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The Pentagon announced that it will be providing key support to French troops in Mali and Somalia in the ongoing conflict with Islamist militants with al-Qaeda ties.
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 dragFrance into a long and brutal ground war.
France has rushed to help Mali block a push south by Islamist rebels from its desert north but a U.N.-backed intervention plan to dislodge al Qaeda and its allies faces a tough enemy and terrain and could still take months - if it succeeds at all.
Just as its leaders were defining a new "hands-off" strategy for Africa, France has been thrust onto the front line of one of the continent's riskiest battlefields deep in the desert of Mali.
According to a new study, men in France and worldwide are making less sperm.
A Palestinian bid to upgrade its status at the United Nations will go up for vote later this week.
French police have been forced to block access to Pic de Bugarach due to a myth that states the mountain will provide refuge to humans during the apocalypse.
France said on Tuesday it would respond to a Moody's credit downgrade by pushing on with reforms but complained the ratings agency had overlooked steps already taken to revamp the euro zone's second-largest economy.
Spain settled for a 1-1 draw with France as Olivier Giroud's last second score recompensed a successful performance for France. The crucial game left both squads with seven points atop group I in the World Cup Qualifiers with another five matches left to play.
The UEFA World Cup 2014 Qualifiers resume Tuesday with 22 matches, but one will garner the most attention as heavy weight teams Spain and France face off for what could be the deciding match of Group I.
