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French first lady tells of 'huge' feelings for Mali

France's first lady Valerie Trierweiler said at the end of a 48-hour tour of war-torn Mali on Friday that the experience had brought up "huge" feelings in her. President Francois Hollande's partner, in the former French colony as "part of a mission for children and women", has visited hospital patients and school children, highlighting the important role of female soldiers in securing peace. "I'll never forget (this trip) because what I felt was truly huge," she told a press conference before returning to Paris on Friday night.

Upcoming video game releases: 'Resident Evil: Revelations,' 'AirLand Battle,' 'Van Helsing'

Former 3DS exclusive "Resident Evil: Revelations" arrives on home consoles and computer, offering a return to tense survival action, while "Wargame: AirLand Battle" builds on the potential of predecessor "European Escalation" and "The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing" riff on Bram Stoker's famous tale. Resident Evil: Revelations (360 PC PS3 WiiU)North America: May 21Japan, Australia: May 23Europe: May 24

Wave of attacks leaves 68 dead in Iraq

Baghdad, May 17 (EFE).- A spate of attacks Friday in various parts of Iraq left 68 people dead and 158 injured, police sources told Efe The deadliest strike was in Baquba, 50 kilometers (30 miles) northeast of Baghdad, where a pair of bomb blasts killed 40 and wounded 55 others. Two bombs went off along a street filled with worshippers headed to a Sunni Muslim mosque for Friday prayers. A similar attack two months ago at the same spot resulted in more than 20 casualties.

Russia's missile shipment will embolden Syria

Russia's shipment of anti-ship missiles to Syria will "embolden" the regime and fuel the country's civil war, the US military's top officer said Friday. General Martin Dempsey's comments were the first official confirmation from the US government that Moscow had sent advanced "ship-killer" cruise missiles to President Bashar al-Assad's regime. "It is at the very least an unfortunate decision that will embolden the regime and prolong the suffering," the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told a news conference when asked about the reported shipment of missiles.

Muslim religious leaders to visit Auschwitz

Fourteen Muslim clerics from across the globe will visit the former Nazi German Auschwitz death camp in southern Poland next week as part of a Holocaust awareness and anti-genocide program, organisers said Friday. "This is an opportunity for imams who are influential in their communities to look at the Holocaust first hand and to go to Auschwitz, to see what that kind of hatred led to," Poland's Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich told AFP on Friday. "It's to make sure that civilisation doesn't fail again."

Bombs against Iraqi Sunnis kill 51

Bombs targeting Sunnis, including two near a mosque and one at a funeral procession, killed 51 people in Iraq on Friday, officials said, after dozens died in two days of attacks on Shiites. The violence raises the spectre of tit-for-tat killings common during the height of sectarian bloodletting in Iraq that killed tens of thousands of people, and comes at a time of simmering tension between the country's Sunni minority and Shiite majority.

Bombings near Iraq Sunni mosqe kill 38

Two bombings near a Sunni mosque north of Baghdad killed 38 people and wounded 55 others on Friday, police and a doctor said, after two days of deadly attacks on Shiites that killed dozens. One bomb exploded as worshippers were leaving the Saria mosque in the centre of Baquba after weekly Muslim prayers, while a second detonated after people gathered at the scene of the first blast, the sources said. str-sf/wd/hkb

France to buy US Reaper drones for Mali

France will buy two medium-altitude Reaper drones from the United States air force to back up its operations against Islamists in Mali, the Air et Cosmos specialist magazine reported on Friday. It said on its online edition that an agreement had been reached for the purchase of two non-armed MQ-9 drones from the US air force. It said the French air force, which has deployed the Harfang drone in Mali -- made by the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company -- wanted to acquire more modern drones quickly.

Syria activists face 'terror' charges

The Syrian authorities must drop all charges against prominent peace activist Mazen Darwish and two of his colleagues, 19 human rights organisations said on Friday. Darwish, Hussein Gharir and Hani Zaitani "are facing trial on terrorism charges for their peaceful activism", said the groups that include Human Rights Watch (HRW), Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Amnesty International. They and two other colleagues who were conditionally released in February are scheduled to appear on May 19 before the Damascus Anti-Terrorism Court, the groups said.
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