning.

The parcel, which was spotted by a guard, was blinking and had a mobile phone attached to it and explosives inside.

Police were called and they organised to detonate the package safely.

It is about the fifth explosion to go off in the city in the last six weeks.

They have all been in the central Azire part of the city, where security has been beefed up following protests by separatists demanding secession for the English-speaking region of Cameroon.

In one blast three policemen were injured.

The authorities have blamed the separatists for the explosions.

At the school today children who were preparing for exams said they had been scared by the blast.

But some, like these pictured below, said nothing would put them off coming to school to learn.

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In Nigeria, it is estimated that more than 10,000 people are bitten by snakes each year, but the exact death toll is unknown.

Experts believe culling snakes is not the answer, instead they call for more training for medical staff.

The UN is facing criticism for naming Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe a "goodwill ambassador" to promote health causes, despite the country's dire health crisis under his rule, the AFP news agency is reporting.

The World Health Organization (WHO) asked the 93-year-old to serve in the role to help tackle non-communicable diseases - such as heart attacks, strokes and asthma - across Africa.

The programme director at Human Rights Watch hit out at the move on Twitter:

Zimbabwe's healthcare system, like many of the country's public services, has collapsed in recent years because of shortages of medicine and with staff often going unpaid.

Malawian journalist Frank Kandu has sent us some photos of people who have alleged over the last few weeks that they have been victims of "vampires" in Malawi.

This man made the allegations at a presidential function in Phalombe district.

Frank KanduCopyright: Frank Kandu

This woman narrated her apparent ordeal at an event in the Mulanje area in southern Malawi.

Frank KanduCopyright: Frank Kandu

Those testifying believe that some people were sucking their blood for rituals in order to become rich.

There are no medical reports of anyone found to have had their blood sucked.

But the impact of the rumours has been devastating, says the BBC's Chakuchanya Harawa.

Many people in the affected districts have stopped sleeping in their houses for fear of being attacked.

The UN and some non-governmental organisations have pulled their staff out of the affected districts and temporarily suspended their programmes.

Mob killings of suspects are increasing (see earlier entry). Homes of suspects have been vandalised and the rumours appear to be spreading to other districts.

President Peter Mutharika has been visiting the affected areas to assure people that the problem will be addressed.

In Togo the government and opposition have made conflicting claims about how many people died in Thursday's protests.

Opposition leader Brigitte Kafui Adjamagbo said three people died, 44 people were injured and more than 50 people were arrested.

This differs from the government numbers.

Security Minister Yark Damehan said there were no deaths or injuries and that no more than six people had been arrested.

The opposition decided to protest for a second day on Thursday against the regime of President Faure Gnassingbe - despite the ban on weekday demonstrations.

But eyewitnesses say that as people tried to gather the security forces dispersed them with teargas and live bullets.

Wednesday’s protests in Lome and Sokode were also broken up by the security forces.

The anti-government protests began in August and have spread to the whole country.

Protesters are calling for the introduction of presidential term limits

Opposition politicians want the current president to be banned from standing in the 2020 election.

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African governments are putting pressure on pension fund administrators to bankroll public projects.

It is estimated that collectively the continent has pension assets in excess of $300bn (£227bn).

The BBC's Africa Business Report programme looks at the opportunities and challenges of accessing these funds:

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Namibian authorities have told people who rent their houses using accommodation website Airbnb that they risk imprisonment if they fail to register with the tourism regulatory body, the Reuters news agency reports.

The law states any rental accommodation with two or more bedrooms is required to register with the tourism board.

The law says a fine or a two-year jail term or both is imposed to owners who don't comply.

Namibia Tourism Board Chief Executive Officer Digu Noabeb told Reuters that the law is meant to protect guests.

A study released by Airbnb this week, reported by Quartz , said that in the last five years, more than two million people have found holiday accommodation in Africa through the website.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

A Nigerian man who is serving life in prison for trying to set off a bomb in his underwear on a plane on Christmas Day in 2009 is suing the US Justice Department for denying him his free speech and religious rights, reports Reuters news agency.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab says that prison authorities were not allowing him to communicate with the outside world or practice his religion as a Muslim, Reuters adds.

In 2012 he was sentenced to life in prison without parole for attempting to blow up a plane going from Amsterdam to Detroit as a would-be suicide mission for al-Qaeda.

Abdulmutallab was badly burned when a bomb sewn into his underwear failed to detonate fully, prosecutors said at the time.

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Twenty more people have succumbed to the plague epidemic in Madagascar, reports Reuters news agency.

WHO’s Africa Emergencies Director, Ibrahima Soce Fall, told reporters in Geneva the organisation was racing to stop the spread of the plague.

Madagascar health ministry said on Wednesday that 74 people had been killed, with 805 cases recorded in the epidemic.

This year the majority of cases are of pneumonic plague, which affects the lungs and is transmitted through coughing.

A South African journalist is reporting that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has given President Jacob Zuma until 30 November to show cause why the corruption case against him should be dropped.

The Supreme Court of Appeal ruled last week that Mr Zuma must face charges of corruption, fraud, racketeering and money laundering,

It agreed with a lower court ruling last year that prosecutors could bring back 18 charges of corruption relating to a 1999 arms deal.

The charges had been set aside eight years ago, enabling Mr Zuma to become president.

The president has always maintained his innocence.

The health commissioner of Nigeria’s northern Kano State, Dr Kabir Ibrahim Getso, has urged parents to take their children to be vaccinated against whooping cough because of an outbreak of the highly contagious bacterial infection.

Whooping cough is spread in the droplets of the coughs or sneezes of someone with the infection.

It causes repeated coughing that can make babies and young children very ill - and it can be fatal.

The commissioner said there had been cases recorded in the Kiru area and other places.

But he was reluctant to confirm the 11 deaths in Kiru as reported by the health authorities there (see earlier entry).

Read more: Nigeria - where the truth is hard to find

Hindus around the world have been celebrating Diwali - the festival of light.

The island nation of Mauritius was decorated with lights and colours on Thursday night.

The BBC's Yasine Mohabuth in Mauritius reports that people marked the day by sharing food with faithfuls from other religions:

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He also snapped these photos of buildings decorated with lights:

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ReutersCopyright: Reuters

South Africa's President Jacob Zuma is not about to axe his deputy Cyril Ramaphosa as recently reported, the presidential spokesman has told the Reuters news agency.

Mr Zuma's spokesman Bongani Ngqulunga said:

Quote Message: It's rumours and gossip and we don't comment on them at all."

It's rumours and gossip and we don't comment on them at all."

Mr Ramaphosa is a front runner in December's African National Congress (ANC) leadership contest to takeover from Mr Zuma.

The president is known to favour Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, his ex-wife, to become the leader of the governing party.

Asked in parliament on Thursday whether he might be sacked, Mr Ramaphosa had declined to speculate but said if he was he would accept the president's decision.

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Rumours of vampirism, or blood sucking, have led to violent disturbances in Mozambique across the border from Malawi.

One child has been killed by what is thought to be a stray police bullet in the town of Gile, in the central province of Zambezia, when police shot in the air to disperse angry crowds.

Rioting in the town has been so serious that the Gile district administrator has been forced to flee.

The authorities have reportedly become targets because the protesters believe they are protecting the "vampires".

The vampire rumours are believed to have reached Zambezia from neighbouring Malawi, where mobs have killed eight people suspected of being “vampires” since mid-September.

This led Malawi’s government to impose a night-time curfew in the south of the country.

Zambezia provincial governor Abdul Razak explained how the unrest unfolded:

Quote Message: A mob of local residents went to set two houses of community leaders on fire. We also learnt that the protesters went to carry out skirmishes and acts of vandalism in a local police station and to the house of the local prison boss.

A mob of local residents went to set two houses of community leaders on fire. We also learnt that the protesters went to carry out skirmishes and acts of vandalism in a local police station and to the house of the local prison boss.

Quote Message: When we noted that the local security situation was not very good, we instructed the Gile district administrator to temporarily abandon the area to ensure that he does not become a victim of the fierce violence."

When we noted that the local security situation was not very good, we instructed the Gile district administrator to temporarily abandon the area to ensure that he does not become a victim of the fierce violence."

This is the third time this year that rumours of suspected “vampires” have spread among remote communities in northern and central Mozambique which tend to believe in superstition and witchcraft.

Gile is a very poor area – one that was heavily affected by the 16-year civil war that ended in 1992.

In parts of Africa, street names are rare and house numbers non-existent.

Most people use local landmarks, like bars, fuel stations and even trees to give directions, but in Ghana the government is introducing a digital solution.

Watch my report to discover how:

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta has addressed the country during the official celebrations of Heroes' Day in the capital, Nairobi.

Among the dignitaries at the event was Chief Justice David Maraga, one of the four judges who last month annulled Mr Kenyatta's victory in the August presidential election.

The decision angered Mr Kenyatta and he ended up calling the judges "crooks" and accusing them of instituting a "judicial coup".

He also vowed to "fix" the court following his anticipated victory in the re-run of the vote next week.

Mr Maraga has criticised the comments, saying he is ready to defend the rule of law.

So their meeting today has got some people talking:

A leading lawyer who represented Mr Kenyatta during the presidential petition at the Supreme Court has imagined the pleasantries exchanged:

This translates as:

Mr Kenyatta: Good morning crook.

Mr Maraga: Good morning chick - a reference to opposition leader Raila Odinga's allegory and allegation that Mr Kenyatta's victory was hatched in a computer and that he did not win fairly.