COLU @ CONCEPTS

Three US soldiers have been killed and two others wounded in an ambush in Niger near the border with Mali, reports say. Several Nigerien soldiers are also said to have died in the attack. US Africa Command said  the patrol had come under "hostile fire" and was working to confirm the details. The US army has been providing training to Niger's army to help combat Islamist militants in the region, including the North African branch of al-Qaeda. The militants are most active in neighbouring Mali, where French troops intervened in 2013 to prevent them advancing on the capital. The Boko Haram group, based in Nigeria to the south, has also staged several attacks in Niger. Africa Live: Updates on this and other stories Niger surrounded by jihadi groups Find out more about Niger US President Donald Trump has been briefed by his chief-of-staff, John Kelly, about the attack, White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders said. According to the  New York Times , quoting ...

Image copyright GETTY IMAGES Image caption Michael Diamond has won gold medals at many international events, including two Olympics An Australian judge has quashed three firearms convictions against two-time Olympic gold medallist Michael Diamond. The convictions in May had effectively ended the trap shooter's career. The charges related to the alleged improper storage of a gun and rounds in Diamond's car. A judge acquitted him after questioning the legality of a police search. Diamond, 45, is now eligible to reapply for his firearms licence and qualify for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. "It's really good to see that common sense has prevailed today. It would be great to resume life back in the sport that I grew up with," he said outside court. According to the  Australian Broadcasting Corp , appeal judge Roy Ellis ruled that police had not made a demand to search Diamond's car - meaning they had no authority to do so. His arrest in May last year en...

Image copyright WXYZ Image caption Rebecca Bredow refused to comply with her ex-husband's wishes to have their child immunised A mother in the US state of Michigan has been sentenced to seven days in jail after she refused a judge's order to have her son vaccinated. Rebecca Bredow would not let her nine-year-old be immunised after initially agreeing with the father to do so. Her ex-husband has now been awarded temporary primary custody in order to get the boy the jab. Michigan parents are legally allowed to skip or delay their children's vaccinations due to personal beliefs. But Bredow fell foul of the law because she reneged on agreements with her former spouse dating back to November 2016 to have the boy immunised. The mother-of-two was sentenced on Wednesday for contempt of court after flouting a court order last week to have her son vaccinated. She and her ex-husband decided at the time of their child's birth that they would space out and delay jabs ...

Media caption Five things that went wrong with May's speech Tory MPs have rallied round Theresa May after her conference speech on Wednesday was marred by mishaps. James Cleverly said he was "proud" of the PM for contending with a persistent cough and a prankster. John Redwood said MPs backed her "strong message". The BBC's Laura Kuenssberg said that while many MPs wanted her to stay as leader, there were "emerging plots". These involved Tory MPs trying to get support to approach Mrs May privately and persuade her to stand aside. This group will only act if they feel they have the numbers to do so "quickly and cleanly", our political editor said, adding: "It is just not clear at the moment where the numbers really lie." PM struggles through interrupted speech May revives promise to cap energy prices Security review after PM pranked Could May have fixed her croaky voice? In the keynote addres...

Image copyright AFP/GETTY IMAGES A giant python in Indonesia met an unfortunate end when it was eaten after it lost a battle with a local man. Security guard Robert Nababan encountered the snake on a palm oil plantation road in Sumatra's Batang Gansal district on Saturday. Mr Nababan tried to catch the python, reports say, which was 7.8m (26ft) long. It attacked him, and man and reptile fought until Mr Nababan killed it with the help of some villagers. The guard survived with serious injuries. The python was not as lucky as Mr Nababan - its body was strung up for display at a village, before it was chopped up, fried and eaten. Image copyright AFP/GETTY IMAGES Image caption The python was strung up on Saturday night Mr Nababan told Indonesian news outlet Detik: "I tried to catch it, my hand was bitten, and I managed to wrestle it." The 37-year-old did not give an exact reason for why he tried to catch the python, but said there were villagers who could not ...