Mali Airport

• Explosion in Mali Capital Kills 1, Cause Unclear

  An explosion at a house near the airport in Mali's capital, Bamako, killed one person and injured four others on Friday, government and security officials said.

• Breathe Deeply, it is Safe to Go on a Plane, Travellers Told

  After three major air disasters in one week, with planes coming down in Ukraine, Taiwan and then Mali without a single survivor, passengers can be forgiven for feeling a little pang of panic boarding their flights.

• French troops control key airport in north Mali

  French forces have taken control of the airport in Kidal, seizing a key position in one of three provincial capitals the Islamist militants took over last year, officials said on Wednesday. One Malian official said French troops even moved into the city, which was the last remaining urban stronghold of the Islamists in Mali.

• In Mali, French-led troops control access to Timbuktu

  French-led troops in Mali on Monday controlled access to the city of Timbuktu after securing the airport of the fabled desert city as part of their push against Islamists, military officials in Paris and Bamako told AFP.

• French jets bomb major Malian city in north

  French fighter jets bombed rebel targets in a major city in Mali's north Sunday, pounding the airport as well as training camps, warehouses and buildings used by the al Qaeda-linked Islamists controlling the area, officials and residents said.