The German media is reporting that Boris Pistorius, interior minister of Lower Saxony, will become Olaf Scholz's new defense minister.

France's former president François Hollande granted an interview to FRANCE 24 and RFI on Wednesday, some 10 years after launching Operation Serval, which ousted armed rebels and Islamist militants from northern Mali. Hollande defended the record of French military operations in the Sahel region and expressed regret at the arrival of mercenaries from the Russian paramilitary Wagner Group.

Many African leaders were quick to congratulate Brazil's President Lula da Silva on his reelection. They are counting on da Silva to improve relations which had greatly suffered under former President Jair Bolsonaro.

The 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is a human rights treaty setting out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children. The nations that ratified it are bound to it by international law. One of them is Mozambique. But in fact, the country has developed into a major hub of child trafficking in southern Africa.

The hydrogen pipeline will bring "green" gas from the Iberian Peninsula to the rest of Europe. France, Portugal, and Spain previously agreed to build the pipeline, which should be operational by 2030.

Germany is restructuring its agriculture to make one-third of all farms organic by 2030. But as inflation rises, farmers are demanding more government support. They are set to flock to Berlin to make their voices heard.

South Africa said on Monday it was "friends" with Russia, as it hosted Russia's top diplomat for a visit that has sparked criticism against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine.

Poland was prepared to send tanks to Ukraine even without Germany's blessing. Officials in Warsaw said they couldn't understand the hesitation by their counterparts in Berlin as fears grow that the war is coming closer.

Germany has mapped out a vision of how it will work with partners on the African continent. The aid strategy stresses the need for sustainable jobs. However, there was some criticism about a lack of concrete proposals.

Thousands turn out to opposition-organised protests in South Africa to express deepening frustration over the country's power crisis. Also, in a rare trial of a former president, ex-Mauritanian leader Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz appears in court on corruption charges.

Africa's Lake Victoria is a source of joy and livelihood for those living along its shores, but the waterway is being overrun by pollution. Kenya's Rahmina Paullete is not just tackling the scourge, but transforming waste particles into furniture, coasters and bags. She's the founder of the "Let Lake Victoria Breathe Again" campaign. The young activist joined us for Perspective.

A building-price explosion has ruined Germany's apartment-building plans. The rental market is becoming nightmarish, and experts say the government hasn't even begun to grasp the scale of the crisis.