Despite little media coverage al Qaeda-linked Islamist groups have been consolidating and extending their grip across northern Mali for several months. Jihadist fighters have reportedly been crossing Mali's porous borders described by Malians as having come from as far afield as Yemen, Somalia and Afghanistan.
With Syria's cash reserves dwindling and its armed forces ceding more and more territory to the rebels, nothing could be more certain today than the inevitable downfall of Assad. However cathartic that moment may be, it is unfortunately unlikely to mark the end of the Syrian civil war.