BBC News Middle East

A court in Tunisia has jailed nine members of what is described as an all-woman terrorist group.

They were accused of planning to kill a government minister.

Two of the women said to be the ringleaders were sentenced to 25 years in prison, while the others received sentences ranging from three to 14 years.

The case dates back to 2016 when there were reports on social media of an attempt to assassinate the then Interior Minister Hedi Majdoub during a visit to his parents.

His office denied the reports. The Tunisian justice minister has not divulged further information.

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Reports from France say a suspected attacker who stabbed and injured six people at Paris's Gare du Nord rail station on Wednesday has been identified as a Libyan national aged in his 20s who was due to be deported.

Police are still investigating the motive but are not believed to be treating it as a terror related.

Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has praised the courage of two off-duty police officers who intervened to halt the attack.

The suspect was shot three times and taken to hospital with serious injuries.

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

Egypt says three people have been detained for trying to steal a massive statue of an ancient Pharaoh - using a crane.

The prosecutor's office said the three were found in possession of digging tools and the crane with which they had tried to lift the 10-tonne statue and excavate antiquities in the ancient city of Aswan.

The statue is of Ramses the Great, who died more than 3,000 years ago.

A probe is being held and there are orders to investigate any further accomplices.

In recent years Egypt's managed to recover thousands of antiquities illegally taken abroad.