The head of the Islamic State group in the Sahara has been killed by French troops, President Emmanuel Macron has said. Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi formed Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) in 2015. The group is blamed for most attacks in the region, including the targeted killing of French aid workers in 2020. Mr Macron called Sahrawi’s death “another major success in our fight against terrorist groups in the Sahel”.

The Sahel is a vast, three million sq km (1.16 million sq miles) area that stretches across Africa south of the Sahara desert, from Senegal in the west to Somalia in the east. Mr Macron did not disclose the location or any details of the operation. French Defence Minister Florence Parly tweeted that Sahrawi died after a strike by France’s Operation Barkhane force, which fights Islamist militants in the Sahel, mostly in Mali, Niger, Chad and Burkina Faso.(BBC)…[+]

Denmark’s government has introduced a bill that will ban prisoners serving life sentences from entering into new romantic relationships. Under the new law prisoners will be limited to contacting only those already close to them for the first 10 years of their incarceration. Ministers hope the ban will counter the rise of ‘groupies’ of criminals. The law follows the revelation that a 17-year-old girl had fallen in love with the killer Peter Madsen. Madsen was convicted of the brutal murder of journalist Kim Wall onboard his homemade submarine, UC3 Nautilus, after she boarded it to interview him on 10 August 2017. He later dismembered her body and dumped it at sea. He was handed a lifetime sentence in 2018.(BBC)…[+]

About 3,000 health workers in France have been suspended because they have not been vaccinated against Covid-19. A new rule, which came into force on Wednesday, made vaccination mandatory for the country’s 2.7 million health, care home and fire service staff. But French Health Minister Olivier Véran said on Thursday that “most of the suspensions are only temporary”. Many are now agreeing to get jabbed because “they see that the vaccination mandate is a reality”, he said. The rule applies to all doctors, nurses, office staff and volunteers. President Emmanuel Macron first gave workers notice of the rule change on 12 July, warning them that they needed to get at least one jab by 15 September or resign from their jobs. “I am aware of what I am asking of you, and I know that you are ready for this commitment, this is part, in a way, of your sense of duty,” he said at the time.(BBC)…[+]