Wars and Military Conflicts

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• UPDATE 1-France keeps up Mali air strikes, African troop plan advances

  BAMAKO, Jan 15- France kept up its air strikes against Islamist rebels in Mali as plans to deploy African troops gathered pace on Tuesday amid concerns that delays could endanger a wider mission to dislodge al Qaeda and its allies.

• Miners in Mali Dodge Conflict, Risks 'Manageable' for Now

  

  Conflict in the West African state of Mali -- the continent's third-largest gold producer -- poses "manageable" risks for miners active in the country's south as Al Qaeda-linked Islamist rebels remain confined to strongholds in the north while former colonial power France continues its offensive against militant bases.

• Reuters World News Highlights at 1700 GMT, Jan 14

  BAMAKO/ PARIS- Al Qaeda- linked Islamist rebels launched a counter-offensive in Mali on Monday after four days of French air strikes on their northern strongholds, seizing the central town of Diabaly and promising to drag France into a brutal Afghanistan-style war.

• TIMELINE-Islamist rebels promise long war with France in Mali

  Jan 14- Here is a look at Mali since a military coup paved the way for Islamist rebels to take over the country's mostly desert north:. The African Union suspends Mali the next day. One week later on April 6, the rebel group, the Movement for the Liberation of Azawad, proclaims independence for northern Mali, which it names Azawad, after announcing an end to fighting.

• UPDATE 2-Mali Islamists counter attack, promise France long war

  BAMAKO/ PARIS, Jan 14- Al Qaeda- linked Islamist rebels launched a counter-offensive on Monday in central Mali after four days of air strikes by French warplanes on their strongholds in the desert north, promising to drag France into a long and brutal Afghanistan-style ground war.

• UPDATE 1-EU rules out sending combat mission to Mali

  BRUSSELS, Jan 14- The European Union ruled out taking any combat role in Mali on Monday and NATO said it had not received any French request for help, after France intervened against al Qaeda- linked Islamists in the north of the African state.

• UPDATE 1-Mali Islamists counter-attack, threaten France

  *Rebels threaten to strike at France, turn Mali into new Afghanistan. BAMAKO/ PARIS, Jan 14- 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 drag France into a long and brutal ground war.

• India's Army Chief Turns Up Heat on Pakistan, Says Can Retaliate

  

  India's army chief accused Pakistan on Monday of detailed planning of an attack along Kashmir's de facto border last week in which two soldiers were killed and said India reserved the right to retaliate.

• UPDATE 3-France bombs Islamist strongholds deep in north Mali

  BAMAKO/ PARIS, Jan 13- French fighter jets pounded Islamist rebel strongholds deep in northern Mali on Sunday as Paris poured more troops into the capital Bamako, awaiting a West African force to dislodge al Qaeda- linked insurgents from the country's north.

• ANALYSIS-French early strike shakes up Mali intervention plan

  *Dislodging al Qaeda from north Mali seen as "massive" task. JOHANNESBURG, Jan 13- 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.

• UPDATE 1-ANALYSIS-Mali: one African war France could not avoid

  *Mali is Hollande's first military intervention. PARIS, Jan 13- 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.

• UPDATE 1-France bombs Islamist stronghold in north Mali

  BAMAKO/ PARIS, Jan 13- French fighter jets pounded an Islamist rebel stronghold in northern Mali on Sunday as Paris poured more troops into the capital Bamako, awaiting a West African force to dislodge al Qaeda- linked insurgents from the country's north.

• ANALYSIS-Mali: one African war France could not avoid

  *Mali is Hollande's first military intervention. PARIS, Jan 13- 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.

• Malians line up to give blood to war effort

  BAMAKO, Jan 13- Hundreds of Malians lined up on Sunday to donate blood destined for their troops locked in a fierce battle against Islamist rebels occupying the northern two-thirds of the poor West African country. With little else to offer, many Malians in the dusty capital Bamako waited quietly to give their blood.

• Guns Sales Soar in US Ahead of Biden Report

  

  As Washington focuses on what Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. will propose next week to curb gun violence, gun and ammunition sales are spiking in the rest of the country. The New York Times reports.

• Zero Dark Thirty: Torturing the Facts 

  

  "Zero Dark Thirty" hits theaters nationwide today, reports CNBC's Julia Boorstin; and Katherine Mangu-Ward, Reason Magazine; and CNBC Contributors James Pethokoukis and Keith Boykin, discuss the controversy over the torture scene in the movie.

• Reinstate Assault Weapons Ban? 

  

  NRA's Keene said he "did not think there'd be a ban on the so-called assault weapons by the Congress;" and Cynthia Tucker, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist; Lenny Mcallister of the McAllister Minute; and Katherine Mangu-Ward, Reason Magazine, weigh in on the attack of the 2nd Amendment.

• Somali pirate kingpin "Big Mouth" quits after naval crackdown

  MOGADISHU, Jan 11- A Somali pirate kingpin nicknamed "Big Mouth" has renounced a life of hijacking ships that earned him fame and fortune before an international naval crackdown that has curbed attacks on maritime commercial and pleasure craft.

• Turf war feared after Syrian rebel leader killed

  AMMAN, Jan 11- The killing of a senior Islamist rebel commander near Syria's border with Turkey could indicate a turf war between armed groups that will hamper their struggle to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, sources told Reuters.

• Winter storm brings devastation to Syria and neighbours

  BEIRUT, Jan 9- The worst winter storm in two decades has hit the eastern Mediterranean this week, bringing destruction and death to Syria and its neighbours who are already dealing with a refugee crisis from the country's civil war. At least 17 people have also died due to the storm in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Israel and the Palestinian territories.