MALI: DEATH PENALTY HANDED TO FRENCH EMBASSY ATTACKER

A Malian court has sentenced to death a Tunisian man accused of throwing an explosive device at the French embassy in Mali's capital in January, wounding two people, state television reported.
"In the terrorism case against Bachir Sinoun, who exploded a grenade outside the French embassy on January 5, the accused has been sentenced to death and has to pay a fine of 10 million CFA francs," the court said in its ruling.
Mali and its neighbours Mauritania and Niger are struggling to contain a growing threat by Islamist militants operating across West Africa's remote desert regions.
However, Malian authorities have said Sinoun, who escaped prison in March but was rearrested a few days later, was acting alone in the botched attack and had no known links with Islamist militants.