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Egypt Showdown after Election Result Delayed

Egypt on Thursday braced for a showdown between the military and the Muslim Brotherhood as the electoral commission delayed announcing the winner of a presidential poll claimed by the Islamists.

A delay in announcing the results from the run-off, which had been due on Thursday, heightened Brotherhood fears of a "soft coup" by the ruling military, which has already disbanded the Islamist-led parliament and granted itself sweeping powers.

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Lavrov Says Any Syria Plan Calling for Assad Exit 'Infeasible'

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that any peace plan for Syria that calls on President Bashar al-Assad to leave power and go into exile was not workable because he would not quit.

"A scheme according to which President Assad should leave somewhere before something happens in terms of a cessation of violence and a political process, this scheme does not work simply from the very start," the Interfax news agency quoted Lavrov as saying. "It is infeasible because he will not leave."

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Israel Wants World Action in Syria to Stop Conflict Spread

Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon called Thursday for "massive intervention" by the international community in Syria to prevent the conflict there engulfing neighbors Lebanon and Iraq.

"The longer the wait, the more chaos and victims there will be," Ayalon told a small group of journalists in Paris ahead of talks with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.

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Russia Confirms Cargo Ship Carrying Syria Helicopters

Russia on Thursday confirmed for the first time that a cargo ship forced to turn back from British waters was carrying attack helicopters for Syria and said it would now sail under the Russian flag.

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Red Cross Reattempt Homs Evacuation as Violence Increases

Violence has halted the evacuation of trapped civilians from Syria's Homs region, the Red Crescent said on Thursday, adding it was in negotiations for a deal that would allow them to safety.

"Negotiations are still underway with the parties concerned to evacuate civilians, in cooperation with the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross)," the Red Crescent's Khaled Erksoussi said.

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Israel Wants World Action in Syria to Stop Conflict Spread

Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon called Thursday for "massive intervention" by the international community in Syria to prevent the conflict there engulfing neighbors Lebanon and Iraq.

"The longer the wait, the more chaos and victims there will be," Ayalon told a small group of journalists in Paris ahead of talks with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.

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Qaida Says it Killed Commander of Yemen Offensive

Al-Qaida said on Thursday that it carried out a suicide bombing that killed the Yemeni commander of an all-out offensive that saw the recapture of territory it held in the south, a U.S. monitoring group said.

In a message posted on jihadist websites, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) said the assassination of General Salem Ali Qoton on Monday was a "message" to the Yemeni military and its U.S. backers, SITE Intelligence said.

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Report: Assad May Be Granted Clemency by Britain, U.S.

Syrian President Bashar Assad may be granted safe passage or even clemency by the United States and Britain if he agrees to join peace talks in Syria likely to be held in Geneva, reported the Guardian on Thursday.

It said that Britain and the U.S. are willing to make this offer as part of diplomatic pressure aimed at holding the conference in Geneva.

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Pope Warns Full-Blown Conflict in Syria Would Affect Region

Syria risks descending into a full-blown conflict which would affect the entire region, Pope Benedict XVI said Thursday as he called on the international community to act.

"There should not be any effort spared... in getting Syria out of the current situation of violence and crisis... which risks becoming a generalized conflict which would have very negative consequences for the country and whole region," he said.

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Jordan Grants Asylum to Defecting Syrian Pilot

Jordan granted political asylum to a Syrian pilot on Thursday hours after he landed his jet at a military air base in the kingdom, in the first such air force defection in the 15-month revolt.

"The council of ministers has decided to grant the pilot, Colonel Hassan Merei al-Hamade, political asylum, on his request," Information Minister Samih Maaytah told Agence France Presse.

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