French Defense Ministe, Jean-Yves Le Drian French Defense Minister says an African intervention in its former colony Mali is a matter of weeks, not months following Paris’ persistent lobbying for the initiative. “It’s a matter of weeks, not months, weeks,” Jean-Yves Le Drian said in a televised interview on Tuesday. Le Drian reiterated that his country would only give “logistical... 

Thousands of Malians gather in front of the presidential compound in Bamako on May 21, 2012. Protesters have attacked interim Malian President Diancounda Traore, beating and bruising the 70-year-old leader at his office in Bamako. The mobs, who were angry at Traore’s appointment in a deal reached with the junta, dodged security and burst into his office and beat him on Monday, AFP reported. “The... 

Leader of the recent military coup d’état in Mali Amadou Haya Sanogo (C) among his fellow soldiers in the capital city of Bamako, March 22, 2012 Tuareg rebels say they have gained control of Mali’s strategically important town of Timbuktu in the north as the coup leader pledges to bring back order to the country. The rebels announced in a statement that they have “control of the entire region”... 

Reports from Mali say three Europeans have been kidnapped and a fourth killed at Timbuktu in the north of the country. The information comes from a Malian government source. The person killed is said to be German; the others’ nationalities are from the Netherlands, South Africa and Sweden, officials and witnesses said, as officials on Saturday ordered a plane to evacuate foreigners from the tourist...