Africa

A demonstrating graduate shouts slogans during protests against rising prices and tax increases, in Tunis on Tuesday.

World News

Protests Across Tunisia Over Price Hikes, Worsening Economic Hardships

6:57am January 11, 2018

by James Doubek

Prices on gasoline and taxes have gone up since the start of the new year. Clashes between security forces and demonstrators have occurred in at least 20 cities and towns over multiple days.

Ethiopian lawmakers voted to ban overseas adoptions, amid concerns about mistreatment of children.

World News

Ethiopian Lawmakers Vote To Ban Foreign Adoptions

6:33pm January 10, 2018

by Amy Held

The 2011 death of a girl adopted from Ethiopia by U.S. parents seems to have spurred the decision.

Akilah debate team members (from left) Phylis Kabano, Sonia Rugwiro and Mireille Umutoni prepare to compete in a debate tournament.

Rwanda Ranks In The Top 5 For Gender Equity. Do Its Teen Girls Agree?

11:16am January 10, 2018

by Gregory Warner

The World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report gives high marks to Rwanda in its country-by-country rundown. An all-female debate team offers their perspective.

It was no mere flurry that hit the area. In some parts of the region surrounding Ain Sefra, as much as 16 inches of snow fell Sunday.

PHOTOS: The Sahara Desert, Painted White With Snow

3:43pm January 09, 2018

by Colin Dwyer

More than a foot of snow fell Sunday on the Sahara, shrouding the orange and red landscape in hues of white. The rare scene didn't last long. Luckily, some local photographers had their cameras ready.

Two nearly 20-foot fences, pictured in August 2017, separate Melilla, Spain, (right) from Morocco (left). Melilla, one of two Spanish enclaves located in Africa, has been regarded as a backdoor to Europe for African migrants.

World News

More Than 200 Migrants Reach Europe By Crossing Bridge Into Spanish Enclave

1:54pm January 08, 2018

by Camila Domonoske

Melilla is one of two Spanish cities located in Africa, surrounded by fences. Migrants frequently try to scale or swim around the fences to reach European Union soil. On Sunday, 209 succeeded.

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Migrants wait to be rescued from a rubber dinghy by members of the Spanish non-governmental organization Proactiva Open Arms during an operation on the Mediterranean Sea last September.

World News

More Than 3,100 Migrants Died Crossing Mediterranean In 2017

1:24pm January 06, 2018

by Samantha Raphelson

More than 3,000 migrants have died trying to reach European shores via the Mediterranean Sea for the fourth year in a row. The death toll comes amid a drop in the number of people making the journey.

In South Sudan, the staff of Doctors Without Borders has newly devised "runaway bags," filled with medical supplies so the health workers can provide care if people have to flee because of conflict.

A 'Runaway Bag' For Health Care When People Are Fleeing

3:33pm January 05, 2018

by Sasha Ingber

How do you take care of people who are on the run? Doctors Without Borders is testing a new strategy.

How China's Ivory Ban Could Affect Elephant Poaching In Africa

6:31pm January 04, 2018

As China's ban on ivory goes into effect, NPR's Ari Shapiro talks to professor George Wittemyer of Colorado State University about the impacts on the global ivory trade and what it might mean for elephant poaching in Africa.

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World News

Critics Of Tanzania's President Say He's Moved Country Toward Authoritarianism

5:03pm January 04, 2018

by Eyder Peralta

John Magufuli is the reformer Tanzania needs — a no-nonsense guy who has reined in corruption and profligate spending. But Tanzania's president also has a dark side. He has silenced his opposition and eroded basic freedoms of speech and of the press.

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Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said the goal of the prisoner release and prison shutdown is to "foster national reconciliation."

World News

Ethiopia Says It Will Free All Of Its Political Prisoners

10:48pm January 03, 2018

It's a turnaround for a government that has cracked down on dissent — and had not even admitted that it held political prisoners. The prime minister said a notorious prison would be closed.

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