NIGER: The country is to leave the global group of French speaking nations, its military leadership announced on Monday.

Niger had been suspended from the 88-member Organisation Internationale de la Francophone since the coup that ousted Mohamed Bazoum in July 2023.

Niger has prioritised forging closer ties with neighbours Burkina Faso and Mali.

INDIA: Authorities imposed an indefinite curfew in parts of Nagpur city in Maharashtra state today, a day after sectarian clashes sparked by Hindu nationalist groups who want to demolish the tomb of Aurangzeb, a 17th-century Muslim Mughal ruler. 

Clashes between Hindus and Muslims in the western city broke out on Monday during a protest led by Hindu nationalist groups demanding the demolition of the tomb.

MALI: At least 18 people have been killed in an air strike in northern Mali, a separatist group said. The army said it had mounted an attack targeting armed militants.

The Collective for the Defence of the Rights of the Azawad People, part of a Tuareg separatist coalition, said on Monday the Malian army bombed a market 30 miles north of Lerneb, in the Timbuktu region.

Seven people were also injured in the strike on Sunday, the group said in a statement, denouncing a “barbaric act from another age” and a “flagrant human rights violation.”

POLAND: The Polish government announced today that it was joining with the Baltic states in withdrawing from a key international treaty banning anti-personnel landmines.

In a joint statement, the defence ministers of Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania said that since signing the Ottawa Treaty, threats from Russia and Belarus have “significantly increased.”