Africa

Screengrabs from trending TikTok videos in 2020.

Our Favorite Global TikToks Of 2020: From A Handwashing Dance To A Literal Ice Box

7:00am January 01, 2021

by Isabella Gomez Sarmiento

As the clock ticks farewell to a terrible, horrible, very bad year, TikTok brought moments of joy. Here's what ticked the boxes for TikTok devotees.

Health workers from Tongji Hospital in Wuhan, China, share an emotional embrace with their peers from a hospital in Jilin province at the Tianhe Airport. Colleagues who worked on the front lines together bid farewell as Wuhan lifted its coronavirus lockdo

International Stories You Loved In 2020

3:32pm December 31, 2020

by Alex Leff

The coronavirus, the rescue of an abused elephant, harassment of Black diplomats and the hunt for Nazi-looted instruments are some of the subjects of the year's most popular NPR international stories.

Members of Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) protest against the death of George Floyd outside U.S. Consulate in solidarity with Black Lives Matter movement on June 8, 2020 in Sandton, South Africa.

World News

In 2020, Protests Spread Across The Globe With A Similar Message: Black Lives Matter

8:49am December 30, 2020

Journalists based in Colombia, South Africa and Indonesia talk about how the Black Lives Matter movement inspired activists abroad this year.

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World News

Migrants Continue To Die In Attempts To Cross Mediterranean Sea To Europe

3:52pm December 29, 2020

by Ruth Sherlock

The pandemic and its many travel restrictions haven't stopped thousands of migrants from attempting the dangerous trip across the Mediterranean Sea this year. More than 1,000 have died at sea.

World News

Hundreds Of Civilians Killed With Machetes And Axes In Ethiopian Town

5:58pm December 28, 2020

by Eyder Peralta

Ethiopia's civil war has been fought mainly with planes and missiles. But last month's massacre in the small town of Mai-Kadra points to the bitter ethnic divide threatening to rip Ethiopia apart.

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A worker wearing personal protective equipment disinfects the Holy Redeemer Church in Bangkok after a Christmas Eve mass. Thailand is one of many countries now seeing a surge in cases.

Why The World Is Seeing Some Of Its Most Extreme Pandemic Lockdowns

7:01pm December 27, 2020

by Jason Beaubien

Even as the European Union began vaccine rollouts on Sunday, nations around the globe are instituting severe lockdowns and travel restrictions. Fear of the U.K. variant is a key reason.

Patrick Phiri of Malawi and fiance Fiona ten Have of Holland kiss in her parents' garden. The couple met in Malawi, where they worked for the same charity, and fell in love. A 3-week visit to the Netherlands turned into 7 months due to pandemic lockdowns

Health & Safety

COVID Love Story: Can A Malawian Bachelor And A Dutch Bachelorette Make It?

2:49pm December 27, 2020

by Nick Schonfeld

They met and fell in love while working for a nonprofit in his country. He came to visit her in the Netherlands. Because of the pandemic, his hometown visited lasted 7 months. Would love conquer all?

The image depicts the coronavirus binding to a human cell. The variant identified in the United Kingdom has a mutation known to increase how tightly the virus binds to human cells.

How Worried Should We Be About The New U.K. Coronavirus Variant?

6:59pm December 24, 2020

by Michaeleen Doucleff

Mathematical modeling suggests that the mutations in this variant make the virus more transmissible. What does that mean for preventive measures — and the new vaccines?

do's and don'ts of caring for older people in the pandemic

11 Original NPR Comics That Brought Joy, Hope And Help During The Pandemic

3:16pm December 23, 2020

by Malaka Gharib

In 2020, NPR created and published more than a dozen comics for the pandemic — everything from how to explain it to kids to how to help the older people in your life.

World News

How The Arab World Is Reacting To Accords With Israel

3:44pm December 21, 2020

The Trump administration mediated deals for four Arab countries to recognize Israel. NPR correspondents who recently visited Sudan and the United Arab Emirates discuss reactions in the Arab world.