BBC News with Marion Marshall.

The French president Francois Hollande says he will strengthen security inside France against possible retaliation by Islamist groups to French military operations in Mali and Somalia. He said there'd been increased surveillance in public buildings and transport. French forces in Mali have continued air strikes against Islamist militants and Mr. Hollande said the mission wasn’t over. Meanwhile in Somalia one French solider is known to have died during a failed attempt to rescue a hostage, another is missing. From Pairs Hugh Schofield.

The operation to free the hostage in Somalia is an acknowledged failure. Still President Hollande said that even though the raid had not achieved its objective, it did show that France would not give in to terrorist blackmail. In his brief televised address, the President also warned that the botched mission in Somalia and continuing military action against Islamists in Mali meant a heightened threat of terrorist reprisals in France. “The fight against terrorism requires that we take all the necessary precautions here in France.”

It’s been a momentous couple of days for the President with simultaneous military actions on two sides of Africa, prove of a determination to project force and to take risks in the battle against Islamist militancy.

Air pollution in the Chinese capital Beijing has reached the worst level recorded in years. Official measures of air quality have far exceeded the point at which children and elderly people are advised to remain indoors. Damian Grammaticas reports from Beijing.