Syrian air force jets bombarded the eastern city of Deir al-Zor on Friday after heavy overnight clashes and the killing of one of President Bashar Assad’s top military intelligence officers, activists said. General Jama’a Jama’a was shot dead on Thursday by snipers in the midst of a

France will maintain around 2 000 troops in Mali to help secure the December legislative polls before further scaling down its military presence, the defence minister said  . “We’re going keep a little more than 2 000 men until the end of the year,” Jean-Yves Le Drian said.

The EU Friday said it continues to condemn in the strongest terms the ongoing violence and the widespread and systematic violations of human rights in Syria. A statement released by the office of EU high Representative Catherine Ashton said the EU “remains deeply concerned by the regional effects of the …