France has claimed that al-Qaida-linked extremists have been defeated in the key city of Gao in north-eastern Mali.

The government of Mauritania was overthrown by an Army coup today.

A mammoth locust infestation that destroyed crops throughout West Africa this year has not seriously affected food production in most of the region, according to the United Nations.

Pakistan has handed over to US authorities about 20 Arabs arrested last week in raids on suspected al Qaida hideouts, a senior intelligence official said today.