NEWS Hours after Algerian forces raided a gas facility, there was still no official word on the number of hostages freed, killed or still held by their Islamist kidnappers. Adam Nossiter reported from Bamako, Mali, and Rick Gladstone from New York.
Tens of thousands of people gathered in the southern Turkish city of Diyarbakir to mourn three women who were shot dead in a Kurdish political office in France last week. Sebnem Arsu reports from Hatay, Turkey.
The assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific affairs urged the leaders of China and Japan to begin private consultations aimed at avoiding a potentially dangerous escalation. Martin Fackler reports from Tokyo.
Gérard Depardieu’s recent antics in Russia have become a seemingly endless source of jokes and cartoons. But they are an example of a long history of using cultural figures to shape a country’s image. Celestine Bohlen writes from Paris.
January is turning out to be a bumper month for Spain and some of the euro zone economies most in need of debt financing, with governments and companies flooding the market with bonds that have sold at significantly lower interest rates than just a few months ago. Raphael Minder reports from Madrid.
ARTS The French version of the first volume of “Fifty Shades of Grey†has defied the naysayers, rocketing to the top of best-seller lists, despite French critics, who have heaped scorn on the work! . One persistent criticism is cultural: that “Fifty Shades†is a lightweight, sanitized Anglo-Saxon trifle that bears little resemblance to French literary S&M.
Elaine Sciolino writes from Paris.
FASHION The current success of luxury men’s wear â€" often outstripping comparable women’s sales â€" has given a new energy to designers who are showing in Paris for the 2013 winter season. Louis Vuitton is a case in point. Suzy Menkes writes from Paris.
SPORTS During his interview with Oprah Winfrey, Lance Armstrong admitted to using banned substances during his cycling career, but he did not explain how he did it or who helped him. Juliet Macr reports.
