Thousands of troops have been deployed to South Africa's flood-ravaged KwaZulu-Natal province where residents are still searching for the missing more than a week after torrential rains began.

Spain’s Alejandro Sanchez, Germany’s Marie-Thérèse Kaiser and Italy’s Fabrizio Busnengo all have two things in common: They are under 35 and are positioning their respective far-right political parties at the gates of power. Each of them shrugs off the dark side of their countries’ history, campaigning with gusto for parties that are less than a decade old: Vox in Spain, Germany's Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) and Brothers of Italy. Our correspondents Sarah Morris, Céline Schmitt, Armelle Exposito, Anne Mailliet, Louise Malnoy and Lorenza Pensa report on the new faces of the far right in Europe.

Djeneba Belem's fried bean cake stall in Abidjan is a world away from the war raging in Ukraine. But her business is now at the mercy of an unexpected consequence: runaway palm oil prices. The conflict has helped propel prices for palm oil - ubiquitous in African dishes from Nigerian jollof rice to Ivorian sticky alloco plantains - to record highs that experts say will deepen a food-cost crisis and punish the poorest.

More troops are sent to the turbulent region of Darfur in Sudan, after days of clashes between Arab and Masalit communities that cost more than 175 lives. Also, as South Africa pledges more money to flood-stricken communities, President Cyril Ramaphosa says there will be real-time audits on the funds allocated, in order to avoid corruption. And a local NGO in Madagascar pushes for the use of pigeon peas as a drought-resistant crop.

Just under $1.4 billion in aid is pledged as regional drought threatens millions with starvation. The UN is worried that another poor season of rain could be catastrophic.

The rest of Europe may not be at war, but is it ready for the sacrifices of a wartime economy? The Kremlin shutting the gas tap on Bulgaria and Poland may be but a prelude to a brutally swift transition away from Russian gas and oil. Deals will be dropped, money will be lost.

Four Argentine friends will cycle 10,500 kilometres from South Africa to Qatar to support their country at the World Cup in November, an initiative that will also lead to 10,500 new trees being planted in their homeland.

While the official threshold for a COVID wave has not yet been reached, South Africa is facing a surge of infections driven by omicron sub-variants.

Europe is at a crossroads. Amid the war in Ukraine, can the continent wean itself off Russian gas? An energy transition is underway, but the alternatives could lock countries into dirty fossil fuels for years to come. We take a closer look in this edition of Down to Earth.

The latest installment in a scathing report into the presidency of former South African leader Jacob Zuma says that he played a critical role in the plunder of state entities. About 880 million euros worth of contracts for the Eskom power utility are thought to have been shadily awarded.

In places such as Cameroon, Guinea Bissau, Rwanda or post-coup Mali, the media's vigilance extends well beyond issues that matter to the public. Journalists are forced to watch their own backs — and data, too.

Human Rights Watch accuses Russian private security forces invited into Central African Republic of killing civilians. We speak to the daughter of Rwandan opposition figure Paul Rusesabagina. The “Hotel Rwanda” hero's family has filed a $400 million lawsuit against Kigali over alleged kidnapping and torture. And our reporters look into the mixed press freedom rankings for Africa.