by Tom Odula

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP)— The mistaken belief that albino body parts have magical powers has driven thousands of Africa’s albinos into hiding, fearful of losing their lives and limbs to unscrupulous dealers who can make up to $75,000 selling a complete dismembered set.

Mary Owido, who lacks pigment that gives color to skin, eyes and hair, says she is only comfortable when at work or at home with her husband and children.

LIVING IN FEAR—Mary Owido sits with her children Steven, left, Stella, and Brayan, at their home in western Kenyan town of Ahero, Nov. 24. Owido, who lacks pigment that gives color to skin, eyes and hair, says she is only comfortable when at work or at home with her husband and children.

“Wherever I go people start talking about me, saying that my legs and hands can fetch a fortune in Tanzania,” said Owido, 36, a mother of six. “This kind of talk scares me. I am afraid of going out alone.”

by Tales Azzoni

SAO PAULO (AP)—Brazil’s case of the pink mini-dress that went viral on the Internet has left many scratching their heads: How could it be that an outfit, no matter how short, would cause such an uproar in a tropical nation where skimpy clothing and tiny bikinis barely raise an eyebrow?

REINSTATED—Student Geisy Arruda poses at her home Nov. 7 in Sao Paulo wearing the same dress that she was expelled for wearing on campus at Bandeirante University in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil.

The answer, a Bandeirante University official said, is not in the pink dress, but in how Geisy Arruda, a 20-year-old tourism student, chose to wear it. In expelling her from the university—where she has since been reinstated—officials said she paraded provocatively and raised the dress.

“There are hundreds of girls wearing miniskirts on this campus every day, and nothing has ever happened,” Vice Dean Ellis Brown said at a news conference.  “The size of the dress was never discussed—her behavior was.”

by Donna Bryson

JOHANNESBURG (AP)—An African has taken over as director of Greenpeace, bringing experience honed as a teenage opponent of White rule in South Africa and a network of powerful contacts to the battle against global warming.

ENVIRONMENTAL EXEC— Kumi Naidoo, Greenpeace International’s new executive director who took up his post on Nov. 16, speaks during an exclusive interview with The Associated Press in Johannesburg, South Africa, Nov. 12.

Greenpeace was founded 38 years ago by environmental activists who wanted to stop the United States from conducting underground nuclear tests in a region off Alaska that harbored endangered sea otters. Kumi Naidoo, the new director, said he still had much to learn about the group’s current agenda, from protecting whales and forests to stopping nuclear tests and toxic dumping. But he has already grasped the issues around global warming, an increasingly overriding concern of Greenpeace and other environmental groups.

by Donna Bryson

JOHANNESBURG (AP)—Dancers clad in animal skins heralded the beginning of a different sort of royal ceremony, a nod to tradition for the forward-thinking kings, queens and chiefs who jetted in to Johannesburg from across Africa to launch an institute they hope will expand their roles on the continent

TRADITIONAL DANCE— Batswana traditional dancers perform during the launch of the Institute of African Royalty launch in Johannesburg, South Africa, Nov. 3.

The two dozen leaders from Morocco to Swaziland describe their new Institute of African Royalty as part think-tank on democracy and development, part lobby group to polish their image. They say their model is anti-apartheid icon and former President Nelson Mandela, and plan to honor the man referred to during the Nov. 3 proceedings as “Prince Mandela” at a gala ceremony in Pretoria, the capital, later this week.

Sello Hatang, a spokesman for the anti-apartheid icon’s office, said Nov. 3 that Mandela “feels honored to be respected by the traditional leadership.”