Eurasia

Egyptian police captured senior Muslim Brotherhood official Mohamed El-Beltagi yesterday, security sources said, as they pressed on with a crackdown that has put most of the Islamist group’s top leaders behind bars.

French President Francois Hollande said a military strike on Syria could come by Wednesday and that Britain’s surprise rejection of armed intervention would not affect his government’s stand.

German FM Guido Westerwelle has been quoted as saying that his country was “neither asked to, nor is considering” taking part in a possible attack on Syria. “We are in favor of the UN Security Council finding

The next meeting of Azerbaijan-Turkey High-Level Cooperation Council will be held in the second half of November, Turkey’s Ambassador to Azerbaijan Ismail Alper Coskun said.

Britain will not join any military action against Syria after a stunning parliamentary defeat on Thursday of a government motion on the issue, dealing a setback to US-led efforts to punish Damascus over the use of chemical weapons against civilians.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to use the UN Security Council to get a quick international reaction to Syria’s conflict. This is according to a statement made by her spokesman

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu held a phone conversation with his British counterpart William Hague on Wednesday night.

Former Pakistan Foreign Secretary Shahryar Khan and ex-Indian diplomat S K Lambah, the point men for India- Pakistan back-channel diplomacy, are to meet in Dubai on Thursday to ease tensions and draw a planned meeting between the premiers of the two countries.

Russia is sending two warships to the east Mediterranean, but Moscow denied this meant it was beefing up its naval force there as Western powers prepare for military action against Syria. Any strengthening of the navy’s presence could fuel tension, especially as the United States has said it is

Britain has sent six RAF Typhoon jets to its Akrotiri base in Greek Cyprus in a move to protect British interests as tensions grow over Syria, the Ministry of Defence said Thursday.