The Secretary of State leaves no signature achievement, but America is safer now than it was

French and Mali government forces were on the point of taking back the city of Timbuktu from Islamist insurgents yesterday. The city's history, its resonant name and its strategic position all make its liberation the symbol of overall victory. France, which had promised a short, sharp intervention at the request of the beleaguered Mali government, will be able to claim success, and leave. With the French will go the limited assistance that Britain has given its ally: two transport planes; intelligence and logistical support; perhaps some special forces.

A "specific threat" has been identified to westerners in Somaliland, the Foreign Office said in a warning to all Britons who have ignored previous warnings they should flee immediately.

The sign said, 'The end of the world'; as did the look on my three-year-old's face. Below us, the dusky pink desert canyons and dimpled, rocky mountains of the Jordan Valley stretched west towards Jerusalem. And somewhere, far, far below the precipice we'd scaled to 'Sacrifice View', a bright blue cap was now swirling away, whisked off my son's head by the sharp wind that greeted us at the summit.

The Government has urged British nationals to leave Libya's second city, Benghazi, in response to a "specific threat to Westerners" from terror groups operating in North Africa.

The Hillary Clinton who appeared on Capitol Hill today for her “grilling” about the attack on the consulate in Benghazi did not look very scared. Perhaps it was the fault of the grillers. Perhaps she is demob-happy.

Mistakes, but no cover-up: outgoing Secretary of State defends handling of embassy raid

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton choked up today as she defended her handling of the September 11 attack on the US mission in the Libyan city of Benghazi, an event that threatens to stain her legacy and any presidential hopes she may still harbour.

Why the President's Inauguration Address should cheer decent people everywhere

New women recruits will free up soldiers to fight rebels and give regime  a psychological boost

Britain will tomorrow host high-level talks aimed at co-ordinating international action against religious intolerance.

Sarkozy, for good reasons and bad, is partly responsible for what is happening  in Mali

As the President is sworn in for his second term, several critical commentators have alighted on the issue of his management skills. And on these, something like a consensus is emerging, in which it's commonly said that he doesn't really have any.