The US and France agreed yesterday on a draft UN Security Council resolution that seeks a full halt to fighting in Lebanon, breaking a three-week impasse caused partly by Washington’s refusal to press Israel to end its offensive against Hezbollah.

Diplomats in Vienna said they expected UN nuclear chief Mohamed ElBaradei to find that Iran failed to meet today’s deadline for complying with council requests to suspend uranium enrichment, setting the stage for a confrontation at the Security Council.

Diplomats in Brussels say European Union ambassadors have failed to reach a deal on starting membership talks with Turkey.