NEW : Nearly half a billion dollars pledged at donors ' conference . Hollande does not say how long France will maintain presence in Mali . U.N. gears up for the return of displaced persons ; UK outlines military support . Getting the French out of Timbuktu is a big symbolic gain .
NEW : Nearly half a billion dollars pledged at donors ' conference . Hollande does not say how long France will maintain troops in Mali . U.N. gears up for the return of displaced people ; UK outlines military support . Flushing the Islamists out of Timbuktu is a big symbolic gain .