Africa

World News

Vice President Harris pledges aid to Ghana amid security and economic concerns

8:52pm March 27, 2023

by The Associated Press

Vice President Harris opened her weeklong trip to Africa by vowing support for Ghana, a democratic pillar in the region that's being squeezed by an economic crisis and security concerns.

World News

In Senegal, the government is cracking down on human rights

2:04pm March 26, 2023

by Miles Parks

NPR's Miles Parks speaks with Ousmane Diallo, a researcher at Amnesty International, about the state of democracy in Senegal, amid government crackdowns on human rights and political opposition.

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Paul Rusesabagina looks on as he sits with some of his co-accused at the Supreme Court in Kigali, Rwanda, on Feb. 17, 2021, where he denied charges of being associated with an armed group. On Friday, the Rwandan government said it commuted his sentence.

World News

Paul Rusesabagina, 'Hotel Rwanda' hero, released from prison

8:42pm March 24, 2023

by Michele Kelemen

The man who inspired the novel and the Hollywood film Hotel Rwanda, Paul Rusesabagina, was released late Friday evening from prison after the Rwandan government commuted his sentence.

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Vice President Harris speaks during the U.S. Africa Leaders Summit in Washington on Dec. 15, 2022.

Vice President Harris is visiting Africa next week, part of a pushback to China

8:52am March 24, 2023

by Ximena Bustillo

Vice President Harris will visit Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia to discuss issues like economic growth and food security. She's the highest-ranking administration official to travel to the continent.

Uganda lawmakers passed some of the harshest anti-gay legislation in the world

5:05am March 23, 2023

by Emmanuel Akinwotu

Uganda's parliament has passed sweeping and brutal anti-LGBTQ+ legislation — drawing instant international outrage.

Kenyan gays and lesbians and others supporting their cause wear masks to preserve their anonymity as they stage a rare protest against Uganda's tough stance against homosexuality and in solidarity with their counterparts there, outside the Uganda High Commission in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2014.

World News

Uganda to jail people who identify as LGBTQ in one of world's most anti-gay laws

9:18pm March 22, 2023

by Emmanuel Akinwotu

Uganda's parliament has passed sweeping new anti-LGBTQ+ laws with tougher punishments, making some acts punishable by death.

Health & Safety

Cyclone Freddy shattered records. People lost everything. How does the healing begin?

5:54pm March 17, 2023

by Kate Bartlett

The countries hit by this unprecedented storm now must help survivors who may have lost nearly everything. We talk to an aid worker on the ground in Mozambique for insights.

World News

Ethiopia hopes Blinken's visit will help the peace process

4:09pm March 15, 2023

by Michele Kelemen

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is in Ethiopia in an effort to support the peace process after a brutal two-year civil war.

World News

Southern Africa's Cyclone Freddy set to be one of the longest and strongest ever

4:12pm March 14, 2023

by Kate Bartlett

Cyclone Freddy is tearing its way through Southern Africa and is on track to be one of the longest lasting and strongest cyclones on record.

Women walk to a nearby displacement center in Blantyre, Malawi, on Tuesday. The unrelenting Cyclone Freddy, which is still battering southern Africa, has killed hundreds of people in Malawi and Mozambique since it struck the continent for a second time on Saturday night.

World News

Cyclone Freddy wrecks Malawi and Mozambique, killing more than 200 people

1:20pm March 14, 2023

by The Associated Press

Tens of thousands of people have been displaced by heavy rains that triggered floods and mudslides in southern Africa. The death toll is expected to rise.