Africa

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Police In Cairo Use Tear Gas To Break Up Protests Against Egypt's Government

10:14am April 26, 2016

by Leila Fadel

President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has maintained his popularity through two years of controversy and brutal crackdowns. But on Tuesday there were signs of people getting impatient with his rule.

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Charity To Amp Up Direct Aid Mission In Impoverished East Africa

8:47am April 24, 2016

The charity GiveDirectly announced plans to give 6000 people living in extreme poverty a guaranteed income for a decade. NPR's Rachel Martin speaks with co-founder Michael Faye about the project.

Handout picture dated 1997 and released in 2012 by the UN shows ancient manuscripts displayed at the library in the city of Timbuktu. Al-Qaeda has destroyed ancient texts it considers idolatrous.

Timbuktu's 'Badass Librarians': Checking Out Books Under Al-Qaida's Nose

5:30pm April 23, 2016

by NPR Staff

Librarian Abdel Kader Haidara organized a smuggling operation to keep centuries-old manuscripts out of the hands of al-Qaida. Joshua Hammer wrote about it in The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu.

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Amid Calls To Ramp Up Fight Against Boko Haram, UN Ambassador Meets Girl Escapees

9:36am April 23, 2016

by Michele Kelemen

Two years after Boko Haram grabbed hundreds of schoolgirls in Nigeria, UN Ambassador Samantha Power met with some who escaped, and promised to ramp up the fight against the Islamist militant group.

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In Chad, U.N. Ambassador Power Visits Anti-Extremist Command Center

5:33am April 21, 2016

by Michele Kelemen

U.S. military officials are worried about the connections between ISIS and Boko Haram. U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power visited the African country of Chad, which is threatened by both groups.

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Cameroon Trip To Discuss Boko Haram Threat Begins On A Tragic Note

7:02am April 19, 2016

by Michele Kelemen

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power on Monday visited a community terrorized by Boko Haram in the northern tip of Cameroon. A seven-year-old boy was struck and killed by her motorcade.

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Photos: Why Everyone In Mali Wanted To Pose For The Late, Great Sidibe

6:56pm April 18, 2016

by Ofeibea Quist-Arcton

His death marks the end of a remarkable era in African and world photography.

Sa'a, a pseudonym she uses for her safety, poses for a photo after an interview with NPR. She was one of more than 250 girls kidnapped in Nigeria by Boko Haram in 2014. Sa'a, 20, escaped by jumping off a moving truck. She began studying at a college in th

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From Boko Haram Captive To U.S. College Student

4:59pm April 18, 2016

She was taken by the Nigerian extremist group when it seized more than 250 schoolgirls in 2014. She escaped in the forest, is now studying in the U.S. — and praying for friends still held captive.

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UN Ambassador Tours West Africa To Highlight Boko Haram Threat

4:24pm April 18, 2016

by Michele Kelemen

United Nations Ambassador Samantha Power is touring states on the frontline of the battle against Islamist extremists Boko Haram. She's pushing for more regional cooperation in the fight.

World News

China Breaks Ground On Naval Base In Africa

5:37am April 18, 2016

China plans to open its first overseas military base in the African country of Djibouti. It's the same place where the U.S. has had its major African intelligence gathering base for the last 15 years.