President Barack Obama’s Middle East summit today is being treated as a crucial bout of international diplomacy, even though noone is predicting any kind of breakthrough.

ISRAEL has confirmed plans to build 1,300 more apartments in east Jerusalem, immediately drawing the ire of Palestinians who accused it of sabotaging already rocky peace efforts.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Jordan today for talks with King Abdullah and other Arab countries’ envoys.

British foreign secretary Margaret Beckett today said the international community should be open to discussions with Iran and Syria to help solve the Israeli-Palestinian crisis and to bolster the reconstruction of Iraq.