A United Nations team is poised to fly to Syria to investigate allegations that chemical weapons have been used during the bloody civil war, the secretary-general’s office said Wednesday.

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev has called upon all parties in Parliament to ensure stability and prevent their political confrontation from spreading into society.

French President Francois Hollande on Thursday welcomed the landslide victory of Ibrahim Boubarca Keita in Mali’s presidential election. In a statement, Hollande praised the large turnout that was “an evidence of the commitment of the Malian voters to restore democracy.”