BBC News with David Austin
President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria has challenged the Islamist militant group Boko Haram to identify themselves and clearly state their demands as a basis for dialogue. He said military intervention was not the sole means of ending the conflict.
"The military
confrontation
is required now because you must reduce it by all means, but military confrontation alone will not eliminate terror attack. Your superior intelligence and providing enabling environment for young people to have jobs."
Mr Jonathan, who was speaking in an interview with the Reuters news agency, said there was no doubt that Boko Haram had links with other jihadist groups outside Nigeria.
The American Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has been giving details of billions of dollars in cuts in the US military over the next 10 years. He said after a decade of war and expanding defence budgets, a turning point had been reached. Outlining his department's spending plans, Mr Panetta announced the army would
shrink
by 80,000 soldiers from some 570,000 by 2017. Here's Paul Adams.
Mr Panetta said that after a decade of war and expanding defence budgets, this was a turning point: an opportunity to develop a new defence strategy which would result in a leaner but more flexible military. As expected, he announced significant reductions in manpower in both the army and Marine Corps. The navy and air force will lose older and less relevant equipment and some major