UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed the need to find a political solution to the ongoing conflict in Syria as well as to renew momentum for the holding of an international conference to achieve that goal, as he discussed the crisis with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Michael Mann, a spokesperson for European Union (EU) Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton said on Thursday that the EU has no intention to stop providing help to Egypt.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called on Egyptians to prevent the further loss of life amid heightened tensions between supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi and the interim government.