Fighting alongside US troops since 2001, the French military deployment in Afghanistan reached 3,750 soldiers in 2009. FRANCE 24 takes a closer look at where French troops are and what they are doing across this troubled country.
In Pakistan, the opposition has demanded PM Yousuf Raza Gilani step down after a contempt of court conviction. Next, to many of his compatriots he's a traitor and he fears for his life once foreign troops leave. We look at the Afghan translator desperate for help from his employers, the French military. Finally, in India, rocketing property prices are making the film "Slumdog Millionaire" a reality for residents of one of Mumbai's poorest neighbourhoods.
The Al Jazeera news channel has received a USB key containing videos allegedly taken by Mohamed Merah, who confessed to fatally shooting three French soldiers in Montauban and four people at a Jewish school in Toulouse.
Abdelkader Merah, the Toulouse gunman’s older brother, has been jailed pending an investigation into whether he was complicit in the crimes. Abdelkader was already known to security services for helping to smuggle militants into Iraq in 2007.
French anti-terrorist police in Paris were on Saturday interrogating the brother of Mohamed Merah. The brother has admitted being present when the scooter used in the attacks was stolen, but denied being aware of Mohamed's intentions.
The head of the EU's criminal intelligence agency said homegrown jihadists like the Toulouse gunman posed new security challenges, warning that individual terrorist operations are much harder to track down than coordinated bombing campaigns.
The murderous rampage that ended with the dramatic death of Islamist gunman Mohamed Merah on Thursday has prompted a bout of soul-searching in France, where the media are leading the quest for answers.
The suspect in a series of deadly shootings in south-western France, Mohamed Merah, 24, is a French national of Algerian origin who claims links to al Qaeda and who was once arrested in Kandahar. Merah had been under French surveillance for years.
Hours before French police laid siege to the home of Mohamed Merah early on Wednesday, a man claiming to be the serial shooter phoned FRANCE 24 to explain his motives for the killings. A prosecutor later confirmed the phone call was genuine.
Islamic extremist Mohammed Merah, 23 confessed to the cold-blooded murder of seven people including three Jewish children outside their school in Toulouse. FRANCE 24 takes a closer look at the possible profile of the killer.
