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Meanwhile in ... Africa, more young people are being drawn to the sport of fencing

And in Saudi Arabia, a small group of women are operating the country’s first feminist radio station.

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Grigory Dukor/Reuters/File
  • By Staff

Africa, more young people are being drawn to the sport of fencing. The International Fencing Federation (FIE), lured by the potential of large pools of untapped talent on the continent, is upgrading its facilities there, reports CNN. “There’s been a big leap,” Manyane Sefularo, champion fencer and FIE coach, told CNN about African teams, which have seen expansion in Sierra Leone, Uganda, and Nigeria. “We’re on the right track.” In South Africa, there is particular excitement about promising young talent coming from the townships of Soweto and Mamelodi. 

Saudi Arabia, a small group of women are operating the country’s first feminist radio station. The women behind Nsawya FM (which means “Feminist FM” in English) work anonymously from their homes, reports ABC News, citing fear of arrest should their identities become known. They broadcast programs through the live audio streaming website Mixlr and say their goal is to become “the voice of the silent majority” as they air stories on conditions for women throughout the Middle East, including reports of domestic violence. 

Cuba, a number of exotic animals roam a remote island off the country’s coast. Out of gratitude for the generous foreign aid packages that the government of Fidel Castro offered over the course of many decades, African nations – including Ethiopia, Namibia, Angola, and Mozambique – often sent animals to Cuba. As a result, many today wander free, to the surprise and delight of tourists. A travel writer for the BBC recently reported seeing zebras, antelopes, ostriches, water buffalo (from China), and camels while being taken on a “safari” on Cayo Saetía, a sparsely populated cay off Cuba. 

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