Down by the coastal shelf in Alexandria, Egypt, a legend of classical antiquity is rising from the ashes as miraculously as a phoenix. The new Bibliotheca Alexandrina, a spectacular piece of architecture, is billed as the revival of its ancient namesake.

Since tests to determine early in pregnancy the sex of the fetus have become widely available in India, female fetuses have been widely disappearing, according to columnist Seema Sirohi in Calcutta. Technology and tradition have combined cruelly to offer parents an easy release from the "curse" of girl babies.

National Geographic News keeps its finger on the pulse of Africa. From astonishing new discoveries of fossils of human ancestors and titanic dinosaurs to the latest scientific research in conservation and news of African societies and cultures, we keep the world abreast of developments on this great continent.

Locals who live under Mount Etna, Europe's biggest volcano, refer to it as il gigante buono, the good giant. The slumbering giant stirred 13 days ago and in spite of its alleged goodness, has since then destroyed ski lifts, cut the mountain highway in two, and spewed immense quantities of lava.

The U.S. Civil War submarine CSS Hunley, which was raised from the bottom of the Atlantic last August, is causing academics to rethink the engineering skill of the Confederate Army.

National Geographic won two top Internet awards on Wednesday for being the most outstanding education site on the Web. The honors—a Webby and a People's Voice Award—were based on decisions by a panel of more than 350 judges and by hundreds of thousands of online users. Nationalgeographic.com edged out competition that included sites sponsored by the New York Times Learning Network and the Public Broadcasting System's Nova.

In contrast to his calm, steady leadership as President during the U.S. Civil War, Abraham Lincoln exhibited many outbursts of rage and bizarre behavior during his life. A new study says it may have been the result of mercury poisoning from the pills Lincoln took regularly to treat his melancholia.

Normally off-limits to news cameras for security reasons, the official aircraft of the U.S. President is the focus of a National Geographic television documentary. Air Force One, gives an unprecedented peek at the president's personal suite and other facilities on board the world's most remarkable executive jet. Photo gallery and links.

In a column written for National Geographic News, noted Civil War historian Edward C. Smith says that the conflict of 140 years ago will never be truly settled until the South recognizes and honors Abraham Lincoln.

After nearly two centuries in the spotlight, the broad stripes and bright stars of the Star-Spangled Banner are showing their age. Smithsonian conservators working to preserve the 188-year-old symbol of freedom announced recently that years of exposure have rendered the banner too fragile to ever hang again.

The few artisans who have the passion and Zenlike patience to build wooden boats are an endangered species. A handful of them are working at the Arques School of Traditional Boatbuilding in Sausalito, California.

Nearly 2,000 years of wars, earthquakes, vandalism, and general wear-and-tear have reduced Rome's Colosseum—once the glory of the Roman empire—to a ruin. Now, the largest standing building from the ancient world is undergoing a major restoration that will make more of it open to the public.

After a lifetime of telling stories through images and documentaries, National Geographic photographer Eric Valli has turned to feature filmmaking as a way to reach a wider audience. His first movie, Himalaya, about a disappearing mountain culture in remote Nepal, was nominated for an Oscar and has been playing to enthusiastic audiences worldwide.

Every half-century or so, certain varieties of bamboo in some areas of India burst into profuse flowering over vast areas. In an intriguing chain of events, this cyclical phenomenon sometimes leads to famine, and Indian officials are preparing for an episode expected to occur two years from now.

Stonehenge in Britain has long been a site of celebration of the summer solstice, June 21. But there are more than 1,000 other prehistoric stone circles in the British Isles. Not much is known about them, except that they appear to be giant sundials and astronomical clocks.