A year has passed since Niger's dramatic coup. Life has become more dangerous and desperate

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — When a group of military officers appeared on state television in Niger one year ago to make a dramatic announcement of a coup, they said they deposed the West African nation's elected government for two key reasons: its security, and economic crises. But...

Suburban Alabama school district appears headed toward state oversight

BESSEMER, Ala. (AP) — A suburban Alabama school district appears headed toward state oversight. The board for the Bessemer City Schools District voted unanimously Monday to approve a resolution to “fully acknowledge, agree and consent” to state intervention, al.com reported. If...

Family of aid worker detained in Central African Republic for alleged rebel contacts urge release

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The family of a Portuguese-Belgian aid worker detained in the Central African Republic for allegedly being in touch with armed groups to plot a coup maintained his innocence and called for his release Tuesday, even as the African government said it had evidence to support...

Sierra Leone court finds 11 involved in alleged coup guilty. Leader sentenced to almost 200 years

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) — A Sierra Leone court found 11 people guilty of treason and other offenses following what authorities have called an attempted coup, with their leader sentenced to almost 200 years in prison, a judiciary spokesman said Tuesday. In November, dozens of...

Cyprus displays jewelry, early Christian icons and Bronze Age antiquities once looted from island

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus on Monday put on display artifacts — some of them thousands of years old — that were returned after a Turkish art dealer looted them from the ethnically divided island nation decades ago. Aydin Dikmen took the artifacts from the country's breakaway...

Strife-torn Myanmar marks 77th anniversary of the assassination of independence hero Gen. Aung San

BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s military government held a wreath-laying ceremony in the country’s largest city Friday to mark the anniversary of the assassination of the country’s fallen independence heroes, including Gen. Aung San, the father of the country’s ousted leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. ...

Bolivia's beleaguered president announces natural gas discovery, promising a boon for the country

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Bolivia's embattled president on Monday announced the discovery of vast natural gas reserves, describing it as the biggest find in nearly two decades that could help the cash-strapped country reverse its falling production. President Luis Arce called the...

Azerbaijan reopens its embassy in Iran as the countries try to ease tensions

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The embassy of Azerbaijan in Tehran resumed its work Monday after more than a year of negotiations between the two countries to ease tensions, media reports said. An official at the embassy told The Associated Press that it had resumed operations but the formal...

Macy's ends takeover talks with Arkhouse and Brigade over lack of financing certainty, will focus on its own strategy

Terrorism and organized crime rampant in Sahel and spilling into West Africa coastal states, UN says

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Terrorism and organized crime by violent extremist groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State are a “pervasive threat” in Africa's volatile Sahel region and are spilling over to West Africa's coastal countries, the top U.N. envoy for the area warned Friday. ...