West African bloc ECOWAS said they hoped to have an election plan from Mali by the end of this year, after a meeting with the interim leaders. Mali's authorities had previously said elections could be delayed.

The government of Mali has denied using Russian mercenaries from the Wagner Group. Western countries involved in fighting jihadis in the Sahel beg to differ.

North Korea has been facing sanctions by the United Nations since 2006 over its nuclear weapons program. There are nearly a dozen UN sanctions that target individuals and the government. But they are hard to enforce.

On December 23, Mali was accused by several of its international partners, including France, of allowing mercenaries from the Russian private security firm Wagner Group into its territory. Though the Malian government denied the accusations, several Russian military airplanes have flown between Bamako and Russia over the past few months. We take a closer look.

West African nations will close their borders with Mali, sever diplomatic ties and impose tough economic sanctions in response to its delay in holding elections following a 2020 military coup, the 15-state regional bloc said on Sunday.

West African leaders have imposed punitive measures on Mali as the military stalls a return to civilian rule. The move comes as regional leaders met in Ghana to discuss the crisis.

Russia's top financial institutions and a major new natural gas pipeline are in the crosshairs as Washington mulls "unprecedented" sanctions on Moscow in the event of an invasion of Ukraine. This as top US and Russian officials hold high-stakes talks in Geneva. FRANCE 24's Bryan Quinn tells us more.

Why are Mali's neighbours coming down hard? A harsh embargo has been decided after coup leaders in that landlocked West African state reneged on their promise of a quick return to civilian rule. How harsh? We talk border closures and trade embargoes. It's not as if the region has never seen a putsch before: look no further than neighbouring Guinea.

Exclusive photos show Russian mercenaries, believed to be of the Wagner group, operating in Mali. Also, Ethiopians in Lalibela marked the orthodox Christmas under the shadow of conflict. Just months ago, the historic town was occupied by Tigrayan rebels. And Senegal's national dish has gone global. Thieboudienne, made with rice with fish, has been added to UNESCO's cultural heritage list.

Mali's Ibrahima Koné may have scored the winning goal against Tunisia, but the man everyone's talking about is the referee, who blew his whistle too early and ended the game in confusion. Also on Day 4, Gambia make a triumphant entry into their first-ever AFCON tournament with a 1-0 victory against Mauritania, and Ivory Coast jump to the top of Group E after beating Equatorial Guinea. Alison Sargent is joined by James Vasina and sports editor Simon Harding from Cameroon to discuss all the action.

Thousands of Malians take to the streets after the junta calls for protests against sanctions imposed by the West African regional bloc ECOWAS. On the 11th anniversary of Ben Ali's ouster, hundreds of demonstrators in Tunisia defy a ban on public gatherings to protest against President Kais Saied's power grab. And we'll bring you the latest from the Africa Cup of Nations, our reporters on the ground have all the day's action.

Former Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who led the country until he was ousted in a 2020 coup, has died at the age of 76.