PARIS: France confirmed “with certainty” yesterday that Abdelhamid Abou Zeid, one of Al Qaeda’s most feared commanders in Africa, had been killed in Mali last month in a French-led offensive. The death of Abou Zeid, who raised millions of dollars kidnapping Western hostages, marks a heavy blow to Al Qaeda’s North African wing AQIM and to Islamist rebels battling French-led forces in northern Mali’s Adrar des Ifoghas mountains. The death of the ruthless commander — the trusted lieutenant of AQIM’s elusive leader Abdelmalek Droukdel — was a major victory in France’s nine-week-old campaign to drive al Qaeda-linked Islamists from Mali’s desert north.
Men in white: Pope meets predecessor
CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy: Pope Francis flew in to a papal residence near Rome yesterday for a meeting with “Pope Emeritus” Benedict XVI — an unprecedented encounter in the history of the Catholic Church. Both men were in the white vestments reserved for popes as Benedict has been allowed to continue wearing his papal robes even after his resignation and is still addressed as “Your Holiness”. Francis took a helicopter to the lakeside Castel Gandolfo summer residence where Benedict has been living since stepping down last month. Benedict came to greet him and Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi pointed out that in the car Francis sat on the right — “the classic place for the pope” — while Benedict sat on the left.
Northern Ireland forces defuse car bomb
LONDON: Northern Ireland security forces defused a car bomb yesterday near where world leaders will meet for the G8 summit in June, officials said. Army bomb disposal experts cleared the “viable device” near Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, which was believed to be destined for a local police station, said police. The site where the bomb was found is about 19km from the five-star Lough Erne hotel and golf resort where leaders of the Group of Eight richest nations meet on June 17 and 18.
Rebels attack Congo mining hub, 15 killed
KINSHASA: Hundreds of rebels armed with bows and arrows and machetes attacked a military camp and the provincial governor’s office in Democratic Republic of Congo’s southern mining hub of Lubumbashi yesterday. Among the 300 assailants, around 15 were killed when they tried to resist the police,” Information Minister Lambert Mende said. Agencies
