South Sudan troupe sees new country's struggle in Shakespeare

LONDON — Posthumus, the protagonist of Shakespeare's "Cymbeline," marched through the Herculean columns of the Globe theater,...

A novel idea in Egypt: Presidential candidates

AGA, Egypt — After an unfriendly journalist was tossed off, Amr Moussa's campaign bus headed north to the Nile Delta, where barefoot...

Africa's economic boom points up the need for managers

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Africa's rapid economic growth has helped change the stereotype of a hopeless continent of starving...

Sudan's conflict with South Sudan cuts both ways

KHARTOUM, Sudan — It has come to this: The Sudanese government is sending out text messages to the population begging for donations to...

Egypt presidential candidates clash in TV debate

CAIRO — Egyptians gathered in living rooms and cafes Thursday night to mark another first in their troubled political odyssey toward a...

South Africa sneaker maker laces up for a hard run at success

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — For a Soweto boy, he had a lot of sneakers.

Dynamic pragmatist becomes top Islamist contender in Egypt

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt — The stage along the sea was a politically crafted advertisement for Egypt's diversity: An unveiled woman chatted...

Nigeria state seeks husbands for 1,000 brides-to-be

KANO, Nigeria — He should be tall. Kind, of course. And generous, especially when it comes to buying all those little trinkets that...

Attack on protesters in Egypt leaves 11 dead

CAIRO — At least 11 people were killed Wednesday when unknown attackers armed with guns and firebombs clashed with protesters near...

Many in Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood wary of plunge into politics

CAIRO — Osama Abdel Hadi was born into the Muslim Brotherhood. His father, a history professor, was respected within the Islamic...

Obama's counter-terrorism advisor defends drone strikes

WASHINGTON — President Obama's top counter-terrorism advisor Monday defended using drones to launch missiles against militants in...

Conviction of Liberia's Charles Taylor seen as double-edged

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — The litany of abuses was chilling: mass murder, rape, sexual slavery. Forcing children to fight. Chopping...

Nigerian billionaire leaves his imprint in cement

LAGOS, Nigeria —The chaotic color of the megalopolis cascades past the window of his silver Mercedes SUV. A police escort with a...

Gas deal dispute reflects change in Israel-Egypt relations

CAIRO — The decorum of diplomacy has devolved into embarrassing headlines and testy one-liners in the increasingly strained...

Egypt-Israel natural gas deal revoked for economic reasons

JERUSALEM — Amid the collapse of a multibillion-dollar natural gas agreement between Egypt and Israel that had been in place since...

Sudan vows to teach South Sudan 'a final lesson'

KHARTOUM, Sudan — Sudan and its southern rival slid toward a ruinous war Thursday, with fighting continuing along their contested...

Egypt panel upholds decision to bar key presidential candidates

CAIRO — The well-tailored spy and the dueling Islamists are out.

In Egypt, the poor make a living off subsidized propane

CAIRO — They trundle like a lost parade, rolling metal cylinders through the dust beneath the broken cliffs rising above the City of...

Libya is a lure for migrants, where exploitation waits

TRIPOLI, Libya — Ahmed Mostafa and his friends paid thousands of dollars among them to get to Libya recently, traveling with gangs...

Sudan, South Sudan edge closer to war

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Sudan and South Sudan teetered dangerously on the edge of war Thursday after South Sudan refused to...

Egypt disqualifies 3 leading presidential candidates

CAIRO — Egypt's volatile presidential race was jolted Saturday when the election commission disqualified three controversial front-...

Egyptian Islamists pin their hopes on Islamic law

CAIRO — The men gathering outside the yellow mosque agreed: Adulterers should be stoned to death, the hands of thieves cut off.

In Egypt's Tahrir Square, die-hard revolutionaries linger

CAIRO — The ragged effigy of a fallen leader dangles from a lamppost over the remnants of a dying revolution.

Northern Nigeria lives in fear of militant group

KANO, Nigeria — In an attack that didn't happen — well, not officially — a police inspector and four of his officers...

Human ancestors used fire earlier than thought, study says

Flame-bearing Prometheus may have visited humans earlier than we thought. An analysis of charred bones and plant ash in sediment from a...

Gains of Mali's Tuareg rebels appear permanent, analysts say

It took just a few months of combat for Tuareg rebels in Mali, battle-hardened by their time fighting for Libya's late leader Moammar...

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood chooses presidential candidate

CAIRO — The Muslim Brotherhood chose a religiously conservative businessman as its presidential candidate Saturday, a provocative move...

Tribal justice still rules in parts of Egypt

EL HUJAYRAT, Egypt — The sheik walked through his courtyard to a room where sins are purged.

Foot fossil suggests a second human relative at time of Lucy

Lucy, that starlet among ancient human relatives, may have shared the stage with a hominin very different from herself, a newly discovered...

Egypt military looking to keep its grip at least on economy

The Egyptian military stamps itself as protector of the nation, but behind this carefully tended mythology the army controls a multibillion-...

Pope Shenouda III dies at 88; leader of Coptic Orthodox Church

Debts closed in on Egypt man who died hanged in his jail cell

His mother visited him hours before he twisted the edges of his blanket into a rope.

After revolution in Egypt, women's taste of equality fades

Bothaina Kamel is a novelty and a provocation in a single breath. The only woman running for Egypt's presidency, she travels without an...

A young Somali lured into a life of death

When his parents were killed in a rocket attack, the only person to show a lonely Somali boy named Abdi any kindness, or say a caring word,...

'An African Election' review: Crucial vote for Ghana, democracy

Americans can barely be bothered to vote in our own elections, so why should we care enough about anyone else's to watch the gripping...

Unpredictable to the end, Moammar Kadafi ruled Libya for decades

In the modern pantheon of the world's dictators, Moammar Kadafi stood apart. Far apart.

Three women, two Liberians and a Yemeni, win Nobel Peace Prize

Three women from Africa and the Middle East who symbolize nonviolent struggles to improve their nations and advance the role of women's...