US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton formally opened the first direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians in nearly two years today with a plea for both sides to make compromises to forge an agreement.

An agreement between Israel and the Palestinians to resume direct peace talks is imminent, US officials said today.

Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe joined an African summit today looking for some political legitimacy after his presidential re-election was condemned around the world.

MORE than a thousand Palestinian pilgrims set fire yesterday to temporary camps set up by the Egyptian government to house them until a dispute over how they will return to the Gaza Strip is resolved.

Beleaguered Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas is considering calling presidential and legislative elections to strengthen his position, a top aide said today.

Gunmen killed 23 members of an ancient religious sect in northern Iraq after stopping their bus and separating followers of other faiths, as car bombings in the capital killed at least another 20 people.

The Fallujah city council chairman, a critic of al-Qaida who took the job after his three predecessors were assassinated, was killed today – the latest blow in a violent internal Sunni struggle for control of an insurgent stronghold west of Baghdad.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman said today that Iran had no plans to meet with US officials on the sidelines of the forthcoming conference on Iraq, Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported.

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has proposed closed-door talks with Israel on some of the Middle East’s most difficult disputes, including the status of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees.

Palestinian security today foiled an attempt to kill a top commander loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas with a roadside bomb, officials said, further raising tensions between Abbas’ Fatah movement and the Hamas-led government.

Rescue boats and helicopters have converged in the choppy waters of the Red Sea, searching for survivors of an ageing ferry that sank with more than 1,400 people on board, mainly Egyptian workers returning from Saudi Arabia. Most were feared lost but officials said at least 324 made it to safety.

A rapid series of car bombs and another blast ripped through a luxury hotel and a coffee shop in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheik today, killing at least 75, police said.

Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners boarded buses early today at a prison in southern Israel on their way to freedom, the last phase of an Israeli pledge to release 900 prisoners as part of a ceasefire deal.

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.

Israel has agreed to remove major roadblocks as part of its withdrawal from five West Bank towns in coming weeks – the most tangible improvement in the lives of ordinary Palestinians as a result of a fledgling truce.

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern yesterday hailed the successful outcome of a summit between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern today hailed the successful outcome of a summit between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

Israel and the Palestinians agreed a ceasefire at a historic summit today where Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said he hoped Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas would lead his people to to an independent state.

With their flags whipping in the wind, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas met face-to-face today to announce an end to four years of violence and offer goodwill gestures they hope will start a new era of peace talks.

With a verbal ceasefire deal in hand, Israeli and Palestinian leaders met at a Mideast summit today for face-to-face talks and goodwill gestures aimed at ending four years of violence and entering a new era of peace talks.

A senior Palestinian negotiator called Israel’s planned prisoner release insufficient, saying it failed to meet the expectations ahead of a crucial summit between the sides.

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.

In his first personal foray into Middle East peace talks, President George Bush pledged today to “put as much time as necessary” into achieving peace between Israelis and Palestinians to help them live side by side.