France has been on high alert for several weeks, but this appears to have been specific intelligence from the Saudi authorities that al-Qaeda was planning an imminent attack in Europe and that that attack was most likely focused on France. The interior minister gave very little detail about the intelligence received. It appears to have been released by the government as a warning to the French public they must remain vigilant. On average, two attacks are foiled a year, said Mr Hortefeux, and 61 people are currently in prison, he added, for suspected involvement in terrorist attacks.
The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said fresh efforts are underway to free an Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, who is being held by the militant Palestinian group Hamas. Mr Netanyahu said negotiation had resumed after months of deadlock. Jon Donnison reports.
Gilad Shalit was captured when he was just 19. He is now 24, and all previous efforts to secure his release have come to nothing. In exchange for Sergeant Shalit, Hamas is demanding the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. So far, neither side has been able to agree on the names of exactly which prisoners should be freed, and a Hamas spokesman has already said that in the latest talks, Benjamin Netanyahu is offering nothing new.
World News from the BBC.
The Pentagon says that after reviewing the intelligence file on the Iraq war, it believes it knows which documents may be about to be released by the whistle-blower website Wikileaks. US officials have assembled a 120 strong team ahead of the expected publication by the website of some 400,000 documents relating to the conflict in Iraq. It's thought some of the Iraq documents could relate to civilian casualties.