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Zimbabwean author Tsitsi Dangarembga received the Africa Freedom Prize in Johannesburg on Thursday, which is awarded to individuals who “have shown remarkable courage and dedication to advancing the cause of freedom, democracy and human rights on the African continent.”

Tsitsi Dangarembga has long been one of Zimbabwe’s most highly regarded and beloved fiction writers — from her lauded first novel “Nervous Conditions” in 1988 to “This Mournable Body,” which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2020. 

Tinashe Mushakavanhu, a research fellow at the University of Oxford who specializes in Zimbabwean literature, said Dangarembga has a place in the modern canon.

“Her most important contribution is being the first Black, Zimbabwean woman writer to publish a novel in English. In that sense, she is a pioneer and a leading light, so much that her book, “Nervous Conditions,” is considered one of the best African books of the 20th century,” said Mushakavanhu.

That’s one of the reasons the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, which promotes liberal politics and democracy around the world, is awarding Dangarembga their greatest honor today. She is also the recipient of the 2021 PEN International Award for Freedom of Expression. 

Aside from her writing, Dangarembga has made headlines for her political activism. The 64-year-old was convicted by a Zimbabwean court last year of “inciting violence” after staging a peaceful protest with a friend during which the two women stood quietly on a roadside holding placards calling for political reform. That conviction was overturned earlier this year by a higher court.  

So, would Dangarembga consider herself a political writer?

“I don’t conceive of myself as an activist writer. I conceive of myself as a person who has a story to tell, and my story has an intention. My intention is to tell stories in which Zimbabweans can see themselves reflected. And I think that is important for the well-being of the individual — to understand the complexities of the lives they are living and the challenges, and to possibly point to possible solutions. And I think when individuals are able to engage in that process, it leads to the health of the nation,” she said.

After independence in 1980, the former British colony was ruled by one man, Robert Mugabe, for almost four decades until he was overthrown in a bloodless coup in 2017. His successor from the same party, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, has failed to fix the country’s broken economy and has cracked down on dissent.

The political opposition called the last elections, held in August, a fraud, and the Southern African Development Community, which sent a mission to observe polls, expressed concerns over the fairness of the vote.

Among the previous winners of the Africa Freedom Prize are Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Danai Mupotsa, a senior lecturer in African literature at Johannesburg’s Witwatersrand University, notes that female writers from the continent have been receiving more attention and accolades lately.

“There’s definitely a particular kind of moment for African writers and African women writers, I think, in particularly the last 10 years,” said Mupotsa.

Asked about this, Dangarembga said what it indicates is the publishing world has “’shifted to open up” and is publishing more work by African woman writers.
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Norwegian author Jon Fosse has been awarded this year’s Nobel Prize in Literature.

The Swedish Academy highlighted what it said were Fosse’s “innovative plays and prose, which give voice to the unsayable.”

“His immense oeuvre written in Norwegian Nynorsk and spanning a variety of genres consists of a wealth of plays, novels, poetry collections, essays, children’s books and translations,” the academy said.

The Nobel announcements began Monday with the prize in Medicine going to Hungary’s Kataline Kariko and Drew Weissman of the United States for their joint research that led to the rapid development of the mRNA COVID vaccines.

The academy on Tuesday awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics to Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz and Anne L’Huillier for their individual efforts that led to the creation of “extremely short pulses of light that can be used to measure the rapid processes in which electrons move or change energy.”

On Wednesday, Moungi Bawendi, Louis Brus and Alexei Ekimov were been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work in advancing the field of nanotechnology.

The Nobel Peace Prize will be announced Friday, followed by the final prize for economic sciences on Monday.

All the categories except economics were established in the will of 19th century Swedish businessman Alfred Nobel, who made a fortune with his invention of dynamite.

The first Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901, five years after his death.

The economics prize was established in 1968 by Sweden’s central bank Sveriges Riksbank in Nobel’s memory, with the first laureates, Norway’s Ragnar Frisch and Jan Tinbergen of the Netherlands, announced the next year.
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It’s been 15 years since the world’s elite gas balloon pilots have gathered in the United States for a race with roots that stretch back more than a century.

The pilots will be launching for this year’s Gordon Bennett competition during an international balloon fiesta that draws hundreds of thousands of spectators to the heart of New Mexico each fall. The race has been held in the United States only 13 times before, and this will be the fifth time the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta has played host.

The launch window opens Saturday evening for what is billed as one of the most prestigious events in aviation.

Some worry that the massive spheres could be mistaken for Chinese spy balloons as they traverse the upper reaches of America’s airspace. But the pilots who will be racing aren’t worried. They’re more concerned about charting a course that will keep them out of bad weather and give their hydrogen-filled balloons a path to victory.

There are no stops to refuel or to pick up extra supplies. They will be aloft for days, carrying everything they need to survive at high altitude as they search for the right combination of wind currents to push their tiny baskets as far as they can go. Prevailing winds are expected to carry the competitors through the Midwest toward the northeastern U.S. and potentially into Canada.

A Belgium team holds the record for traveling just over 3,400 kilometers in 2005. A German team was added to the record books for staying aloft the longest — more than 92 hours — during the 1995 competition. Willi Eimers, a member of that German team, holds the record for the number of times a pilot has competed in the race. He and his son, Benjamin, are back this year to defend their title.

Albuquerque balloonists Barbara Fricke and husband Peter Cuneo will be among three American teams. Their ballooning résumé includes four wins in the America’s Challenge long-distance gas balloon race, and third- and fourth-place finishes in previous Gordon Bennett competitions.

The couple are at a slight disadvantage because of their height. Their long legs make it tough to squeeze into a basket that is about 1.22 meters by 1.52 meters wide. They do have a trap door on the side so they can stretch out if needed.

On a recent day, Fricke and Cuneo had their equipment spread out on their living room floor as they checked their radio, transponder and GPS unit. A small solar panel and batteries will help to keep things charged while in the air. Dried foods, including Cheez-Its, are on the in-flight menu.

The idea was to get everything ready in advance so they could rest in the days leading up to the race and get themselves in the right state of mind.

“You’ve got to start thinking — yes, I’m going to live in this basket for three days, and this is going to be home, and I’m just camping out in the sky,” Fricke said.

Another U.S. entry in the race is the team of Mark Sullivan and Cheri White, both of whom have a long list of accolades: Sullivan holds the record for the most competition gas balloon flights — 25 Gordon Bennett flights and 21 America’s Challenge races, while White has flown in the Gordon Bennett 14 times, the most ever by a female pilot.

Sullivan, president of the FAI Ballooning Commission, said this will be an important year as the fiesta is partnering with hydrogen company BayoTech on a new system to convert high-pressure gas typically used for the long-haul trucking industry and other vehicles so that it can fill the race balloons.

Pilots and organizers say hydrogen has been hard to come by.

Never mind the cost — it can be a few thousand dollars to fill a 1,000 cubic meter balloon.

Sullivan got his first taste of gas ballooning in 1985. After launching from a rural area east of Albuquerque, he and fellow pilot Jacques Soukup tried to land in West Texas. The wind was howling, and they busted through a barbed wire fence. They bailed from the basket as it got dragged for another a mile, crashing through more barbed wire and herds of horses and cattle.

The balloon was shredded, the basket was mangled and Sullivan was hooked on the sport.

Competitive gas ballooning is something of an exclusive club, but Sullivan and others are trying to get a new generation involved by training younger pilots.

There have been many technological advancements over the years — baskets are now made of carbon fiber, mapping and tracking apps are top-notch, and equipment is getting lighter and more compact.

But the pilots still take great pains to ensure sure they’re at fighting weight. Every pound shaved means they might be able to add another ballast — extra weight in the form of sandbags or water jugs that are used to help keep the balloon flying longer.

Unlike the colorful hot air balloons that ascend en masse during the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta by using heated ambient air, gas balloons have an envelope filled with a gas lighter than air — usually hydrogen. Some of the gas is lost as it expands and contracts as temperatures fluctuate throughout the day, so pilots get rid of ballast to maintain altitude.

Teams dress in layers — long johns, hats, gloves and hand warmers for the frigid overnight and morning hours. In the afternoon, the sun can be more intense at high altitude.

Sullivan, 73, spent last week getting his basket ready and reviewing his checklist. It depends on where he and White are flying, but sometimes survival suits and inflatable life rafts are on the list.

He recalled the Gordon Bennett competition that occurred after the 9/11 attacks in 2001. The gas balloons were the only things in the sky as planes were still grounded.

In 1995, two fellow Americans were killed when they were shot down over Belarus by the military. Sullivan and his copilot were detained when they landed in the country.

Every flight is different, with the pilots never sure about where they might land. Risk is inherent, and they know how far they can push the envelope.

“It’s the adventure,” Sullivan said. “Every year when we land, we say, ‘We’re not doing this. It’s crazy.’ Then you decide, ‘OK, let’s go up there.’ Because once you get up there, it’s wonderful — just that experience of flying.”
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The 2030 World Cup will play out across three continents, FIFA, soccer’s governing body, announced Wednesday. 

The World Cup is usually limited to one host nation, sometimes two. But 2030’s edition will be hosted by an unprecedented six countries:  Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. 

Originally, Spain and Portugal proposed to host the 2030 World Cup jointly. Their bid expanded to include Morocco. Bid rivals Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay joined next. 

The unprecedented intercontinental tournament could open in Uruguay’s capital, Montevideo, where the inaugural World Cup was played in 1930. 

“The centennial World Cup could not be far from South America, where everything began,” said Alejandro Dominguez, president of South America’s soccer federation CONMEBOL. 

FIFA’s tricontinental World Cup plan awaits formal approval in 2024 at a conference of 211 worldwide soccer federations. That vote is typically a formality. 

Like 2026’s World Cup, 2030’s is scheduled for June and July of that year and will feature 48 teams vying for soccer’s most prestigious trophy, with 104 games to be played in total. 

National teams will have to cover vast distances and adjust to time zone shifts to participate. 

“In 2030, we will have a unique global footprint, three continents … six countries … welcoming and uniting the world while celebrating the beautiful game, the centenary and the FIFA World Cup,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said. 

Now that a decision has been reached over where the 2030 World Cup will take place, the 2034 World Cup bidding contest will start soon. The 2034 World Cup will be limited to FIFA member nations in Asia and Oceania. Saudi Arabia and Australia have both expressed interest. 

Some information for this report is from The Associated Press.
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When members of a tourist group did not like the food in the only restaurant in Turkey’s ancient city of Mardin in 2000, their tour guide, Ebru Baybara Demir, invited them to her home for dinner. That decision created a whole new life and career for Demir. VOA’s Mahmut Bozarslan has this report from Mardin, narrated by Begum Donmez Ersoz.
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Muslim comic creators are working to change Islamic stereotypes in American pop culture. Genia Dulot has our story, with videography by Roy Kim.
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The fourth edition of the World Culture Festival brought together hundreds of thousands of people from all around the world to the National Mall in Washington Sept. 29 through Oct. 1. First held in Bangalore in 2006, the festival continued in 2011 in Berlin and 2016 in Delhi. That event was attended by more than 3 million people. VOA’s Saqib Ul Islam has more.
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