Profile: Marwan Barghouti

Marwan Barghouti was not well known among Palestinians until he came to prominence as a leader of the second Intifada.

Japan envoy meets Chinese leader amid islands dispute

An envoy for Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has met China's leader Xi Jinping in Beijing, amid a growing territorial dispute.

Pakistan death worker Khalil Dale wins Robert Burns award

A Dumfries-based Red Cross worker who was killed in Pakistan last year has won a major award. Khalil Dale was named the posthumous winner of the 2013 Robert Burns Humanitarian Award at a ceremony in Alloway in Ayrshire.

Afghanistan: Roadside bomb explodes in Kandahar

At least 10 people have been killed, eight of them police officers, after a roadside bomb detonated in the southern city of Kandahar, officials have said.

Aung San Suu Kyi tells of fondness for Burma army

Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has said she is still "fond" of her country's army, even though it kept her under house arrest for 15 years.

Indonesia landslides leave several dead

In Agam district, in West Sumatra province, 15 houses were buried beneath mud and rocks, killing seven.

Mali conflict: French and Malian troops move on Timbuktu by Thomas Fessy

French-led forces in Mali are advancing on the key northern city of Timbuktu, as they press on with their offensive against Islamist rebels.

On Saturday Malian and French forces seized Gao, another key northern city. The advance comes as African Union leaders are meeting to discuss sending more troops to Mali.

Islamists seized the north of the country last year, but have been losing ground since French forces launched an operation earlier this month.

Late on Saturday French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said Malian and French troops would arrive "near Timbuktu soon".

Overnight they secured Gao - northern Mali's most populous city- after special forces captured the airport and a strategic bridge to the south.

Most militants appear to have fled into desert hide-outs and the hunt for them may prove more difficult once all major towns are secure, says the BBC's Thomas Fessy in the capital, Bamako.
Troops from Niger and Chad are to assist Malian forces in further securing the town.

Also overnight, French forces bombed Islamist position in Kidal, Malian officials say.

An army source told AFP news agency that the home of the head of Ansar Dine, the main militant group in northern Mali, had been destroyed in a raid.
US refuelling

African Union leaders are holding a summit in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, as members move to deploy troops to help the French-led operation there.

Outgoing AU chairman Boni Yayi on Sunday hailed France for its military intervention, saying it was something "we should have done a long time ago to defend a member country".

In a statement on Saturday, the AU said it wanted to make "an African Standby Force" operational in Mali soon.

African states have pledged nearly 5,700 troops to support French and Malian forces in their campaign. Only a small part of the African force has so far deployed.

Meanwhile, the US said it would provide mid-air refuelling for French warplanes. The Pentagon said it had also discussed plans for the US to transport troops to Mali from countries including Chad and Togo.
Some 3,700 French troops are engaged in Operation Serval, 2,500 of them on Malian soil.

France intervened in its former colony after Islamist launched a push to the south earlier this month. Paris said the whole of Africa, and even Europe, was under threat if the Islamist offensive succeeded.

As French and Malian troops moved into Gao, Malian officials spoke of scenes of joy, but also some looting.

Malian Foreign Minister Tieman Coulibaly said ahead of the summit in Addis Ababa: "This terrorist group intends to spread its criminal purpose over the whole of Mali, and eventually target other countries."

The AU has recommended civilian observers monitor the human rights situation in the areas which have come back under the control of the Malian government.

Human rights groups have accused the Malian army of committing serious abuses.

Islamist groups and secular Tuareg rebels took advantage of chaos following a military coup to seize northern Mali in April 2012. But the Islamists soon took control of the region's major towns, sidelining the Tuaregs.

Scores killed in nightclub fire in Santa Maria, Brazil

They say the fire began when a band on stage started a fireworks display at the Kiss nightclub in the city of Santa Maria, in Rio Grande do Sul state.

Bangladesh cleric sentenced to death for war crimes

A court in Bangladesh has sentenced a well-known Muslim cleric to death for crimes against humanity during the country's 1971 independence war.

Censored Bond film Skyfall opens in China

The latest James Bond film, Skyfall, has finally opened in China after a two-month delay, with some key scenes removed by Chinese censors.

China anger at US remarks on East China Sea islands

China's foreign ministry has strongly criticised the US for backing Japan's control of a disputed group of islands in the East China Sea.

India gang rape trial begins in fast-track Delhi court by Sanjoy Majumder

The trial of five men over the gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old woman has begun at a specially convened fast-track court in India's capital, Delhi.

Colombia Farc rebels end unilateral ceasefire

Colombia's Farc rebels have ended their two-month-long unilateral ceasefire. The announcement came hours after President Juan Manuel Santos said security forces were ready for any possible resurgence.

Inauguration Day: Obama set for public swearing-in

Crowds of spectators have begun streaming toward the US Capitol, where Barack Obama is to be publicly sworn in for his second term as US president.

Mali conflict: French troops 'seize' Islamist towns

French and Malian troops have seized the key Malian towns of Diabaly and Douentza from militant Islamists, the French defence minister has said.

Henry Okah: South African court convicts Nigeria rebel

A South African court has found Nigerian militant leader Henry Okah guilty of masterminding the 2010 car bombing which killed 12 people.

Algeria crisis: Hostage death toll 'rises to 48'

At least 48 hostages are now thought to have died in a four-day siege at an Algerian gas plant, as reports say that 25 bodies found at the complex on Sunday were all those of captives.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Tripoli

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Libya on an unannounced visit aimed at showing support for the Libyan people and building ties.

Mrs Clinton is in the capital, Tripoli, for only a few hours - the first US cabinet-level official to visit since Col Muammar Gaddafi was ousted.

Gilad Shalit freed in Israeli-Palestinian prisoner swap

Cheering crowds have greeted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit as he arrived back in his northern hometown of Mitzpe Hila after five years in captivity in Gaza.

Sgt Shalit was flown by helicopter from an airbase in central Israel after undergoing medical tests.

He was freed after Israel and the Islamist movement Hamas agreed a deal under which more than 1,000 Palestinians would also be released.

Gertrude Stein celebrated at two Washington DC museums by Jane O'Brien

Why do we care about Gertrude Stein? Two exhibits in Washington DC show that her influence extends far beyond the Jazz Age.

I've often wondered whether approaching a subject from a standpoint of total ignorance sharpens my investigative powers, or whether it simply leads to inevitable embarrassment from which I'll never recover.