Authorities have filed murder charges against the roommate of a Bangladeshi doctoral student who disappeared with his girlfriend from the University of South Florida.

Pope Leo reiterated the Catholic Church's teaching that the death penalty is "inadmissible," in a video message released hours after the Justice Department said it would allow firing squads for federal executions.

Gunfire and explosions have rocked Mali's capital Bamako and other key cities in one of the most significant coordinated attacks in years, as armed groups, including jihadist insurgents and separatist rebels exploit worsening insecurity in the Sahel region.