Sri Lanka says militant leader killed in Easter bombings

For years Sufi singer Rita Dewan captivated millions of followers in Bangladesh with her haunting ballads. But accused of defaming Islam and targeted by religious radicals, she spent months in hiding to escape death threats.

An Islamist party has called off anti-France protests and claimed the Pakistani government agreed to sever diplomatic ties with Paris over Prophet Muhammad's cartoons. The government did not immediately confirm the move.

Islamist jihadis in the unstable region have killed thousands of soldiers. French President Emmanuel Macron is thought to want support for a troop drawdown amid rising numbers of French combat deaths.

As this year's G5 Sahel summit kicks off in Chad, France is making no secret of the fact it wants to reduce the number of French troops fighting the jihadist threat in the region. So what will be France's strategy going forward? Our Perspective guest is Jérôme Pigné, researcher and Sahel expert at the Thomas Moore Institute.

Sri Lankan Muslims say that a government move to prevent Muslim women from wearing a burqa or niqab is a new act of discrimination against their community, which accounts for 10 percent of the 21 million, Buddhist-majority population.

Has jihad incorporated really opened a branch in southern Africa? The Islamic State group may have claimed responsibility for the overrunning of a coastal town in northern Mozambique, but local grievances, poverty too long ignored and militants preying on a soft target seem to blame for the gruesome events that have come to a head in Cabo Delgado province. We ask about last week's attack and past efforts to repel insurgents by Mozambique special forces but also South African and Russian mercenaries.

Since 2015, Burkina Faso has seen an increase in terror attacks, mainly in the north and east of the country. So-called Western education has become the target of jihadist groups. Students and teachers are regularly intimidated, with some even raped or killed. Amid the threat, more than 2,000 schools have closed, preventing more than 300,000 pupils from getting an education, according to the Ministry of Education. On the ground and in IDP camps, NGOs and unions are trying to provide psychological support to traumatised teachers and children. Our correspondents report.

Mozambican forces claim to have retaken the ransacked town of Palma from armed Islamist fighters. Despite this success, a glaring refugee crisis looms as regional bodies dither on providing military support.

Sri Lankan Mrs. World released on bail following chaos at Sri Lankan beauty pageant

Mrs. World has been freed after being charged with intimidation and assault after a fight with the winner of the Mrs. Sri Lanka beauty pageant. Divorcees are ineligible to compete, she had argued.

The move to outlaw the group comes after two police officers were killed in violent protests. Previously, the TLP's leader gave the government an ultimatum to expel the French ambassador.

Several police officers who were seized by anti-France demonstrators from radical Islamist group TLP have been freed. Protesters want the French ambassador to the country expelled in an ongoing dispute over blasphemy.