Palestinians hope US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s visit to Jesus’ traditional birthplace today will not just be a religious experience, but will also bring their daily difficulties of life under Israeli occupation into sharper focus.

Amnesty International today called for multilateral sanctions against Sudan and the immediate deployment of a UN peacekeeping force to end the bloodshed in the country’s war-torn Darfur region.

Egypt’s foreign minister said Iran’s decision to release 15 British Navy personnel may herald a “new spirit” between the Islamic republic and the West, a Kuwaiti newspaper reported today.

The Israeli soldier captured by Palestinian militants last June is still alive, the visiting Egyptian foreign minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, said today.

Arab leaders today launched into a flurry of diplomatic activity, including a trip by Syrian President Bashar Assad to Saudi Arabia, as they sought to control a political storm over Syria’s role in neighbouring Lebanon.

Egypt’s foreign minister and Israel’s prime minister today discussed the terms of a planned Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005.

The Palestinian elections provide an opportunity to revive the Mideast peace process, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today, adding that Israel is ready for such a step.

World leaders meeting in Egypt today focused on Israel, the Palestinians and what is seen as a chance to jump start the peace process, before shifting focus to Iraq.