Heads of state and government from countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea will meet in Paris to launch the Mediterranean Union project.
On the top of the agenda is illegal immigration.
Al Jazeera's Casey Kauffman travelled to the northeast of Mali and met a group of migrants on the first leg of their journey across the Sahara.
News24 : "Rustenburg - The unemployed man who built a helicopter from recycled material outside his shack in the Siza informal settlement near Rustenburg is beaming with excitement after News24 users offered to change his life."