NPR News -Africa

What are ‘orphan crops’? And why is there a new campaign to get them adopted?

April 18, 202410:30 AM ET
Enlarge this image”Orphan crops” refers to plantings that have fallen out of favor but could offer advantages over staples like wheat and grain in a changing climate. Above: Lablab purpureus, also known as Indian bean and Egyptian kidney bean, is native to sub-Saharan Africa and India. It’s a warm-season annual or short-lived perennial with a thick stem that grows up to 3 feet and vines that can reach 25 feet long.

Soumyabrata Roy/NurPhoto/Getty Images

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Soumyabrata Roy/NurPhoto/Getty Images

“Orphan crops” refers to plantings that have fallen out of favor but could offer advantages over staples like wheat and grain in a changing climate. Above: Lablab purpureus, also known as Indian bean and Egyptian kidney bean, is native to sub-Saharan Africa and India. It’s a warm-season annual or short-lived perennial with a thick stem that grows up to 3 feet and vines that can reach 25 feet long.

Soumyabrata Roy/NurPhoto/Getty Images..

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The man who inspired ‘Hotel Rwanda’ is still taking risks for his country

April 16, 20246:52 PM ET
Enlarge this imagePaul Rusesabagina in 2019.

Nicolas Maeterlinck/AFP via Getty Images

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Nicolas Maeterlinck/AFP via Getty Images

Paul Rusesabagina in 2019.

Nicolas Maeterlinck/AFP via Getty Images

You’re reading the Consider This newsletter, which unpacks one major news story each day. Subscribe hereto get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to more from the Consider This podcast.
1. Paul Rusesabagina was a hotelier during the Rwandan genocide. In 1994, the world watched as genocide unfolded in Rwanda. Nearly one million people died as neighbors brutally killed their neighbors. Paul Rusesabagina is credited for keeping more than 1,200 people safe in his hotel through weeks of violence. His life and story inspired the 2004 film Hotel Rwanda.
In 2021, Rusesabagina says he was kidnapped, tried and imprisoned in Rwanda for two years and seven months over his ties to the Rwanda Movement for Democratic Change (MRCD), a grou..

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The Devastating Conflict the World is Ignoring

April 16, 20244:41 PM ET

More than 8 million people have been displaced in Sudan, according to the United Nations. A powerful paramilitary group has been fighting the Sudanese army for over a year. We hear from a Sudanese poet, who is trying to draw attention to the overlooked conflict in her country.

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Photos: A year of war in Sudan

April 15, 20243:01 PM ET
Enlarge this imageA man looks at the smoke rising next to the Army General Command in Khartoum, Sudan, on April 16, 2023.

Faiz Abubakr

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Faiz Abubakr

A man looks at the smoke rising next to the Army General Command in Khartoum, Sudan, on April 16, 2023.

Faiz Abubakr

A year of war has torn through Sudan, causing devastation in a country that just a few years ago, was rich with immense promise. A revolution in 2021 toppled longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir and brought the prospect of a brighter future for Sudan’s 45 million people. But a coup later that year, led by the army and supported by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, dashed those hopes. And now a fierce battle for control of Sudan between the two sides, fueled by international powers, has caused a major collapse.
Africa Sudan’s conflict hits the 1-year mark, sparking fears of repeated atrocitiesSudannow has the world’s largest displacement crisis, according to ..

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Sudan’s conflict hits the 1-year mark, sparking fears of repeated atrocities

April 15, 20248:00 AM ET
Enlarge this imageSudanese refugees who have fled from the war in Sudan get off a truck loaded with families arriving at a transit center for refugees in Renk, South Sudan, on Feb. 13.

Luis Tato/AFP via Getty Images

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Luis Tato/AFP via Getty Images

Sudanese refugees who have fled from the war in Sudan get off a truck loaded with families arriving at a transit center for refugees in Renk, South Sudan, on Feb. 13.

Luis Tato/AFP via Getty Images

JOHANNESBURG — One of the world’s most brutal conflicts is marking its first anniversary this week, but with the war in Gaza and other events dominating news, the humanitarian crisis in Sudan is going underreported.
Since renewed fighting broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the rebel paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on April 15, 2023,more than 8 million people have fled their homes and more than 14,000 people have been killed, according to conflict mon..

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His story inspired ‘Hotel Rwanda.’ Now he’s speaking out against the government

April 15, 20245:00 AM ET
Enlarge this imagePaul Rusesabagina in 2019.

Nicolas Maeterlinck/AFP via Getty Images

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Nicolas Maeterlinck/AFP via Getty Images

Paul Rusesabagina in 2019.

Nicolas Maeterlinck/AFP via Getty Images

From April to July 1994, the world watched as genocide unfolded in Rwanda. A million people died as neighbors brutally attacked their neighbors with clubs and machetes.
Thirty years later, the horror of the Rwandan genocide endures, but so does the humanity and bravery of Paul Rusesabagina, whose story that was captured in the 2004 movie Hotel Rwanda.
The real Rusesabagina recounted some of the details when he talked to All Things Considered host Juana Summers recently from his home in San Antonio.
Africa Bill Clinton and other leaders join Rwandans in marking 30 years since their genocide”I happened to be a hotelier in 1994, and I had 1,268 people who happened to come to hide in my hotel — Hutus and Tutsis. And none of t..

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Sudan’s civil war and displacement through the eyes of a poet

April 14, 20248:02 AM ET
Enlarge this imageSmoke is seen rising from Khartoum’s skyline, Sudan, Sunday, April 16, 2023. The Sudanese military and a powerful paramilitary group have been battling for control of the chaos-stricken nation.

Marwan Ali/AP

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Marwan Ali/AP

Smoke is seen rising from Khartoum’s skyline, Sudan, Sunday, April 16, 2023. The Sudanese military and a powerful paramilitary group have been battling for control of the chaos-stricken nation.

Marwan Ali/AP

The words of one Sudanese poet, draw attention to the devastation that one year of war has wrecked on her country.
Emi Mahmoud was born in Sudan where fighting erupted a year ago between the Sudanese army and a powerful paramilitary group. The violence has sparked the world’s worst displacement crisis, and for millions of families like her own, it has had a profound impact.
Mahmoud is also a Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agencyand has been speaking to NPR’s Emman..

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