EU leaders meeting in Brussels appeared poised to clinch Czech backing of the Lisbon Treaty today, clearing a major hurdle to its ratification and the naming of an EU president.

A senior Lebanese army officer has said 4,000 Syrian soldiers – more than a quarter of those serving in Lebanon just a week ago – are back in Syria, but he said a complete withdrawal is nearly a month away at the earliest.

Italy's blunder-prone Rocco Buttiglione was under increasing pressure today to spare himself the sack and step down voluntarily from his new job as European Commissioner in charge of civil liberties.