Detachments of the French and Malian troops who defeated Islamist rebels in Mali earlier this year took pride of place in France’s traditional Bastille Day military parade along the Champs Elysées  today.

Home Secretary leads EU discussions on how to tackle terror threat from extremists returning from combat in Syria

Betraying new anxiety about the threat of Islamic militant groups in West Africa, Washington is for the first time offering rewards totalling $23m (£15m) for information leading to the capture of their top leaders in the region including Abubakar Shekau, the leader of Boko Haram, based in Nigeria.

What's sometimes missing with guitar-centred African records is a sense of air and space. But that's not so here.

There was, finally, some good news for President François Hollande today.

France has started withdrawing its troops from Mali after an operation to help local forces push back an offensive by Islamist rebels, an army spokesman said.

The ancient city of Timbuktu in Mali has been hit by a prolonged battle between Islamic extremists and the Malian and French armies.

Even though the production by Black Keys man Dan Auerbach is way too cavernous and bootleg live-sounding for my tastes, this album should satisfy anyone needing a dry blast of desert rock while waiting for the next album from Tinariwen.

French and Chadian troops have captured the main al-Qa’ida “citadel” in northern Mali, according to French officials and journalists.

The Foreign Secretary William Hague today arrived in Mali for talks with military commanders and local politicians, just weeks after a French force routed Islamist rebels from strongholds in the north of the country.

DNA samples taken but Western experts say it is unlikely sworn enemies would be killed together

Seven members of a French family, three of them children, have been abducted in Cameroon three days after seven other foreigners were taken away at gunpoint in neighbouring Nigeria, raising fears that Islamist militants have started a campaign of capturing Western hostages in the region.

Salif Keita found fame with the Rail Band of Bamako in the late 1960s, then with the Ambassadeurs. Both revelled in combining Afro-Cuban and native elements, with their classic line-up of electric guitar, balafon, kora and brass.

Tories accused of making same mistakes as former PM in Mali