Presiden Obama has announced an extension to the US military presence in Afghanistan, reversing an election pledge to end America's longest war. Close to 10,000 troops are to remain in the country for much of next year, with that number halving by the time Mr. Obama leaves office at the start of 2017. From Washington, here's Jone Sopel. Addressing the American people from the White House, the President said that despite significant improvements, the security situation in Afghanistan was still fragile, and maintaining a significant US force in the country was vital to continue to train Afghan forces and to maintain the fight against militants. By the time the President leaves office in January 2017, that number would have halved. But that is still significantly higher than he'd originally intended.
Prosecutors in Scotland and the United States say they have identified 2 new Libyan suspects in the Lockerbie bombing, when a Pan Am plane was blown up in 1988. The BBC believes the men are Mohammed Abouajela Masud, who is currently in prison in Libya, serving a 10-year sentence for suspected bomb-making, and Abdullah al-Senussi, Colonel Gaddafi's former Chief of Intelligence. Frank Gardner has more details. Abdullah al-Senussi was married to Gaddafi's sister. He was known as the Butcher. He was his Intelligence Chief. He came from very humble tribal origins. But here at one point, he was reported to have ordered guards to fire down through the grids, through the grills, of a prison, machine-gunning protesters in a prison. And he's currently in prison and facing a death sentence. So if investigators do get him, I'd imagine he'd be pretty keen to offer himself up to go to the Hague or Scotland, or wherever he can, to get away from that death sentence.
The Pentagon says that a weekend airdrop of ammunition was successfully delivered to Syrian Arab rebel forces, and there was no indication that any of it ended up at the hands of other groups. The Defence Department issued the statement to correct its early comments that suggested some of the supplies may have been picked up by Kurdish fighters.
Reports from northeast Nigeria say there have been at least 2 biggest explosions at a mosque near the city of Maiduguri. Details of casualties were unclear. But local traders spoke of many dead. David Bamford has the latest details. Nigerian media, quoting local traders, said that many people were killed in 2 explosions during evening prayers at the mosque in the Maiduguri suburb of Mulai. Injured casualties have been ferried to the local hospital. A senior official said the blasts were thought to be the result of an attack by suicide bombers. Maiduguri is frequently targeted by the Islamist group, Boko Haram. On Wednesday, 3 more bombs exploded in the city, killing at least 4 civilians. World news from the BBC.
The former Head of the Army's Intelligence Service in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo has died, aged 83. The retired Colonel, Carlos Brilhante Ustra, has been accused by human rights groups of ordering the illegal arrests and torture of some 500 left-wing activists in the early 1970s, when Brazil was under military rule.
An opposition Venezuelan politician, Manuel Rosales, has been arrested, 6 years after fleeing the country amid corruption allegations. Mr. Rosales, a former presidential candidate, denies any wrongdoing, and says the charges were politically-motivated. He said he was planning to take part in the opposition campaign for December's parliamentary elections.
The World Bank is planning to offer extra help to Syria's neighbouring countries, who are hosting huge numbers of refugees from the civil war. Our economics correspondent, Andrew Walker, reports. Millions of refugees are now in countries bordering Syria. The largest number are in Turkey. But it's the much smaller economies of Lebanon and Jordan that face far more financial strain. Because they are classified as middle-income countries, the World Bank can't provide grants or cheap loans. Instead, it wants to lend to those countries, while 8 donor nations cover at least part of the interest cost. The World Bank officials said that the idea has been well-received by many potential donors, and he hoped that funds could be paid out in 4 to 6 months. Andrew Walker.
Researchers in the United States have discovered that our ancestors were probably just as sleep-deprived as we feel today. They looked at tribes in Namibia, Tanzania and Bolivia, whose lifestyle has hardly changed for thousands of years. The average sleep was about 6.5 hours per night. That's similar to industrial societies, where artificial lights, TVs, smartphones and caffeine often get the blame for ruining our sleep. Many of the tribes people live into their 60s and beyond. BBC News.