Africa

World News

More Than 800 Dead In Mediterranean Migrant Tragedy

6:25pm April 21, 2015

by Sylvia Poggioli

Authorities have arrested two alleged smugglers who might be responsible for the deaths. Nearly 2,000 migrants have perished in the Mediterranean since the beginning of the year.

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Personnel at work in the operations room of the Italian coast guard in Rome on Sunday during the coordination of relief efforts after a ship carrying hundreds of migrants capsizes off Libyan coast occurred in the Strait of Sicily.

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Hundreds Of Migrants Feared Dead In Capsized Boat Off North Africa

5:30pm April 21, 2015

by Scott Neuman

The vessel, carrying would-be migrants, appears to have been headed for the Italian island of Lampedusa.

Mohammed Ali Malek (left) and Mahmud Bikhit (center) were identified by survivors as the captain and a crew member of the vessel that sank in the Mediterranean this weekend. They're seen here shortly before an Italian coast guard ship took them to Catania

World News

Captain In Deadly Migrant Boat Sinking Charged With Manslaughter

5:27pm April 21, 2015

by Bill Chappell

The captain and a crew member are among the boat's 28 survivors; the U.N. says more than 800 would-be migrants died after cramming themselves onto the 66-foot boat.

Phyllis Omido is one of six winners of the 2015 Goldman Environmental prizes.

You Don't Want To Mess With An Angry Mother

4:42pm April 21, 2015

by Jason Beaubien

Phyllis Omido's toddler had a mysterious ailment. After doctors came up with a diagnosis, she set out to shut down a Kenyan polluter. Now she's won the Goldman Environmental Prize for her work.

World News

Immigrants Flee South Africa After Xenophobic Attacks

3:30pm April 21, 2015

by Ofeibea Quist-Arcton

Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini is blamed for stoking the violence by describing immigrants as lice that must be removed. But in a speech Monday, he described the attacks on immigrants as vile.

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Frustrations Fuel Violence Against Immigrants In South Africa

7:14pm April 20, 2015

Mobs with machetes attacked immigrants in Durban, South Africa, Thursday, hoping to drive out foreigners looking for work. NPR's Linda Wertheimer speaks with the BBC's Milton Nkosi about the attacks.

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European Leaders Address Migrant Crisis In Mediterranean

6:23pm April 20, 2015

by Lauren Frayer

European leaders say they have come up with a plan in response to the flood of migrants crossing the Mediterranean sea from Africa. If the death toll is confirmed in the latest tragedy Sunday, as many as 1,800 people have died making the perilous crossing to Europe so far this year.

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World News

Mediterranean Migration Crisis Represents Scope Of Smuggling Business

6:23pm April 20, 2015

NPR's Robert Siegel speaks with Leonard Doyle of the International Organization for Migration, which estimates that more than 21,000 migrants have made it to Europe since the beginning of the year.

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Italy Calls On EU To Act After Migrants Drown In Mediterranean

5:47pm April 20, 2015

by Sylvia Poggioli

Hundreds of migrants are believed dead after a smugglers' boat carrying hundreds of migrants capsized off the Libyan coast. Pressure is growing on EU leaders to prevent such tragedies.

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South African Authorities Try To Quell Xenophobic Violence

7:49am April 20, 2015

Hundreds of people were detained in an effort to end the recent anti-foreigner violence that has swept South Africa. Renee Montagne talks to David Smith, the Africa correspondent for The Guardian.

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