Armless Congolese Napoli fan dreams of meeting football idols

Poulet-Mayo is a unique Congolese chicken concoction born on the streets of Kinshasa three years ago, as a way of whetting more customers appetite and boosting sales at a local street food restaurant. Today, it features on hundreds of menus and has become a firm Kinnois favourite that inspired a song with fans saying it can easily compete with worldwide classics like steaks and shawarmas.

When Nyiragongo volcano erupted, residents of Goma in DR Congo were evacuated by authorities and many fled to Rwanda where they now live in a shelter in a camp set up by the UN's refugee agency (UNHCR).

Three months on from its eruption, the volcanic Mount Nyiragongo looms over the Congolese city of Goma, and the damage it’s left in its wake. At a camp north of the city, thousands of people displaced by the destruction live in makeshift shelters, and are calling for government help.

Five mixed raced women taken from their mothers in DR congo as children have gone to court after suing Belgium for crimes against humanity. The trial is the first of its kind. About 15 000 bi racial children were forcibly separated from their black mothers in the former Belgian colonies of DR Congo, Rwanda and Burundi. They were called children of sin and dumped in orphanages by the state.

Hundreds of school children stormed the Democratic Republic of Congo's parliament on Thursday (October 21) amid a strike by school teachers over unresolved issues related to the roll-out of government's free primary education program. Teachers went on strike at the start of the school year on Oct. 4 over several issues including salaries, bonus pay and retirement age, according to the Congo Teachers Union.

For Mariusca La Slameuse and Spirita Nanda, fashion and music go hand in hand. The clothes they wear, just like the music they sing, are fundamental elements of their artistry. Both women live and work in Brazzaville, in the Republic of Congo. They're each famous as solo artists, but today they've joined forces to combat violence against children in the context of blended families. FRANCE 24 went to meet them.

In this edition of Encore!, the king of African pop Youssou Ndour speaks to us about his new album "Mbalax", in which he goes back to his roots. We also talk about the quest to award UNESCO World Heritage status to Congolese rumba. Plus, we visit a Paris exhibition where 20 artists explore the African philosophy known as Ubuntu – a concept embodied by the likes of Aimé Césaire, Fela Kuti and Nelson Mandela.

Kinshasa residents welcomed on Wednesday UNESCO's decision to add Congolese rumba to its list of global cultural treasures, although some older fans felt the genre lacked the storytelling power it had in the past.

We look at reactions from the Brazilian press after the deadly beating of a young Congolese man over back pay at his beachside kiosk job. Also, as the Beijing Winter Games get underway, there's little cheer as drastic Covid-19 restrictions and limited freedom of speech overshadow the opening ceremony. Finally, UK's Royal Mail is investigating after some of its workers got high on weed cookies!

In a crime that shocked Brazil, 24-year-old Congolese refugee Moise Mugenyi Kabagambe was beaten to death in January. The worker at a beach kiosk in Rio de Janeiro had simply asked that his employers pay his overdue wages. His brutal xenophobic killing highlights the deeply rooted racism in Brazilian society. According to the latest Atlas of Violence, in 2019 in Brazil, 77% of homicide victims were Black.

While DRC forces continue to fight the rebel group M23, the lives of civilians have suffered severe disruption as they try to flee conflict zones.

Many Congolese people are hoping for an apology when Belgium's King Philippe and Queen Mathilde visit the Democratic Republic of Congo, the first visit of a Belgian royal couple in 12 years.