In this week’s newsletter: nature’s last stand against the DRC capital’s rampant development, plus looking back on last year’s stories of hopeAnyone who has ever seen a living baobab tree should find it hard to forget. Alongside the ubiquitous acacia – the thorny umbrella tree – baobabs are statuesque icons of Africa’s drier landscapes.The trees have influenced, anchored and fed communities for tens of thousands of years, influencing culture and traditions, inspiring art and folklore. This week, freelance reporter Emmet Livingstone’s dispatch for us from the Democratic Republic of Congo, ironically also the home of the world’s largest tropical forest, really struck a chord with me and with many readers.US ‘adapt, shrink or die’ terms for $2bn aid pot will mean UN bowing down to Washington, say expertsPacking a punch: the true story behind the first Zimbabwean film to qualify for OscarsFrom childhood staple to luxury food: how Nigeria’s jollof became too expensive to eat‘You snea