Syria conflict: Assad says world can't afford intervention Here's a roundup of the latest developments: Underlining the shift, the foreign office announced that it will talk to "military figures in the armed opposition" though it insists it has no plans to arm the rebels - the suspicion of those who fear a rerun of Nato's intervention in Libya last year. Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu claimed Nato is preparing to deploy patriot missiles on the Syrian border in Turkey, Today's Zaman reports. A diplomatic source said: "This issue is also coming up on the agenda within the framework of deliberations, preparations and contingency planning on the security of Turkey and Nato territories." Another Armenian cargo plane bound for Syria has been grounded by the Turkish authorities on suspicion of carrying weapons. Ammunition experts from the Turkish Armed Forces and police searched the plane, Hurriyet reports. A US-backed initiative to form a new united Syrian opposition looks to have collapsed after key opposition movements from inside the country pulled out, according to the Telegraph. Representatives from the National Coordinating Committee, the Syrian Democratic Platform, and the Kurdish ethnic minority rejected the idea of serving on the proposed Syrian National Initiative. The Syrian National Council also voted against the proposal and the member most prominent in backing it, Riad Seif, lost his seat on the group's executive council. The leadership of the Syrian National Council has become an all-male affair after elections failed to promote a single woman to a decision-making group of 41. Some female delegates at the SNC conference rushed toward the podium in protest after the results were announced - saying the shutout failed to reflect the key role of women in the push to topple Assad and eroded the SNC's attempt at diversity. Rebel hopes for a change of policy on Syria in Obama's second term are likely to be dashed, analysts have told the Daily Beast. Steven Heydemann, a Middle East expert at the United States Institute for Peace, said: "I don't think it will be on a list of the priorities for a new administration in the immediate aftermath of the election." And James Prince, of the Democracy Council, said: "There's been a hesitation to go out on a limb on Syria. It's such a messy place, and politically the risks are very high. The issue of picking winners and losers scares the crap out of folks in Washington. They're afraid to back the wrong horse, or to help some of these emerging groups who may end up having members of al-Qaida. Muammar Gaddafi's former righthand man is languishing in a Libyan jail with kidney cancer and no access to lawyers, his daughter told Reuters. Abdullah al-Senussi, who as spy chief was one of most feared men in Libya, fled the rebellion that toppled Gaddafi, but was captured in Mauritania and extradited to Libya in September. The action was likened by his daughter to kidnapping. Former transition leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil is to be questioned by military prosecutors over the murder in July 2011 of the rebel field commander Abdel Fattah Younes, a court has ordered. The death of Younes betrayed ideological splits in the rebel movement and was seen as the work of a faction that mistrusted any ex-Gaddafi loyalist holding a commanding position in the insurgency. Bahrain Human Rights Watch has urged Bahrain to rescind its decision to revoke the nationality of 31 activists as part of its crackdown on dissent. Joe Stork, the group's deputy Middle East director, said: "The Bahrain government's summary decision to deprive 31 people of citizenship seems to completely disregard their basic rights. There is no justification for equating political dissent with damaging Bahrain's security.