Islamist rebel gets 9 years imprisonment for Timbuktu destruction
Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi asked for forgiveness and said he had been swept up in an "evil wave" by al Qaeda and the Ansar Dine Islamist groups
Syrian government mobilises for new Aleppo ground attack
The Syrian military, helped by Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias and the Russian air force, launched a major campaign to take rebel-held eastern Aleppo last Thursday
Colombia, Marxist rebels sign accord ending 52-year war
Half-century war has killed a quarter of a million people and made Colombia a byword for violence
Kerry defends diplomacy as Russian-backed forces pound Aleppo
Some 250,000 civilians remain trapped in the besieged, opposition-held sector of Syria's biggest city
Just 30 doctors struggle to treat wounded in eastern Aleppo
Dozens of air strikes hit rebel-held areas of the northern Syrian city overnight continuing a fierce air campaign by Syrian government and allied forces
Kerry discounts Syrian suggestion of talks on unity government
"I don't think the opposition is going to be particularly excited about having a negotiation when they're being bombed and starved"
Calais migrant camp demolition raises child trafficking fears, U.N. says
President Francois Hollande said on Monday that France will completely shut down the migrant camp in Calais by year-end
EU launches programme to issue cash cards to migrants in Turkey
The Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN) will give refugees pre-paid cards for food, housing, schooling or medical expenses in Turkey
Hollande confirms Calais migrant camp shutdown, urges UK help
"The situation is unacceptable and everyone here knows it"
Air strikes pound rebel-held Aleppo districts
"The planes are not leaving the skies at all ... Life in the city is paralysed. Everyone is cooped up in their homes, sitting in the basements"