At least 57 al-Shabab extremists killed in Somalia assault

At least 57 members of the al-Shabab extremist group were killed Thursday as African Union and Somali forces attacked one of its camps, the AU peacekeeping mission in Somalia announced. It was one of the deadliest assaults on the al-Qaida-linked group by the joint forces.

The multinational force said on Twitter that vehicles and equipment were destroyed in the morning assault on the al-Shabab camp outside Afmadhow and "a large cache of weapons" was captured. The statement said helicopter gunships supported the attack.

No deal in talks to persuade Gambian leader to step down

No deal was reached Friday in last-ditch attempts by a regional mediation team to persuade Gambia's longtime leader to step down, and while mediation will continue, the inauguration next week of the elected opposition coalition leader will go forward, the spokesman for coalition said.

"This crisis has not been solved by these talks," said spokesman Halifa Sallah, adding that more efforts are needed to narrow differences.