NEWS Defying the Algerian Army’s demands to give up, kidnappers still held at least 10 hostages in Algeria. Adam Nossiter reported from Bamako and Rick Gladstone from New York

Hostages who escaped or were freed from the grip of Islamic militants in Algeria described gunshots ringing out during breakfast, followed by foreigners being separated from Algerians at the end of their ordeal. Lydia Polgreen and Scott Saya reported.

Though French President François Hollande’s intervention in Mali has the support of African nations in the region, his army’s fight to preserve a country divided leaves many saying he has overreached. Steven Erlanger reports from Paris.

A reclassification of the wines of Saint-Émilion in France has ruined a fragile, four-year truce, reflecting a broader cultural, political and economic debate that is raging across the country. Eric Pfanner reports from Saint-Émilon.

Moscow awoke to the horrifying news on Friday that a masked man had thrown acid on Sergei Filin, the artistic director of one of the city’s jewels, the Bolshoi Ballet. Ellen Barry reports from Moscow.

ARTS Call it the museum challenge of the year. Successfully tackling a major subject of art history on a virtually nonexistent budget would seem to be beyond human ability, though apparently not to the Royal Academy curators’ endeavor. Souren Melikian reports from London.

SPORTS It is unthinkable that Africa’s Cup of Nations, which kicks off Saturday, can end anything like the event last year, when Zambia won the Cup. Rob Hughes reports from London.