The French president plans to ask the U.N. to visit the site of an alleged chemical weapons attack near Damascus.

UN-Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi will not take part in crunch talks next week between Russian and US officials on a long-delayed Syria peace conference, the United Nations said on Tuesday.

US President Barack Obama on Tuesday congratulated Mali’s new leader Ibrahim Boubacar Keita on his election victory and vowed to work with him as the country emerges from months of conflict.