Africa

Politics & Government

Libya Remains Unstable Nearly A Decade After Muammar Gaddafi's Ousting

8:00am June 27, 2021

NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks with professor Mansour El-Kikhia about Libya, where elections are called for but are unlikely to bring stability to the country.

An oxygen cylinder plant in Kampala, Uganda. The Ugandan army has started producing oxygen for state-run hospitals to ease the burden existing plants as COVID-19 cases — and demand for oxygen for severe illness — keep rising.

Health & Safety

Africa Is Running Out Of Oxygen

7:41am June 24, 2021

by Jason Beaubien

As COVID surges, so does demand for oxygen. And oxygen manufacturing plants simply can't keep up. That's bad news not only for severely ill COVID-19 patients but others in need, including newborns.

Amid Civil War, Ethiopia Holds Elections

12:39am June 24, 2021

Against a backdrop of violence in the nation's Tigray region, Ethiopia held elections Monday. NPR's Audie Cornish talks with Tsedale Lemma, editor of Addis Standard, about what's at stake.

World News

Owners Of The Suez Canal Ship Have Reached A Compensation Deal With Egypt

4:34pm June 23, 2021

by Jackie Northam

The owners of the container ship that was stuck in the Suez Canal in March have reached a compensation deal with Egyptian authorities. Jammed for nearly a week, the blockage disrupted global shipping.

Gloria Majiga-Kamoto, an activist from Malawi, is one of six recipients of the 2021 Goldman Environmental Prize. Majiga-Kamoto has been instrumental in implementing Malawi's ban on thin plastics.

She Owes Her Big Environmental Prize To Goats Eating Plastic Bags

3:18pm June 23, 2021

by Julia Simon

The demise of the bag-consuming herbivores led Gloria Majiga-Kamoto to push for Malawi to enact a promised ban on single-use thin plastic. Her activism has won her a 2021 Goldman Environmental Prize.

Angélique Kidjo says she's proud that her career has helped pave the way for the success of other artists in Africa, but now she's taking it one step further. On her latest album, she collaborates with the next generation.

With 'Mother Nature,' Angelique Kidjo Passes The Torch To Young African Musicians

12:39pm June 23, 2021

The new album from singer Angélique Kidjo, Mother Nature, is a showcase of collaborations with up-and-coming artists from across Africa, including Nigerian star Burna Boy.

World News

Organized Crime Is Targeting South Africa's 'Green Gold': Avocados

4:38pm June 22, 2021

NPR's Audie Cornish chats with Wall Street Journal reporter Alexandra Wexler about rising rates of avocado theft in South Africa.

Ethiopians line up to cast their vote Monday in the city of Bahir Dar. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who came to power in 2018, is widely expected to be reelected.

World News

Ethiopia's Abiy, A Nobel Winner Tarnished By The Violence In Tigray, Is Facing Voters

3:59pm June 21, 2021

by Scott Neuman

The Ethiopian prime minister and Nobel Peace Prize winner has come in for increasing criticism for his handling of the breakaway region.

Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in Paris in Jan. 2020.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Directs Fiery Essay At Former Student — And Cancel Culture

4:46pm June 17, 2021

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

Two literary stars from Nigeria are engaging in a very public feud — a fight that is both personal and also enfolds bigger questions about feminism, gender identity and social media.

Former Zambian president, Kenneth Kaunda, attends the inauguration ceremony of the Patriotic Front's Edgar Lungu, in Lusaka. The country's first president, Kaunda, 97, was admitted to hospital on June 14, 2021, as the southern African country battles a su

World News

Zambia's First President Kenneth Kaunda Dies At Age 97

1:58pm June 17, 2021

by The Associated Press

Zambia's first president and champion of African independence Kenneth Kaunda has died at the age of 97, the country's president Edgar Lungu announced on Facebook Thursday evening.