French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius Wednesday criticized Egypt for imposing death sentences on nearly 700 suspected Islamists.

"These sort of slaughter sentences are absolutely unacceptable," Fabius told French lawmakers.

Four Danish F-16 warplanes landed in Estonia on Wednesday, marking the first time NATO planes will be stationed in the ex-Soviet state and Russian neighbor. 

The aircraft and a supporting team of 60 people arrived at the Amari air base in the west of the Baltic state at a time when NATO is reinforcing its presence in the region to allay concerns triggered by the Ukraine crisis.

France condemned on Wednesday the botched execution of a death row inmate in Oklahoma who writhed in agony and finally died of a heart attack after a lethal injection went awry.

"France condemns the execution of Clayton Lockett yesterday in the state of Oklahoma," said deputy foreign ministry spokesman Vincent Floreani.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague on Wednesday pressed the world's chemical weapons watchdog to finish its probe into the alleged use of chlorine gas in Syria as urgently as possible.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons announced Tuesday it is sending a fact-finding mission to Syria after claims that President Bashar Assad's forces may have unleashed industrial chemicals on civilians.

The United States on Monday urged Egypt to reverse a court decision to sentence 682 alleged Muslim Brotherhood supporters, including the group's spiritual leader Mohamed Badie, to death.

"Today's verdict, like the one last month, defies even the most basic standards of international justice," the White House said.

Britain and France deployed eight fighter jets on Monday to reinforce NATO air patrols over the Baltics as tensions rise with Russia over Ukraine, officials said.

Four British Typhoon jets arrived in Lithuania to start their mission while four French Rafale jets touched down in Malbork, northeast Poland, their defense ministries said.

Air that's cleaner inside your car than on the outside -- in smog-weary China it's an attractive sales pitch, and the world's biggest automakers are racing to cash in.

To drive the point home, thick smog blanketed the Chinese capital when the Beijing auto show opened to the public in the past week, showcasing more than 1,000 vehicles in the globe's largest car market.

France on Sunday warned of "incalculable consequences" if the situation in Ukraine deteriorates, calling on Russia and on pro-Russian rebels in the former Soviet republic to de-escalate the crisis.

"The situation is very worrying," Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on French television. 

Four French police officers are being held in custody on suspicion of raping a 34-year-old Canadian woman at their Paris headquarters.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve confirmed the detentions on Friday and vowed to take "all the necessary measures" if the accusation against the four officers is proven.

The European Union welcomed Thursday the unity accord between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas but said the priority remains peace talks with Israel.

"The EU's top priority is that the current talks continue beyond April 29," said a spokesman for EU foreign affairs head Catherine Ashton, referring to the deadline for a U.S.-led effort to broker a Palestinian-Israeli peace deal.