DAKAR, Senegal — The political standoff in Gambia intensified on Thursday as foreign troops crossed the border with orders to dislodge a repressive leader who has refused to step down after losing a presidential election last month. Gambia’s erratic leader, Yahya Jammeh, seized power in a coup 22...

The group of a dozen nurses and medics are on their way to vaccinate children and bring medicine and health care to villages in a remote region that until recently was a fearsome war zone. Their mission is symbolic of the changes sweeping Burma, long considered a pariah state isolated from the rest ...