Gregory Warner

The Enemy Inside: Rhino's Protectors Sometimes Aid Poachers

Gregory Warner — Tue, 14 May 2013 19:33:00 +0000

It says a lot about the state of the war against poachers in Africa that the Lewa Conservancy, a private sanctuary in Kenya with 12 percent of the country's rhinos, recently appointed a CEO who has never studied zoology or biology. Instead, Mike Watson is an ex-captain in the British army.

His training has already come in handy. Take, for instance, a visit to a crime scene earlier this year: a rhino carcass splayed out in the mud.

Watson holds a black-and-white photo, a kind of rhino mug shot.

Rhino Horns Fuel Deadly, Intercontinental Trade

Gregory Warner — Sun, 12 May 2013 09:34:00 +0000

NPR's Frank Langfitt and Gregory Warner have teamed up for a series about how myth and money are driving extraordinary slaughter of rhinos. They talk with host Rachel Martin about the issue, which has repercussions from the African continent all the way to Asia.

To Count Elephants In The Forest, Look Down

Gregory Warner — Sat, 11 May 2013 09:29:00 +0000

Imagine you're flying in a two-seater plane over Africa, and, in an effort to see how elephants are faring, your job is to count all the ones you see. Over the savannah, that's easy. But how do you peer into the forests, where all you see is treetops?

For years, the zoologists who tried to do this just guessed. But in the late 1980s, conservationist Richard Barnes devised a method to take an elephant census in the densest of forests.

To do this, he recruited young scientists. Winnie Kiiru had just finished grad school in biology and returned to her native Kenya.

With Robocalls, Eritrean Exiles Organize Passive Resistance

Gregory Warner — Thu, 02 May 2013 18:35:00 +0000

Tucked in the northeast corner of Africa, Eritrea is one of the most closed societies in the world, so much so that it's sometimes dubbed the "North Korea of Africa."

President Isaias Afwerki does not tolerate any independent media. The Internet is restricted. Reporters without Borders recently named it 179th out of 179 countries for freedom of expression.

It's illegal to criticize the government — which could mean something as simple as complaining about the city power outage.

787 Dreamliner Could Mean Big Things For Africa's 'Air Wars'

Gregory Warner — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 21:06:00 +0000

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

And I'm Audie Cornish. The Dreamliner is coming back. FAA regulators have approved a fix for the Boeing Dreamliner 787, which was grounded around the world out of safety concerns. The first redesigned plane could retake to the skies as soon as this weekend out of Ethiopia. NPR's Gregory Warner explains what the world's most modern aircraft means to the cradle of humanity.

GREGORY WARNER, BYLINE: You know a sector is hot when it gets its own trade magazine.

Western Money, African Boots: A Formula For Africa's Conflicts

Gregory Warner — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 20:24:00 +0000

For the past six years in Somalia, Western countries have been putting up the cash and African nations have been supplying the soldiers, a formula that has pushed back al-Qaida-linked militants and allowed Somalia to elect it's first democratic government in 20 years.

"We can fix our problems in Africa," says Brig. Michael Ondoga, a contingent commander with the African Union Mission in Somalia or AMISOM.

What's Next For Congolese Warlord Now At U.S. Embassy?

Gregory Warner — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 22:00:00 +0000

Bosco Ntaganda, the Congolese warlord and rebel leader wanted by the International Criminal Court, showed up at the U.S. Embassy in Kigali on Monday in a taxicab. He was apparently unexpected.

"We did not have any prior notice or consultations with him to indicate that he would do that," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Tuesday. "He was a walk-in, in the truest sense of the word."

She said the U.S.

How Kenya's High-Tech Voting Nearly Lost The Election

Gregory Warner — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 20:11:00 +0000

It was supposed to be the most modern election in African history. Biometric identification kits with electronic thumb pads, registration rolls on laptops at every polling station, and an SMS-relayed, real-time transmission of the results to the National Tallying Center in Nairobi.

Ambitious? Of course. Only 23 percent of the country has access to electricity.

But Kenyans pride themselves on leapfrogging when it comes to adapting technology.

Guys, Your Color Blindness Might Be Messing With Kenya's Elections

Gregory Warner — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 18:33:00 +0000

In Kenya, colorblindness may be contributing to more than just questionable sartorial combinations.

Presidential Runoff Expected In Kenya

Gregory Warner — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 10:20:00 +0000

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Kenya is in the midst of counting votes - slowly - in its presidential election, which went off smoothly despite fears of political violence. So far the candidate who is the favorite to win is one of the richest men in Africa and a man who is also accused of crimes against humanity. NPR's Gregory Warner has this update from Nairobi.

CHOIR: (Singing in foreign language)

GREGORY WARNER, BYLINE: A 20-person choir opened up the second day of vote counting at the National Tallying Centre in Kenya's capital, Nairobi.

Kenyan Election Marked But Record Turnout, Limited Violence

Gregory Warner — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 22:34:00 +0000

Transcript

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

Votes are now being tallied in Kenya's presidential contest. The country has taken strides to avoid the kind of violence that followed the last election back in 2007, but today did not begin well. More than a dozen people were killed in attacks by separatists in Kenya's port city of Mombasa.

In Kenya, Political Puppets Give Voice To Satire

Gregory Warner — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 10:49:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfvNRTY844k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVzptAKekFY

Kenyan Worry Election Will Bring A Repeat Of Tribal Violence

Gregory Warner — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 11:06:00 +0000

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Kenya will soon have a new president. Voters there go to the polls on Monday. The last election was followed by allegations of vote-rigging, and by weeks of deadly tribal violence, which left more than a thousand dead.

Fearing Election Turmoil, Kenyans Seek A Tech Solution

Gregory Warner — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 21:08:00 +0000

As Kenya prepares for a presidential election next Monday, it's trying to prevent a recurrence of the last such poll, in December 2007, when more than 1,000 people were killed in postelection violence.

Last time, technology helped incite that violence. This time, the hope is that technology will help prevent a similar outburst.

Last time around, a text message came on Dec. 31, 2007, four days after a presidential election that many people in the Kalenjin tribe thought was rigged.

The text message said that the most powerful Kalenjin figure in the government, William Ruto, was killed.

Fighting Stream Of Terrorist Capital, Kenya Cracks Down on Somali Businesses

Gregory Warner — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 10:12:00 +0000

U.S. counterterrorism efforts include choking off the flow of cash to extremists, and urging friendly countries to help.

Kenya's Graffiti Train Seeks To Promote A Peaceful Election

Gregory Warner — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 08:21:00 +0000

Kenya's peace train is ready to roll.

Kenyan graffiti artists received permission from the Rift Valley Railway to spray-paint a 10-car commuter train with peace messages and icons. It may be the first train in Africa with officially authorized graffiti.

The train will travel through the massive Nairobi slum of Kibera, one of the largest in Africa, where young gangs torched, looted and killed in the spasms of violence that followed the 2007 Kenyan presidential election.