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World
French president visits Mali to cheers of support NYC woman found dead in Turkey Earthquake rocks Japan
TIMBUKTU, Mali -- French President Francois Hollande bathed in the cheers and accolades of the thousands of people of this embattled city Saturday, making a triumphant stop six days after French forces parachuted into Timbuktu to liberate the fabled city from the radical Islamists occupying it.
His arrival comes three weeks after France unilaterally launched a military intervention in order to stem the advance of the al-Qaida-linked fighters, and since then French troops have succeeded in ousting the rebels from the three main northern cities they occupied, including Timbuktu.
"Alongside the Malians and the Africans, we have liberated this town. Today Timbuktu. Tomorrow Kidal. And others are still to come," Hollande told the French troops who stood at attention on the tarmac of the city's airport.
ISTANBUL -- A New York City woman who went missing while vacationing alone in Istanbul was found dead Saturday, and police detained nine people for questioning in connection with the case, Turkey's state-run news agency said.
Sarai Sierra, a 33-year-old mother of two, was last heard from on Jan. 21, the day she was to fly home.
Her disappearance attracted a lot of interest in Turkey, where the disappearance of tourists is rare, and Istanbul police had set up a special unit to find her.
The state-run Anadolu Agency said the body of a woman was discovered Saturday evening near the remnants of ancient city walls and that police later identified it as Sierra's.
The agency said she was found with a head wound and a blanket near her body. She was wearing jeans, a jumper and a jacket, and still had her earrings and a bracelet.
TOKYO -- A strong earthquake has struck Japan's northern island of Hokkaido, but authorities say there is no danger of a tsunami and there are no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
Japan's Meteorological Agency says the quake had a magnitude of 6.4 and hit at 11:17 p.m. Saturday in the Tokachi region in southern Hokkaido, at a depth of 75 miles.
The agency says there is no danger of a tsunami from the quake.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake's magnitude was 6.9.
Japanese public broadcaster NHK says nearby nuclear power plants, including Tomari and Higashidori, which are currently idled for safety inspections, have reported no abnormalities.
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