For the many Malians who have fled to Burkina Faso in recent days, facing life in a refugee camp won out over the horrors of war, after already suffering through occupation by hardline Islamist rebels.
Polls opened on Tuesday in Israel's general election, which is expected to return Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to power at the head of a government of hardline right-wing and religious parties.
Thirty-seven foreigners of eight nationalities were killed by Islamist militants in a well-planned attack on a remote gas plant, some of them executed with a bullet to the head.
French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Sunday the end goal of France's military action in Mali was to retake control of the whole country from Islamist militants who have seized the north.
An Al-Qaeda linked group which shocked the world with its audacious hostage attack in Algeria threatened on Sunday to stage strikes on nations involved in chasing out Islamists from neighbouring Mali.
Algerian troops reportedly found the bodies of 25 hostages and captured five kidnappers at a remote gas plant after a bloodbath of captives that France called an "act of war" by Islamist militants.
For weeks, Iraqi MPs have been locked in a political crisis that has stalled progress on key decisions including one affecting their own offices in a future parliament complex.
An American hostage was confirmed dead Friday amid uncertainty over the fate of other foreigners held at an Algerian gas plant, with their captors demanding a prisoner swap and an end to French military action in Mali.
The White House and the US Defense Department are at odds over the danger posed by radical Islamic groups that have taken control of parts of Mali and are stirring up trouble in other parts of West Africa.
Egypt government unlawfully expelled two Syrian refugees back to the war-ravaged country last week, and two Palestinians from Syria now risk being deported.
Gunmen in southeast Yemen have blown up an oil pipeline that transports some 8,000 barrels per day to export terminals on the Gulf of Aden, suspending operations.
The Palestinians are bracing for a new right-wing government that Israel's election is expected to produce, hoping that international and domestic moves will strengthen their position.
The United States was rocked Thursday by a new crisis spurred by Islamic militants amid a deadly hostage-taking in Algeria, prompting warnings to US interests in north Africa to boost security.
South Africa's Lira will be one among many performers at Barack Obama's inaugural celebrations Monday, but she is determined to be remembered for a performance to rival Marilyn Monroe's wooing of John F. Kennedy.
Western governments voiced alarm over the fate of dozens of foreigners seized by Islamists at a gas plant in the Algerian desert after several hostages were killed in a dramatic rescue operation.
Britain is working "very closely at all levels" with Algeria after one of its citizens was reportedly killed and several others seized during an attack on an Algerian gas field, Foreign Secretary William Hague said Wednesday.
Israel's voting system reflects the many different political currents in society, but it has also been behind the repeated failure of governments to form stable coalitions.
