Africa

"The Obama administration is expected to extend Endangered Species Act protections for two breeds of lions, in response to a large decline in their numbers in Africa over the past two decades."

"Ethiopia's government has increased to 10.1 million the estimated number of people who desperately need food aid because of a drought."

"PARIS - Ten African countries have committed to restore 31 million hectares of degraded and deforested land, under a new push to make 100 million hectares productive again by 2030."

"Only one in three people in Tanzania has access to piped water despite government efforts to improve water supplies with most of the population still relying on unsafe water that brings the risk of disease, according to a study on Thursday."

"Ethiopia expects to open a tender to buy additional wheat after purchasing one million tonnes to tackle extreme food shortages due to drought, a senior official said on Wednesday."

"Power grids that work at a fraction of the scale of a traditional utility have gained support from banks and developers as a way to bring power to the 620 million people across Africa that lack access to electricity."

"Shell has failed to fulfill its legal obligations to clear up oil spills that it has caused in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta region, Amnesty International said on Tuesday."

"Suspected poachers have used cyanide to kill 23 elephants in Zimbabwe's Hwange national park, raising the death toll there and in the northern part of the country to 60 since late September, officials said on Thursday."

"Six of Africa’s 11 vulture species – the continent’s largest and most recognisable birds of prey – are now at a higher risk of extinction, according to the latest assessment of birds carried out by BirdLife International for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species."

"Researchers find lion populations in parts of Africa were halved in the past two decades. That trend will only continue, they predict."