Mali miracle: EU states in agreement

When the UN appointed Romano Prodi as its special envoy to Sahel in October last year, the hot, dusty Republic of Mali in south-west Sahara was rarely in the news.

But a severe crisis was already brewing, with thousands of heavily-armed jihadists and separatists creating new strongholds in the north of the vast country.

"When I discussed the situation with [UN secretary general] Ban Ki-moon - it was very clear that this was the flash-point. He asked me to take an interest in this...