UK: Stephen Lawrence anniversary
Family commemorate the 20th anniversary of the murder of Stephen Lawrence.Cameroon: French family of 7 held hostage, freed
In Cameroon, a French family of seven, who were abducted in the north of Cameroon in February, have now been released.Mali military operation killed "terrorist leaders": France
French President Francois Hollande has said that a military campaign against Islamist rebels in Mali had killed "terrorist leaders", without clarifying whether he was referring to two al Qaeda commanders reported dead last week. Hollande spoke at a news conference in Warsaw where he was attending a regional leaders event. Chad said recently that its soldiers, fighting alongside the French, killed two top commanders from al Qaeda's north African wing, Abdelhamid Abou Zeid and Mokhtar Belmokhtar, but Paris has so far said it could not confirm the reports.
French president to get new Mali camel
Mali is to send the French president a replacement camel after the first, given to him as a gift, was eaten. Francois Hollande had left the camel with a family in Timbuktu for safekeeping, after it was presented to him by local residents in February. But it was promptly slaughtered and used in a local dish, tagine. During the young camel's handover ceremony, Hollande had joked about using as a means of transport in Paris traffic jams. French officials had originally planned to transport the animal to a zoo in France, but because of the complex logistics, it was decided instead to entrust the beast to a local family. The French defence minister informed the president of the camel's death during a recent cabinet meeting.
