Africa

World News

Court Blocks South Africa's Withdrawal From International Criminal Court

4:53pm February 22, 2017

by Merrit Kennedy

In a blow to the government, the court ruled that the executive didn't have the power to order a withdrawal without prior parliamentary approval and questioned the "unexplained haste" to quit the ICC.

World News

Muslim Leader In Nigeria Links Polygamy To Poverty And Terrorism

8:43am February 22, 2017

by Ofeibea Quist-Arcton

Emir Malam Muhammadu Sanusi II says he's working with Islamic scholars to draft a law discouraging men from marrying multiple wives if they cannot afford to educate large families.

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A World Food Program food distribution site in Bentiu, South Sudan. The U.N. says nearly 5 million people in the country do not have enough food, and in one region people are already dying of starvation.

World News

In South Sudan, People Are Dying Of Hunger As Civil War Continues

2:28pm February 21, 2017

by Rebecca Hersher

The U.N. says nearly 5 million people do not have enough food, and it issued a formal famine declaration for Unity State in the north-central part of the country.

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Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, who turns 93 on Tuesday, speaks at his party's annual conference in December, where he was endorsed as a candidate for the 2018 election. His wife said last week that even if he dies before the election, he should run "

World News

Nearing 93, Robert Mugabe Shows No Sign Of Stepping Down

6:40pm February 20, 2017

by Ofeibea Quist-Arcton

The world's oldest leader, Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, turns 93 Tuesday. He has no intention of retiring and his wife has said even if he dies before next year's election, he should run "as a corpse."

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World News

Famine Declared In Parts Of War-Torn South Sudan

7:02am February 20, 2017

Rachel Martin talks to Jeffrey Gettleman — East Africa correspondent for The New York Times — about South Sudan's spreading civil war. The U.N. accuses the government of blocking aid supplies.

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World News

Environmentalists Are At Odds With Kenya's Government Over Rail Line

6:38am February 20, 2017

by Eyder Peralta

Kenya's government wants to run a rail line across Nairobi National Park. Environmentalists are against the plan. The government says the line will use a platform above the park to lesson its impact.

Sundaygar Moses, now 12, was suffered a gunshot wound as an infant. Due to an infection, his right leg had to be amputated beneath the knee. His new prosthetic is a close match to his skin tone.

Health & Safety

Top Items On This 12-Year-Old's Wish List: 'A Leg, A Bicycle'

7:00am February 19, 2017

by Vicky Hallett

The one-legged orphan in Liberia had figured out how to use a crutch as an improvised prosthetic leg. But he wanted the real deal.

A child with nodding syndrome waits for treatment at an outreach site in Uganda's Pader district.

Health & Safety

Scientists May Have Solved The Mystery Of Nodding Syndrome

6:29pm February 15, 2017

by Jon Hamilton

For decades, scientists suspected that the parasite responsible for river blindness might be causing a rare form of epilepsy. Now they have evidence.

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A billboard calling for the inauguration of Adama Barrow as president on the side of a road last month in Serrukunda, Gambia.

World News

Under New Leader, Gambia Cancels Withdrawal From International Criminal Court

5:22pm February 14, 2017

by Merrit Kennedy

As Gambia's new president Adama Barrow settles into his new role, he is also taking steps to resuscitate international ties cut off by his predecessor Yahya Jammeh.

A fall armyworm — actually a caterpillar — takes a bite out of corn and other crops.

Health & Safety

It Came From The Americas — And It's Bad News For Africa

8:40am February 14, 2017

by Ofeibea Quist-Arcton

Armyworms — caterpillars of a moth species — are creeping across ever wider swaths of southern Africa, munching their way through crops.

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