The Latest Breaking News from Africa

For most of the past 25 years, Chinese construction companies operating in Africa could count on generous financial backing from Chinese banks. Between 2000 and 2019, Chinese funders committed almost US$50 billion to African transport projects. Most came from Chinese development finance institutions.

Abubakar Shekau, the erstwhile leader of the terrorist group Jama'at Ahl al-Sunna li al-Da'wa wa al-Jihad (JAS), died in 2021. The west African group, also known as Boko Haram, then fell into obscurity while its breakaway faction, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), steadily rose.

In Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Togo, where therapy services are almost absent, some stylists are being trained to listen, comfort and guide

Rock hyraxes, known in southern Africa more often as “dassies”, are furry, thickset creatures with short legs and no discernible tails. They spend much of their time sunning themselves on rocky outcrops.

The world's oceans are bearing the brunt of a triple environmental crisis, according to the European Union's Earth monitors: global warming, pollution and declining biodiversity. The EU Copernicus programme warns that Africa's coasts, buffeted by marine heatwaves and rising sea levels, are especially vulnerable.

Thousands have gathered in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa for the East African country’s thanksgiving festival

Jane Goodall, who died on Wednesday aged 91 in California, transformed how the world sees animals – and helped redefine humanity’s place in nature. RFI's Alison Hird spoke with Goodall in 2018, when a documentary about her early years in the forest was drawing new attention to her research.

With a yellow straw hat and a wicked toothy grin, he bobs among crowds of protesting youngsters from Asia to Africa to Latin America and Europe -- a smirking reproach to governments everywhere.

Black mambas (Dendroaspis polylepis) are Africa’s longest, most famous venomous snakes. Despite their fearsome reputation, these misunderstood snakes are vital players in their ecosystems. They keep rodent populations in check and, in turn, help to protect crops and limit disease spread. The species ranges widely across sub-Saharan Africa, from Senegal…