Rhinos are at extreme risk of extinction because of poaching and habitat loss. The work of conservationists has made sure that their numbers have continued to rise, but poaching is still a major threat to their existence. Most of the global rhino population lives in South Africa, where the government has taken big steps to prevent the killings, but recent data shows criminal poachers are still targeting the animal

So scientists are getting experimental with how to protect them!

We hear from the BBC Africa’s Ayanda Charlie who has speaking to scientists in South Africa coming up with ways to prevent poaching, including using radioactive material in horns as a deterrent.

Plus, we get the story behind why there’s videos of rhinos hanging upside down from helicopters. Riley Farrell from BBC Future tells us about how choppers are being used in rhino conservation.

Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Emily Horler and Benita Barden Editor: Verity Wilde

“A secret society of murderers with a king for a ringleader”.

In 1885 King Leopold of Belgium; an awkward, ruthless, selfish man, was recognised as the sovereign of the Congo. Long determined to carve out his very own private colonial domain, he had alighted upon the Congo - Africa’s vast and unplundered interior. With the help of the explorer Henry Morton Stanley, who had found a way to circumnavigate the Congo’s formerly insurmountable rapids, he concocted a cunning scheme to legally make it his own, while casting himself as a civilising saviour. Yet, despite his ostensibly philanthropic motivations, Leopold’s goal was always profit. More specifically, ivory, and later rubber, and before long a thriving hub of industry had been established in the Congo, bustling with soldiers, traders and missionaries. Meanwhile and most significantly, tens of thousands of Congolese people were being beaten, coerced and essentially enslaved into harvesting and carrying the riches of their land for their European oppressors. Their treatment was barbaric, the conditions in which they were made to live grotesque, and their suffering unimaginable. It was there, in King Leopold's Congo, that for years some of the worst violations of human life in all of human history were perpetrated. A terrible, secret heart of darkness, Until, at last, a young shipping clerk in Antwerp stumbled across something that would change the course of history forever...

_______

X: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook

Producer: Theo Young-Smith Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett Editor: Jack Meek Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor

Only Chinese goods are facing higher US tariffs than exports from Lesotho, which will be charged at 50%.

Samir Shegwara was arrested after the BBC reported the existence of evidence linking Libya with the bombing.

The African Development Bank president tells the BBC how poverty shaped his world view.

Protesters in Zambia call for a change in the law after heinous child rape reports.

The African Development Bank president tells the BBC how poverty shaped his world views.

The pro-business DA rejects the budget leaving the ANC to rely on other parties to get it passed in parliament.

Zambia withdraw four US-based players for an upcoming tournament in China because of "travel measures" introduced by Donald Trump's administration.

President Mohamed Bazoum has been under house arrest since the 2023 military takeover.

Timothy Omotoso was accused of raping several of his congregants in a trial that gripped the country.

Olympic 200m champion Letsile Tebogo says he could have turned to a life of crime in Botswana had it not been for sport.

President Tinubu restructures the NNPC, a company which has long struggled with corruption allegations.

The Americans are among 37 people sentenced to death last September by a military court.

The BBC's Barbara Plett Usher visits Khartoum days after the city was recaptured by Sudan's government forces.

In the city of Dutse, thousands filled the streets to celebrate a centuries-old festival.

Our correspondent enters Khartoum just days after Sudan's army recaptured it from the Rapid Support Forces after a six-month offensive.

A total of 95 people are charged with promoting "public violence" and for "breaches of peace".

South Africa white-ball coach Rob Walter, who took over in March 2023, resigns citing "personal reasons".

Nicknamed the 'Snowbok', South African cross-country skier Matt Smith is set to compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics despite only taking up the sport two years ago.