NPR News -Africa

January 20, 20247:41 AM ET
Enlarge this imageIs the series of snowy storms in North America making you a little … um … squirrely? Well imagine if this was the first time you ever saw snow in your life! We reached out to people in the Global South and other parts to share their stories of the first time they saw snow.

Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

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Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

Is the series of snowy storms in North America making you a little … um … squirrely? Well imagine if this was the first time you ever saw snow in your life! We reached out to people in the Global South and other parts to share their stories of the first time they saw snow.

Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

Has the novelty worn off yet? Much of North America is snowed in, and unless you’re a school-age kid angling for a snow day, the white stuff may be losing its charms by this time of year.
But what if you’d never seen snow before? Thinking back to when s..

February 6, 20246:23 PM ET

In Senegal, a delayed presidential election is causing concern for the future of its democracy. The delay was ratified in parliament amidst scenes of chaos — scenes that were mirrored on the streets.

February 5, 20247:23 PM ET
Enlarge this imageSenegalese riot police lob tear gas at supporters of opposition presidential candidate Daouda Ndiaye, in Dakar, Senegal, on Sunday.

Stefan Kleinowitz/AP

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Stefan Kleinowitz/AP

Senegalese riot police lob tear gas at supporters of opposition presidential candidate Daouda Ndiaye, in Dakar, Senegal, on Sunday.

Stefan Kleinowitz/AP

DAKAR, Senegal — Senegal’s parliament voted Monday to delay the West African nation’s presidential election until Dec. 15 in a chaotic voting process that took place after opposition lawmakers were forcefully removed from the chambers as they debated President Macky Sall’s earlier decision to delay the crucial election.
Security forces stormed the legislative building and forcefully removed several opposition lawmakers who were trying to block the voting process on the unprecedented delay of the presidential election initially scheduled for Feb. 25. The adopted bill extend..

February 4, 202410:12 AM ET
Enlarge this imageNigeria’s global star Burna Boy (center) is nominated in Grammy’s new category “best African music performance.” Nominees are from Nigeria, South Africa and Benin. Other African musicians feel neglected. Mulatu Astatke (left) is a pioneer of Ethio-jazz in Ethiopia, which has never earned a Grammy nod. North African musicians have rarely been nominated. At right: Tunisian singer Emel Mathlouthi.

Alexis Maryon, Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Karl Lagerfeld, courtesy of the artist

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Alexis Maryon, Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Karl Lagerfeld, courtesy of the artist

Nigeria’s global star Burna Boy (center) is nominated in Grammy’s new category “best African music performance.” Nominees are from Nigeria, South Africa and Benin. Other African musicians feel neglected. Mulatu Astatke (left) is a pioneer of Ethio-jazz in Ethiopia, which has never earned a Grammy nod. North African musicians have rarely been nominated..

February 4, 20242:16 AM ET
Enlarge this imageFILE – Namibia President Hage Geingob speaks during a plenary session at the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, on Dec. 1, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Namibian president has died in a hospital where he was receiving treatment, his office said Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024.

Peter Dejong/AP

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Peter Dejong/AP

FILE – Namibia President Hage Geingob speaks during a plenary session at the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, on Dec. 1, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Namibian president has died in a hospital where he was receiving treatment, his office said Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024.

Peter Dejong/AP

CAIRO — Namibian President Hage Geingob died Sunday while receiving medical treatment, his office announced.
In a post on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, the Namibian presidency said Geingob’s medical team at Lady Pohamba Hospital did its best to help him, but Geingob died with his wife, Monica Geingos, and ..

February 3, 20245:06 AM ET
Enlarge this imageIn this image made from video, firefighters work on a fire in Nairobi, Kenya, Friday, Feb. 2, 2024.

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In this image made from video, firefighters work on a fire in Nairobi, Kenya, Friday, Feb. 2, 2024.

AP

NAIROBI, Kenya — Liquid petroleum gas cylinders exploded in an illegal depot in a residential area of the Kenyan capital, officials said Friday, setting off a late-night inferno that killed at least three people and injured 280 others. The death toll was expected to rise.
The depot in Nairobi had twice been demolished, and the owner had been found guilty of operating an illegal gas refilling business in May, but continued to do business, officials said. That raised suspicions — in a country where corruption is endemic — that bribes were paid to ignore the operation.
At least 24 people were critically injured, the Kenya Red Cross said, after a huge fireball erupted from the gas..

January 31, 20246:25 AM ET
Enlarge this imageSupporters of the Alliance Of Sahel States (AES) drive with flags as they celebrate Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger leaving the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Niamey on January 28, 2024.

Hama Boureima/AFP via Getty Images

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Hama Boureima/AFP via Getty Images

Supporters of the Alliance Of Sahel States (AES) drive with flags as they celebrate Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger leaving the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Niamey on January 28, 2024.

Hama Boureima/AFP via Getty Images

LAGOS, Nigeria – Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, three countries ruled by military juntas, overwhelmed by jihadist insurgencies and a series of coups in recent years, have severed ties with regional West African countries this week, and quit the regional bloc called ECOWAS.
It was announced on Sunday before it was communicated through official diplomatic channels, catching neighbouring leade..

January 25, 20247:20 AM ET

The Central African nation of Cameroon kicked off the world’s first routine childhood vaccine program for malaria this week.

January 24, 20245:36 PM ET

Cameroon has officially rolled out the first malaria vaccine approved for routine vaccination, targeting children 6 months and older. It reduces severe disease by 30% among young kids.

January 23, 20245:04 PM ET

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Africa on his fourth tour of the region. The Unites States is looking to emphasize the positive, not the elephant in the room — China.