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　　Presiden Obama has announced an extension to the US military presence in Afghanistan,reversing an election pledge to end America's longest war. Close to 10,000 troops are toremain in the country for much of next year, with that number halving by the time Mr. Obamaleaves office at the start of 2017. From Washington, here's Jone Sopel. Addressing theAmerican people from the White House, the President said that despite significantimprovements, the security situation in Afghanistan was still fragile, and maintaining asignificant US force in the country was vital to continue to train Afghan forces and to maintainthe fight against militants. By the time the President leaves office in January 2017, that numberwould have halved. But that is still significantly higher than he'd originally intended.

　　Prosecutors in Scotland and the United States say they have identified 2 new Libyan suspectsin the Lockerbie bombing, when a Pan Am plane was blown up in 1988. The BBC believes themen are Mohammed Abouajela Masud, who is currently in prison in Libya, serving a 10-yearsentence for suspected bomb-making, and Abdullah al-Senussi, Colonel Gaddafi's former Chiefof Intelligence. Frank Gardner has more details. Abdullah al-Senussi was married to Gaddafi'ssister. He was known as the Butcher. He was his Intelligence Chief. He came from very humbletribal origins. But here at one point, he was reported to have ordered guards to fire downthrough the grids, through the grills, of a prison, machine-gunning protesters in a prison. Andhe's currently in prison and facing a death sentence. So if investigators do get him, I'd imaginehe'd be pretty keen to offer himself up to go to the Hague or Scotland, or wherever he can, toget away from that death sentence.

　　The Pentagon says that a weekend airdrop of ammunition was successfully delivered to SyrianArab rebel forces, and there was no indication that any of it ended up at the hands of othergroups. The Defence Department issued the statement to correct its early comments thatsuggested some of the supplies may have been picked up by Kurdish fighters.

　　Reports from northeast Nigeria say there have been at least 2 biggest explosions at a mosquenear the city of Maiduguri. Details of casualties were unclear. But local traders spoke of manydead. David Bamford has the latest details. Nigerian media, quoting local traders, said thatmany people were killed in 2 explosions during evening prayers at the mosque in the Maidugurisuburb of Mulai. Injured casualties have been ferried to the local hospital. A senior official saidthe blasts were thought to be the result of an attack by suicide bombers. Maiduguri isfrequently targeted by the Islamist group, Boko Haram. On Wednesday, 3 more bombsexploded in the city, killing at least 4 civilians. World news from the BBC.

　　The former Head of the Army's Intelligence Service in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo has died,aged 83. The retired Colonel, Carlos Brilhante Ustra, has been accused by human rights groupsof ordering the illegal arrests and torture of some 500 left-wing activists in the early 1970s,when Brazil was under military rule.

　　An opposition Venezuelan politician, Manuel Rosales, has been arrested, 6 years after fleeingthe country amid corruption allegations. Mr. Rosales, a former presidential candidate, deniesany wrongdoing, and says the charges were politically-motivated. He said he was planning totake part in the opposition campaign for December's parliamentary elections.

　　The World Bank is planning to offer extra help to Syria's neighbouring countries, who arehosting huge numbers of refugees from the civil war. Our economics correspondent, AndrewWalker, reports. Millions of refugees are now in countries bordering Syria. The largest numberare in Turkey. But it's the much smaller economies of Lebanon and Jordan that face far morefinancial strain. Because they are classified as middle-income countries, the World Bank can'tprovide grants or cheap loans. Instead, it wants to lend to those countries, while 8 donornations cover at least part of the interest cost. The World Bank officials said that the idea hasbeen well-received by many potential donors, and he hoped that funds could be paid out in 4to 6 months. Andrew Walker.

　　Researchers in the United States have discovered that our ancestors were probably just assleep-deprived as we feel today. They looked at tribes in Namibia, Tanzania and Bolivia, whoselifestyle has hardly changed for thousands of years. The average sleep was about 6.5 hours pernight. That's similar to industrial societies, where artificial lights, TVs, smartphones andcaffeine often get the blame for ruining our sleep. Many of the tribes people live into their 60sand beyond. BBC News.