Researchers in Botswana and South Africa, who separately identified the COVID-19 omicron variant, are the winners of the 2022 German Africa Award.

In France, where 8 million people are food insecure, 10 million tonnes of food are thrown away every year. But initiatives are under way to limit food waste. In the heart of Paris's La Défense business district, the eco-conscious restaurant La Salle à Manger makes cheap meals out of leftovers from local caterers and unsold food from supermarkets.

The global population reaches eight billion - what happens now? As climate change worsens, how will eight billion people survive? Also: reactions to Joe Biden and Xi Jinping's face to face meeting and Paris 2024 organizers unveil the Games' mascots! Finally: a revered frozen beef dish in Japan now has a 30 year waitlist!

As the number of people in the world ticks past another major milestone, Earth's natural resources are feeling the stress. But sustainability experts say we need to focus on overconsumption, not just overpopulation.

The EU and other critics were frustrated by the lack of progress to cut emissions that cause climate change. Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock blamed "a number of large emitters and oil producers.''

We discuss how Microsoft is to invest billions in the artificial intelligence firm OpenAI, which created the software ChatGPT. In other business news: Spotify unveils mass layoffs, France decides not to request an exemption for neonicotinoids and finally, Bill Gates invests in an Australian company that's tackling cow burps and the methane they emit.

A bird flu outbreak on a Spanish mink farm is alarming scientists. The virus may be spreading for the first time from mammal to mammal — and could become a danger for humans.

We take a look at how the press is covering the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, and how, for some, the tragedy is both a natural disaster story but a political one as well. We also discuss controversies over the Grammy Awards and a trans Harry Potter video game character.

Leaked plans for the world’s first octopus farm detail how the eight-legged creatures would be slaughtered: by hypothermia. Experts say it’s inhumane.

A recent report points to raccoon dogs as possible transmitters at the origin of the Covid-19 pandemic. DNA samples collected at the Huanan Wholesale Seafood Market in China show that several raccoon dogs were present in areas where the SARS-CoV-2 virus was found. FRANCE 24's Science Editor Shirli Sitbon looks at what the data may have revealed and why it has disappeared from data-sharing site GISAID.

Germans said they were prepared to cut their heat use and fly less to help tackle climate change. But most are reluctant to give up meat and their cars, according to a YouGov poll.

Astronomers have made a discovery that confirms the existence of gravitational waves, which sound like the hum at a large gathering. These ripples in space-time were proposed by Albert Einstein over a century ago.