Africa

World News

Tunisia's Democratic Transition Benefits The World, Party Leader Says

5:09am November 04, 2015

Tunisia is often considered democracy's success story in the Middle East. David Greene talks to Rached Ghannouchi, co-founder of the Ennahda Movement in Tunisia, which is based on non-violent Islam.

In one skit, Ikenna Azuike pokes fun at political dynasties by impersonating a president whose nominees for minister of justice start with "my wife, obviously" and end with "my Chihuahua — she is technically dead ... but she is still family."

Meet The Biracial African Comedian Who Is Not Trevor Noah

4:26pm November 03, 2015

by Anders Kelto

Comic Ikenna Azuike brings wigs, false teeth and barbs about Africa to the BBC. Now his show, What's Up Africa, is up for a broadcasting award.

Leslie Morales (from left), Soraya Mohamud and Tanjum Choudhury discuss what it's like to be 15. All three are sophomores at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Md.

American Girls Weigh In: 'We're Not Just Sitting Ducks': #15Girls

4:34pm November 02, 2015

by NPR Staff

We've looked at the lives of 15-year-old girls all over the world. Now American girls tell us what it's like to be 15 in the U.S.

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Polio survivors compete in a para-soccer tournament in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria.

He Sometimes Crawled To School, He Plays Soccer On A Scooter

1:47pm November 02, 2015

by Anders Kelto

Polio paralyzed Sani Muntari as a child. That didn't keep him from school or off the soccer field. And he's played a key role in making Nigeria polio-free.

Grand prize: A family farms their paddy field during monsoon season in West Bengal, India.

What Does Poverty Look Like? A Photo Contest Has Surprising Answers

8:07pm November 01, 2015

by Nadia Whitehead

The pictures show how the working poor eke out a living. And no, they are not depressing.

One-quarter of the endangered mountain gorilla population lives in the Virunga National Park, which activists are trying to protect from oil exploration.

Environment

Congolese Activists Honored for Fighting Oil Exploration in Virunga National Park

6:04pm October 30, 2015

by Alexandra Starr

The Alexander Soros Foundation has given awards to people trying to block a British company from doing drilling in the park. The activists fear the operations would damage human and wildlife habitats.

A mosquito bed net keeps the bugs out. The photo was taken in Pailin province, Cambodia.

Researchers Plot The Death Of P. Falciparum: The Malaria Parasite

2:21pm October 30, 2015

by Jason Beaubien

Current drugs aren't working as well. Old drugs may be making a comeback. And a poet sums up the reason that malaria fighters met this week.

Zanele Themba (on the left with the pink backpack strap) admires American teens because they "know what they want and go for it." She's posing with classmates from the Sapphire Secondary School who participated in a model U.N. in Johannesburg.

South African Teens Share Their Dreams And Their Slang: #15Girls

5:19pm October 29, 2015

by Shoks Mnisi Mzolo

We found out when we talked to some of the 500 high schoolers who came to Johannesburg for a model U.N. We also learned a few of their favorite phrases.

Lions in a game reserve in 2013 in South Africa, one of the few countries where the species is actually prevailing.

Lions Quickly Disappearing In Much Of Africa, Study Says

6:19pm October 27, 2015

by Jim Zarroli

Over large parts of the continent, their numbers could drop by half in the next two decades. Only in four countries in southern Africa is the species holding its own.

The Libromat, which combines laundry and literature, results in brighter brights and brighter kids.

Rinse, Spin, Read To Kids: It's A Mashup Of Laundromat and Library

5:37pm October 27, 2015

by Andrew Boryga

Go to the laundromat, wash the clothes, get lessons on how to do a great job reading books to your kids. Crazy idea? But it's really happening!