Homemade alcohol kills 21 in Cameroon

Twenty-one people died and six remain in hospital in eastern Cameroon after drinking what is believed to have been a toxic batch of locally distilled alcohol, regional officials said on Wednesday. Fourteen people died there on the spot," said Robert Mathurin Bidjang, a regional health official. The spirit is popular due to its high alcohol content and low cost, but its production is largely unregulated and deaths in Cameroon are regularly attributed to its consumption.