Making his first official trip to sub-Saharan Africa, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday demanded that Nigeria respect human rights as it cracks down on Islamist extremists and pledged to work hard in the coming months to ease tensions between Sudan and South Sudan.

Kerry makes 1st official sub-Saharan Africa visit Associated Press Copyright 2013 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Updated 11:43 am, Saturday, May 25, 2013 ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Making his first official trip to sub-Saharan Africa, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday demanded that Nigeria respect human rights as ...

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is in Switzerland to sign a free trade pact with the Alpine nation - the first comprehensive agreement the country has reached with a major western economy.

“A FEW clouds in the sky cannot shut out the brilliant rays of our friendship”: on his first foreign trip as China’s prime minister, Li Keqiang was determined to make his visit to Delhi, India’s capital, a success. On May 21st, bouncing with energy and quick to flash a smile, Mr Li enthused over his “candid and friendly” meetings with ...

The chief of Hezbollah stressed his party's commitment to fight for the Syrian regime in a war that has increasingly engulfed neighboring Lebanon.

The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group vowed to help propel President Bashar Assad to victory in Syria's bloody civil war, warning that the fall of the Damascus regime would give rise to extremists and plunge the Middle East into a "dark period."

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Visiting sub-Saharan Africa for the first time since taking office, Secretary of State John F. Kerry remained focused Saturday largely on the Middle East, particularly Egypt, whose cratering economy and political problems are dimming hopes it can play a major role in fostering any new peace plan for Israel and the Palestinians. Read full article >>    

Skepticism, cynicism, maybe some hope? Secretary of State John Kerry met with political leaders in Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank this week in his effort to restart direct peace talks between the two parties. As NPR's Emily Harris tells host Scott Simon, this visit brought no concrete plan, but one is expected next month.

THE MV City of Xiamen, a container ship flagged in Antigua and Barbuda, was about 160km (100 miles) off the Nigerian coast in the evening of April 25th when 14 pirates, armed to the teeth, boarded her and broke into the ship’s safe room. They made off with an undisclosed sum of cash and five crew members, who were freed ...