News from The Associated Press

Nigeria military says it rescued hostages in north
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) -- Nigeria's military says it has rescued women and children taken hostage by Islamic extremists after an attack on a police barracks....

French help Niger to kill last jihadist bombers
NIAMEY, Niger (AP) -- With the help of French special forces, Niger's military on Friday killed the last two jihadists holed up inside a dormitory on the grounds of a military garrison in the desert town of Agadez, and freed at least two soldiers who had been held hostage by the extremists, according to French and Nigerien officials....

Kenya's mental hospital drugs, confines patients
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- Patients at Kenya's only psychiatric hospital are often confined and immobilized using drugs that put them in a comatose-like state, factors that may have led to the recent escape of 40 male patients, an advocacy group said Friday....

UN chief challenges African leaders over Congo
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) -- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday urged African leaders to implement a peace plan that the U.N. hopes will stabilize eastern Congo, a region long plagued by violence and which now is back on edge....

Uganda president ousts army boss amid dispute
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) -- Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni fired his top military commander Friday, the ouster apparently linked to turmoil over Museveni's alleged plan to have his son succeed him as head of state....

Zimbabwe activist: Prisoners denied AIDS drugs
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -- A Zimbabwean human rights activist says he wants the nation's highest court to order prison authorities to ensure suspects in jail can receive their life-prolonging HIV/AIDS medications....

Correction: Mozambique-UN story
MAPUTO, Mozambique (AP) -- In a story May 21 about U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon visiting Mozambique, The Associated Press reported erroneously that Mozambique became independent in 1974, instead of 1975....

Egypt: 3 women killed in suspected 'honor' crime
LUXOR, Egypt (AP) -- A mother and two daughters were allegedly killed by male relatives in southern Egypt who believed they'd had affairs, the latest apparent example of so-called "honor killings" in which women are slain for violating traditional morals in the conservative region, a security official said Friday....

AP PHOTOS: Egypt's languishing Islamic antiquities
CAIRO (AP) -- Cairo, the Arab world's most populated city, is often referred to as an open-air museum of Islamic antiquities and the city of 1,000 minarets....

2011 jail breaks become political issue in Egypt
CAIRO (AP) -- It was one of the most perplexing events of Egypt's revolution: orchestrated attacks on prisons around the country that broke out more than 20,000 inmates while police were tied down with the massive popular protests that swept autocrat Hosni Mubarak from power....