Africa

World News

Understanding South Sudan's Cow Currency Is Key To Understanding The Country's War

6:34pm November 15, 2017

by Gregory Warner

The preferred form of currency in South Sudan is not cash, but cows. That turns out to be key to understanding why the civil war there not only left many dead, it destroyed a whole way of life — and the best chance for peace.

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Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe addresses supporters at his party headquarters on Nov. 8.

World News

Robert Mugabe: A Legacy Of Tyrannical Rule, Economic Ruin And International Isolation

5:56pm November 15, 2017

by Eyder Peralta

Once a respected independence leader who called for "democratic rights," Zimbabwe's president became better known over the years as someone "who ruined his own country," says a Zimbabwean journalist.

World News

Zimbabwe's Leader Under House Arrest After Military Seized Control Of Country

4:58pm November 15, 2017

by Ofeibea Quist-Arcton

Zimbabweans have only ever had one leader — Robert Mugabe. But he is now under house arrest after the military seized control of the southern African nation in what they call a move of military constitutionalism. The ruling party's youth league says the army is effecting change with "peaceful aplomb."

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World News

Robert Mugabe Is The Only Leader Zimbabwe Has Ever Had

4:58pm November 15, 2017

Robert Mugabe is the only leader that Zimbabwe has ever had. For many, the 93-year-old is a hero, for liberating the country. But he is also seen as a tyrant, for crushing his opposition time and time again, often with violence. What will a new leader mean for Zimbabwe's relations with the West?

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In this photo taken Monday, July 31, 2017, a young South Sudanese boy learns how to take care of cattle at a camp outside the town of Rumbek, South Sudan. Cows are used for payments and dowries, which Human Rights Watch calls a "key driver of child marria

Episode 805: War And Peace And Cows

3:02pm November 15, 2017

by Gregory Warner

In South Sudan, there is a kind of money that works even through bank failures and unstable governments. But when war struck, it upended a whole economy: the economy of cows.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe speaks at a rally in Harare on July 27, 2016.

World News

Zimbabwe's Mugabe Out Of Power For First Time Since 1980s As Military Takes Control

2:53pm November 15, 2017

by Bill Chappell

The dramatic shift comes a week after President Robert Mugabe fired his longtime vice president (and military veteran) Emmerson Mnangagwa — who is now reportedly the ruling party's interim president.

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe (left) greets South African President Nelson Mandela in Harare, Zimbabwe, in 1998. The two men have shaped their countries in dramatically different ways.

World News

Nelson Mandela, Robert Mugabe And The Countries They Shaped

10:13am November 15, 2017

by Greg Myre

Before coming to power, Mandela and Mugabe led remarkably similar lives. Then their paths diverged: In South Africa, Mandela became a global icon and Mugabe presided over Zimbabwe's sharp decline.

World News

Zimbabwe Army Takes President Mugabe Into Custody, Seizes Control

8:16am November 15, 2017

Rachel Martin talks to Harry Davies, managing editor of the Harare News, about the army taking Robert Mugabe and his wife into custody. Mugabe is the only leader that some Zimbabweans have known.

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World News

Zimbabwe's Army Takes Control Of The Country

6:04am November 15, 2017

by Ofeibea Quist-Arcton

Zimbabwe's army said Wednesday that is has seized control in what is being described as a "bloodless transition," apparently pushing out longtime strongman Robert Mugabe.

News Brief: Army Takes Control In Zimbabwe, Republicans Respond To Roy Moore

5:11am November 15, 2017

The army in Zimbabwe has seized control of the country, though they say it's not a coup. Also, Republican lawmakers are looking at options to keep Roy Moore out of the Senate.