ANDREW MELDRUM

FILE - Judith Jamison, choreographer and artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, observes young dancers during a workshop at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2010. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Judith Jamison, transcendent dancer and artistic director of Alvin Ailey company, dies at 81

Judith Jamison, an internationally acclaimed dancer who later served as artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for two decades, has died. She was 81.

Ukrainian servicemen sit inside their APC after returning from Russian Kursk region, near Russian-Ukrainian border, Sumy region, Ukraine, Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

What we know about Ukraine’s surprise push into Russian territory

For more than a week, Ukrainian troops have pushed into the Kursk region of Russia, just north of their border, in the most extensive incursion by Kyiv’s forces in the 2½-year-old war.

This photo released by the acting Governor of Kursk region Alexei Smirnov telegram channel on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, shows a damaged house after shelling by the Ukrainian side in the city of Sudzha, Kursk region that borders Ukraine. Russian officials said Wednesday they were fighting off Ukrainian cross-border raids in a southwestern border province for a second day, as Kyiv officials remained quiet about the scope of the operation. (Governor of Kursk region telegram channel via AP)

Ukraine’s surprise cross-border incursion seen as a tactical reply to Russia’s grinding gains

Russia’s army has in recent months made an unrelenting effort to punch through Ukrainian defenses at selected points along the front line in eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy answers media questions standing against the background of Ukraine's Air Force's F-16 fighter jets in an undisclosed location in Ukraine, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024. The F-16 fighter jets that have been delivered to Ukraine by Western countries will be flying sorties in Ukrainian skies and helping the country's current fleet of Soviet-era jets to counter Russia's invasion. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Ukraine’s Zelenskyy displays newly arrived F-16 fighter jets to combat Russia in the air

Ukraine’s newly arrived F-16 fighter jets have been put on display by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said the planes will boost the country’s war effort against Russia.

FILE - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, and Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen sit in a F-16 fighter jet at Skrydstrup Airbase, in Vojens, Denmark, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023. (Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix via AP, File)

One of the F-16s helping Ukraine fight Russia has crashed. Here’s what to know about their role

One of the handful of F-16 warplanes that Ukraine has received from its Western partners to help fight Russia’s invasion has crashed while countering a Russian barrage, killing the pilot.

Soldiers of Ukraine's Azov battalion light flares at a rally demanding to free Ukrainian prisoners of war who are held in captivity in Russia at Independence Square in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, July 28, 2024. Several thousand people and soldiers gathered to commemorate the second anniversary of a Russia-orchestrated explosion that killed more than 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war in the Russian-held Olenivka prison barracks. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Thousands in Ukraine honor soldiers killed in blast and urge government to get prisoners freed

Ukrainians are urging their government to do more to get Russia to release prisoners of war. They voiced their anger on Sunday at a ceremony commemorating the second anniversary of an explosion that killed more than 50.

Ukrainian Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, July 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Agreement with Russia is ‘deal with the devil,’ adviser to Ukrainian president says

Signing an agreement with Russia to stop the war with Ukraine would amount to signing a deal with the devil. That’s the position of a top adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy leaves Downing Street after meeting with Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London, Friday, July 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Biden’s withdrawal from the US presidential race spells new uncertainty for Ukraine

U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to end his campaign for reelection brings a new element of uncertainty for Ukraine. Questions about the future of American support are compounding the pain of its exhausting war against Russia’s invasion.

FILE - Terry Anderson, who was the longest held American hostage in Lebanon, grins with his 6-year-old daughter Sulome, Dec. 4, 1991, as they leave the U.S. Ambassador's residence in Damascus, Syria, following Anderson's release. Anderson, the globe-trotting Associated Press correspondent who became one of America’s longest-held hostages after he was snatched from a street in war-torn Lebanon in 1985 and held for nearly seven years, died Sunday, April 21, 2024. He was 76. (AP Photo/Santiago Lyon, File)

Terry Anderson, AP reporter abducted in Lebanon and held captive for years, has died at 76

Terry Anderson, the globe-trotting Associated Press correspondent who became one of America’s longest-held hostages, has died. His death Sunday was confirmed by his daughter, Sulome Anderson.

South African scientists brace for wave propelled by omicron

Worried scientists in South Africa are scrambling to combat the lightning spread across the country of the new and highly transmissible omicron COVID-19 variant as the world grapples with its emergence.

McLaughlin, nun who exposed abuses in Rhodesia, dies at 79

Sister Janice McLaughlin, a Maryknoll Sisters nun who was jailed and later deported by white minority-ruled Rhodesia for exposing human rights abuses, has died. She was 79.

South Africa welcomes first delivery of COVID-19 vaccines

South Africa gave a hero’s welcome to the delivery of its first COVID-19 vaccines, a million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India.

Battling COVID-19, South Africa prepares for first vaccines

Battling a COVID-19 resurgence driven by a more infectious variant, South Africa is preparing to roll out its first vaccines to the country’s frontline healthcare workers.

As South Africa’s virus spikes, president bans liquor sales

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has reimposed a ban on the sales of alcohol and ordered the closure of all bars as part of new restrictions to help the country battle a resurgence of the coronavirus, including a new variant.

South Africa on verge of new virus rules as it hits 1M cases

South Africa’s COVID-19 spike has taken the country to more than 1 million confirmed cases on Sunday and President Cyril Ramaphosa called an emergency meeting of the National Coronavirus Command Council.

Wars, instability pose vaccine challenges in poor nations

The task of vaccinating millions of people in poor and developing countries against COVID-19 faces monumental obstacles, and it’s not just a problem of affording and obtaining doses. In many countries, wars and insurgencies endanger vaccinators.

EU postpones $109 million aid to Ethiopia over Tigray access

The European Union has postponed aid worth $109 million in budgetary support to Ethiopia over lack of access to Ethiopia’s Tigray region to deliver humanitarian aid amid the conflict.

Tug responding to Mauritius oil spill sinks; 3 sailors dead

Police in Mauritius say the oil spill disaster there turned deadly this week when a tugboat leaving the shipwreck collided with a barge and sank, killing at least three sailors. One sailor is still missing.

Race in Mauritius to empty oil tanker before it breaks up

Efforts have intensified in Mauritius to empty a stranded Japanese ship of an estimated 2,500 tons of oil before the vessel breaks up and contaminates the island’s Indian Ocean coastline.

South Africa hits 500,000 confirmed cases, still not at peak

South Africa on Saturday surpassed 500,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases, representing more than 50% of all reported coronavirus infections in Africa’s 54 countries.

South Africa’s hospitals bracing for surge of virus patients

South Africa’s reported coronavirus cases are surging. Its hospitals are now bracing for an onslaught of patients, setting up temporary wards and hoping advances in treatment will help the country’s health facilities from becoming overwhelmed.

As virus spreads, Africa gets supplies from China’s Jack Ma

As the coronavirus quickens its spread across Africa, the continent has received a much-needed care package from Chinese billionaire Jack Ma.

Hit by power shortages, South Africa’s economy in recession

Widespread power cuts are blamed for pushing South Africa’s economy, the continent’s most industrialized, into recession.

Drought parches southern Africa, millions faced with hunger

An estimated 45 million people are threatened with hunger as a severe drought is strangling wide stretches of southern Africa.

South Sudan expels AP journalist Sam Mednick

South Sudan’s Media Authority has revoked the press accreditation of Canadian journalist Sam Mednick in response to a recent story she wrote for The Associated Press.

Zimbabwe’s Mugabe honored at state funeral, burial delayed

African heads of state joined thousands of Zimbabweans at a state funeral Saturday for Zimbabwe’s founding president, Robert Mugabe, whose burial has been delayed for at least a month until a special mausoleum can be built for his remains.

Zimbabwe’s Grace Mugabe regains prominence for husband

The controversy swirling around the burial of Zimbabwe’s founding president, Robert Mugabe, centers on his widow, Grace, who has remained dramatically cloaked behind a heavy black veil as she succeeded in getting the country’s president to scrap plans for Mugabe to be buried in a simple plot alongsi

Thousands in Mozambique rebuild after devastating cyclones

When Cyclone Idai roared through central Mozambique in March, it made some 200,000 people homeless and destroyed about 2 million acres of crops.

Biggest ever Kentridge show explores Africa’s history

Evocative videos, graphic tapestries, charcoal drawings, woodcut prints, sculptures and immersive sound installations combine in the largest single show by South African artist William Kentridge to explore compelling themes including South Africa’s apartheid history.

Ethiopian leader sobs at service for slain military chief

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sobbed openly at a service Tuesday for the military chief who was assassinated by his own bodyguard over the weekend.