Protest, North Africa | featured news

President Obama spoke with the leaders of Libya and Egypt late Wednesday to discuss security for U.S. personnel in the wake of attacks on diplomatic posts in both countries. In a phone call with Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, Obama "underscored the importance of Egypt following through on its commitment to cooperate with the United States in securing U.S. diplomatic facilities and personnel," according to a statement issued by the White House.

Hosni Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison Saturday for failing to stop the killing of protesters during the uprising that forced him from power last year.

An Egyptian civilian court ordered the army on Tuesday to end forced virginity tests on female detainees in military prisons.

"I was not sure I was going to live," says Derrik Sweeney after arriving in St. Louis. He and two others had been arrested in Cairo and accused of throwing firebombs. Three American college students detained for several days in Egypt as deadly protests swept Cairo have flown home to freedom, one describing an ordeal so terrifying he wasn't sure he would survive it.

The killing of an unarmed demonstrator by the security police on Saturday threatened to stir up new protests here as Egypt’s military rulers and political parties raced to prepare for potential chaos surrounding the parliamentary elections scheduled to start on Monday.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh signed a Gulf initiative on Wednesday to hand over power to his deputy as part of a proposal to end months of protests that have pushed the Arab country to the brink of civil war.

Clashes erupted between riot police and protesters in Cairo's Tahrir square Saturday after police dispersed a sit-in by demonstrators demanding the ruling military transfer power swiftly to a civilian government.

Algeria on Thursday lifted a 19-year-old state of emergency in a concession to the opposition designed to keep out a wave of uprisings sweeping the Arab world.

Libyan protesters celebrated in the streets of Benghazi on Monday, claiming control of the country's second largest city after bloody fighting, and anti-government unrest spread to the capital with clashes in Tripoli's main square for the first time. Moammar Gadhafi's son vowed that his father and security forces would fight "until the last bullet."...

Jittery Chinese authorities wary of any domestic dissent staged a concerted show of force Sunday to squelch a mysterious online call for a "Jasmine Revolution" apparently modeled after pro-democracy demonstrations sweeping the Middle East.