US reduces troops in Africa, changes focus on training rather than combat

Today's Focus takes us to Kinshasa, DRC's sprawling capital city, where growing addiction to "bombé," a new artisanal drug, is rattling authorities. The lethargy-inducing mixture is made of crushed pills (often opioids but composition varies) and chemical residue that's been filtered through exhaust pipes.

Here are a few reasons to pick up a copy of The Guardian on Wednesday. Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Wednesday. ⁣

The U.N. human rights office called on Tuesday (October 12) for a "prompt, thorough, impartial and independent investigations" into the use of disproportionate force by Libyan authorities against migrants and asylum seekers. Armed forces in Tripoli began a series of mass arrests a week earlier, detaining more than 4,000 people in overcrowded detention centres, U.N. rights spokeswoman, Marta Hurtado told a news briefing in Geneva. "Women, children and men were arrested and handcuffed. Security forces used unnecessary and disproportionate force to detain them, including shooting and beating those who resisted or tried to escape. As a result, at least one person died, five were injured, and more than 4,000 were detained," she said.

In the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, in the heart of Beni territory, plagued by extreme violence from Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels, employees of the Virunga National Park are battling to keep a chocolate factory running. Their aim is to process cocoa locally to prevent it being smuggled to neighbouring Uganda and to create jobs to combat enrolment in illegal armed groups.

The African human rights campaigner has helped convict 800 men of wartime sexual violence against women. She has been given a $1 million prize to help even more women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Amid an unprecedented extinction event, scientists have warned that protecting biodiversity is essential to protecting human life. However, experts are unsure whether China has the experience to lead a global effort.

President Vladimir Putin says that Russia -- one of the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitters -- is aiming for carbon neutrality by 2060.

Military attacks are once again punctuating the ongoing crisis in Ethiopia. But government officials have not acknowledged a fresh offensive, which Tigray forces say began last week.

From planting trees to raising awareness and developing new solutions for waste, three young environmental activists in Abidjan are looking for inclusive ways to stop global warming.

Saiga antelopes were one of the world's most threatened animals following a mass die-off in 2015. But with signs of a saiga baby boom on the steppes of Kazakhstan, it appears conservation efforts have paid off.

The ex-apartheid fighters locked the ministers in a hotel room after failed talks over a compensation deal. Police arrested a total of 56 people after the incident.

Here are a few reasons to pick up a copy of The Guardian on Saturday. Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Saturday.⁣