Kinshasa’s last baobab: how a tree designed for survival faces its biggest threat yet

In this week’s newsletter: nature’s last stand against the DRC capital’s rampant development, plus looking back on last year’s stories of hopeAnyone who has ever seen a living baobab tree should find it hard to forget. Alongside the ubiquitous acacia – the thorny umbrella tree – baobabs are statuesque icons of Africa’s drier landscapes.The trees have influenced, anchored and fed communities for tens of thousands of years, influencing culture and traditions, inspiring art and folklore. This week, freelance reporter Emmet Livingstone’s dispatch for us from the Democratic Republic of Congo, ironically also the home of the world’s largest tropical forest, really struck a chord with me and with many readers.US ‘adapt, shrink or die’ terms for $2bn aid pot will mean UN bowing down to Washington, say expertsPacking a punch: the true story behind the first Zimbabwean film to qualify for OscarsFrom childhood staple to luxury food: how Nigeria’s jollof became too expensive to eat‘You sneak in and hope you make it back’: the Sudanese volunteers risking it all to bring care to millionsThree children dead in Iran protests as security forces accused of ‘indiscriminate targeting’Childbirth under attack: how women and babies became targets in conflicts around the worldIn the Caribbean and Africa a reparations movement is growing: so why is Britain pretending otherwise? | Kenneth Mohammed‘The source of all life is here’: plan to mine lithium in Chilean salt flat sparks fears of water scarcity‘When you plant something, it dies’: Brazil’s first arid zone is a stark warning for the whole countryThe chatbot will see you now: how AI is being trained to spot mental health issues in any language Continue reading...