African elephants face the worst crisis since global trade in ivory was banned almost a quarter-century ago, with the risk of extinction rising in worst-hit nations, conservationists said Wednesday.

France said Tuesday that dozens of Islamist militants have been killed in the bloodiest phase of the Mali conflict to date, but it remained unclear if key commander Mokhtar Belmokhtar was among them.

Multiple attacks against security forces in Kenya on Monday killed at least 12 people as Kenyans waited in long lines to cast ballots five years after more than 1,000 people died in election-related violence.

An al-Qaida source on Monday confirmed the death of one of the leaders of the organization's North African wing, in the most significant success yet for the French-led operation against Islamist fighters in Mali.

Thousands took to the streets in the Egyptian canal city of Port Said on Monday for the funeral of three people killed in overnight clashes with police.

Sudan breached U.N. sanctions by using warplanes and rockets bought from Belarus and Russia in the Darfur conflict, according to U.N. experts who have called for a tightened embargo.

Syria's president harshly criticized U.S. and British aid to rebels and set harsh terms for talking to his opponents in a newspaper interview published Sunday, as fighting raged across the country.

U.N. representatives on Thursday visited Moammar Gadhafi's last premier in a Libyan jail and discounted reports that the former senior official had been tortured.

At least 18 people, most of them Asian and European tourists, were killed when a hot air balloon crashed on Tuesday near the ancient Egyptian town of Luxor following a midair gas explosion, officials said.

France will not negotiate with gunmen claiming to be from Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram who have taken a French family of seven hostage, Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Tuesday.