Authorities on Saturday evacuated all tourists from the ancient city of Timbuktu in northern Mali, a day after three foreigners were kidnapped and another killed, an airport official said.

The 20 or so tourists were flown by government-chartered aircraft to Mopti, south of Timbuktu, and to the capital Bamako.

Asian markets mostly fell on Friday as a meeting between the eurozone's three biggest economies highlighted their differences on finding a solution to the region's debt crisis.

Traders remained nervous at the end of a week that saw fears over Europe deepen as the yields on Italian and Spanish bonds sat dangerously high and even Germany -- the bloc's pillar -- failed to sell all its bonds at auction.

French foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero on Thursday denied a media report claiming that French intelligence operatives had arrived to the borders of Lebanon and Turkey to train members of the rebel Free Syrian Army, dismissing the report as “baseless.”

“You know that the (French) magazine Le Canard enchainé, (which published the report Wednesday), is a satirical weekly. This report is inaccurate and baseless,” Valero said in an interview with Lebanon’s OTV.

A gang of armed men kidnapped two French nationals from their hotel in northeastern Mali overnight, local security sources told Agence France Presse on Thursday.

The two geologists were seized by seven men from their hotel in the village of Hombori, the sources said, in the latest abduction of foreigners in the restive country where al-Qaida militants are active.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri held talks on Thursday with French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Elysee Palace in Paris.

The two officials discussed the latest developments, especially those related to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and regional affairs.

France renewed its support for humanitarian corridors in Syria on Thursday but said such a move would have to either be agreed by Damascus or come under an international mandate.

Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said on Wednesday that France would ask its EU partners to consider the idea of setting up protected escape routes for Syrian civilians fleeing the regime of Bashar Assad.

The opposition Syrian National Council said Tuesday it is organizing a conference with the Arab League to prepare for a "transitional period" after the fall of President Bashar Assad's regime.

Assad is under mounting pressure from Syria's neighbors to step down over his regime's eight-month crackdown on protests that the United Nations says has killed more than 3,500 people since mid-March.

Russia said on Tuesday new sanctions unveiled by Western states against Iran over its nuclear drive were unacceptable and illegal, warning they risked impeding the chance of dialogue with Tehran.

"Russia sees such measures as unacceptable and against international law," the foreign ministry said in a statement. "This practice seriously complicates moves for constructive dialogue with Tehran."

France on Monday condemned the killing of pro-democracy protesters in Egypt and called for elections to be held as planned next week in order for the country's democratic transition to succeed.

"France is deeply concerned by the clashes in recent days. It condemns the violence that led to the deaths of over 20 demonstrators," foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero told journalists.

Saudi Crown Prince and Interior Minister Nayef bin Abdul Aziz discussed latest developments with French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe in Riyadh on Sunday, Saudi Arabia’s state news agency SPA reported.

The two officials discussed "the latest regional and international developments and subjects of mutual interest," SPA reported.