Rice returns to thrash out ceasefire deal

US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice returns to the Middle East today in another attempt to forge an agreement for a multinational force aimed at bringing an end to the Israeli-Hezbollah fighting.

She will arrive in Jerusalem tonight, according to senior US State Department officials travelling with her. One official said she expected to meet Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert and foreign minister Tzipi Livni.