Africa

Libyan poet Mustafa al-Trabelsi, who warned of flood risks, died in Derna flood

5:13am September 21, 2023

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to poet Khaled Mattawa, who reads the work of poet Mustafa al-Trabelsi, who warned of the flood devastation to come in Libya.

World News

Earthquake resiliency expert gives assessment from the ground in Morocco

4:36pm September 20, 2023

NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Kit Miyamoto, a structural engineer who specializes in earthquake resiliency. He's currently in Morocco, assessing damage from the earthquake.

Queue Listen Now

Neglected diseases like noma, the impact of diaspora money, artificial intelligence and the promotion of locally grown foods are four topics proposed by our authors for discussion at the U.N.'s General Assembly.

Dear U.N.: Could you add these 4 overlooked items to the General Assembly agenda?

11:13am September 20, 2023

A physician from Nigeria and a scientist from Kenya propose ideas for the United Nations to consider — issues important in Africa and other regions that are often neglected by global bodies.

Souad Ait Hmad el Haych (left), 25, grieves as the body of her cousin is buried in Imi N'Tala, Morocco, on Sept. 13.

World News

Morocco's earthquake crumbled much of this adobe village nestled in the mountain

9:56pm September 19, 2023

by Eleanor Beardsley

Morocco's earthquake last week hit thousands of people who live in traditional villages in the Atlas Mountains. NPR followed rescuers and saw just how hard it was getting to people in need.

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Italy has no clear plan for 10,000 North African migrants who landed on resort island

4:12pm September 19, 2023

by Ruth Sherlock

Thousands of migrants from North Africa have landed on the Italian island of Lampedusa. Italy has no clear plan for what happens next to them.

Health & Safety

Survivors of Libya's floods include 20,000 pregnant women who need health care

5:09am September 19, 2023

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to Ahmad Algeriany with the United Nations reproductive health agency, about conditions in Libya after catastrophic flooding, and what aid is needed.

Migrants wait at the port after arriving on the Italian island of Lampedusa, on Monday, Sept. 18, 2023. Italy unveiled tough rules to deter migrants after record boat crossings from North Africa to Lampedusa saw the country's southernmost tip overwhelmed with new arrivals.

World News

Italy cracks down on migrants as Meloni calls for a naval blockade off North Africa

9:03pm September 18, 2023

by The Associated Press

The measures approved by the Cabinet focused on migrants who don't qualify for asylum and are slated to be repatriated to their home countries.

Libyan government officials face harsh criticism for response to flooding

5:12am September 18, 2023

Old infrastructure and a civil war have combined in Libya to make flooding from a storm deadly. How political instability has made this climate disaster much worse than it had to be.

Kwame Alexander (left) and Jerry Craft have each won a Newbery Medal for their children's books. Alexander invited Craft on a trip to Kenya this summer to speak to schoolkids about reading. The kids were impressed. So were the authors.

Snow, scorpions, Dr. Seuss: What Kenyan kids talked about with top U.S. kids' authors

7:38am September 17, 2023

Newbery prize winners Kwame Alexander, a poet, and Jerry Craft, an author and illustrator, went on a mission to Kenya to encourage reading. The kids learned a lot. So did the authors.

World News

An aid worker on the ground in Libya reflects on the devastating flooding

8:52am September 16, 2023

by Scott Simon

NPR's Scott Simon speaks to the International Rescue Committee's Bashir Ben Amer about the crisis in Derna, Libya, after catastrophic flooding there.