5:58pm

EU set to give Mali more assistance

Training mission seen as urgent despite new complications

4:41pm

Expat oil workers abducted in Algeria

At least nine kidnapped from gas facility run by BP and Statoil

French army soldiers stand on an armoured vehicle as they leave Bamako and start their deploymernt to the north of Mali as part of their 'Serval' operations ©AFP 10:41am

French troops begin Mali ground campaign

Soldiers set to fight ‘within hours’, says military chief

From COMMENT 6:38pm

France had to intervene in Mali

Europeans cannot leave the US to play Mars while they play Venus, writes Gérard Errera

From MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA 6:31pm

Militants attack Algeria gas facility

At least three killed, seven injured and nine taken hostage

From MULTIMEDIA 5:55pm

The conflict in Mali

The FT explains the events leading up to French military intervention

French soldiers sit aboard a Malian military armed car at the 101 military airbase near Bamako on January 14, 2013. France is using air and ground power in a joint offensive with Malian soldiers launched on January 11 against hardline Islamist groups controlling northern Mali ©AFP Jan 15, 2013

Concern rises over France’s Mali mission

US and UK fear delays to African reinforcements

Jan 15, 2013

Q&A: The strength of Mali’s militants

Xan Rice talks to Mathieu Guidère, an expert on radical networks

A French soldier patrols at Nice Cote d'azur International airport January 14, 2013. Al Qaeda-linked Islamist rebels in Mali launched a counter-offensive on Monday after three days of strikes by French fighter jets on their strongholds in the desert north, vowing to drag France into a long and brutal ground war. Concerned about reprisals at home, France has tightened security at public buildings and on public transport. ©Reuters Jan 14, 2013

War in Mali – French intervention

Islamist forces fight back after France begins aerial and support campaign

Malian police patrol in Bamako. French jets pounded the Islamist strongholds of Gao and Kidal in northern Mali, forcing insurgents to flee. ©AFP Jan 14, 2013

Mali intervention creates dilemma for US

Washington pushed into supporting campaign it has tried to avoid

Editorial from COMMENT Jan 14, 2013

Towards Timbuktu

France’s intervention in Mali is the lesser of two evils

Jan 14, 2013

Hollande’s Mali plan upended by rebel push

France faces prospect of prolonged engagement in African desert

Jan 14, 2013

Election threatens to destabilise Kenya

Victory for Uhuru Kenyatta could undermine western influence

Jan 14, 2013

Rebels in Mali start counter-offensive

France enters fourth day of air strikes in Mali

Jan 14, 2013

Mali: Q&A

Jan 14, 2013

Second French soldier dies in Somalia

Rebels insist hostage Allex is still alive despite Paris claim

Jan 13, 2013

Zuma blames global crisis for woes

South African president rejects criticism of his record

Jan 13, 2013

Zuma’s optimism belies challenges

ANC president upbeat while South Africa economy performs poorly

Jan 13, 2013

Mali puts focus on French foreign policy

Hollande risks embroiling France in a messy conflict that has no clear exit

Jan 13, 2013

Mali timeline