France’s defence minister has said that French troops are involved in “very violent fighting” in the mountains of northern Mali and that it is too early to talk about a quick pullout from the West African country, despite the growing cost of the intervention.

Ninety-seven Rohingya Muslims fleeing violence in Myanmar have died of hunger after being stranded at sea for 25 days, reports say.

French President Francois Hollande has said his country’s forces are engaged in the “final phase” of the fight against militants in northern Mali.

Syria’s opposition National Coalition decided on Friday to form a government to run areas of the country “liberated” by rebels and will meet in early March to name a prime minister, a spokesman said.

Thirteen Chadian soldiers and 65 Islamist insurgents have been killed in heavy fighting in a remote part of northern Mali, Chad’s military says.It says Friday’s clashes occurred in the Ifoghas mountains, where many militants are believed to be hiding.

Pakistani police have detained Malik Ishaq, founder and former head of militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), at his home in Punjab province.

Amid growing public unrest, Bangladesh has blocked some internet sites and blogs for ‘hurting religious feelings’ in the majority Muslim nation, as rival protests resumed between Jamaat-e-Islami supporters and young protesters supporting bloggers.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Wednesday categorically denied that the purpose of his visit to Qatar was to initiate peace overtures with the Afghan Taliban.

Political uncertainty in Tunisia reached new heights on Tuesday following the resignation of moderate Islamist Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali following his failure to appoint a technocrat, caretaker government to end the ongoing political crisis.

Bangladesh’s parliament has amended a law which will allow the state to appeal against the life sentence of an Islamist party leader, after protesters called for his execution.