Israeli envoys head to US in bid to renew peace talks with Palestinians

JERUSALEM — The chief Palestinian negotiator on Tuesday played down expectations for President Barack Obama’s latest attempt to restart peace talks, saying key differences with Israel make it difficult for negotiations to resume.

Arabs and Israeli hike the land retracing their dueling histories

RAMOT MENASHE PARK, Israel — Israeli and Palestinian hikers are taking to the hills in the footsteps of their ancestors — deploying maps, holy texts and walking boots in the long-running battle for control of the Holy Land.

Egyptian minister urges Israel to release 1,000 Palestinians in return for Israeli soldiers

UNITED NATIONS — Egypt’s foreign minister urged Israel on Friday to release 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for an Israeli soldier captured in 2006.

Arab leaders urge Obama to present an outline of Mideast peace deal, to break logjam

UNITED NATIONS — The head of the Arab League and the Egyptian foreign minister on Friday urged President Barack Obama to present his own outline of an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, in order to break the current logjam and spur negotiations.

Israel’s former PM Olmert in court in first trial of current or past Israeli leader

JERUSALEM — Ehud Olmert became the first current or past Israeli prime minister ever to go on trial Friday, insisting in a Jerusalem courtroom that he is innocent of corruption allegations that drove him from office.

UN agency helping Palestinian refugees marks 60th anniversary

UNITED NATIONS — In marking its 60th anniversary Thursday, the cash-strapped U.N. aid agency for Palestinian refugees asked the world for more generous funding and a renewed push to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Palestinian leaders say fundamental disagreements with Israel prevent return to negotiations

NEW YORK — The Palestinians cannot return to peace talks at this time because of “fundamental disagreements” with Israel on what should be on the agenda, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in an interview published Thursday.

Spain expels Israelis from architecture contest because their university is in West Bank

MADRID — Spain said Thursday it has disqualified a group of Israeli academics from a solar power design competition because their university is in the West Bank, the latest in a series of low-level European sanctions against Israel over its settlement policy.

Analysis: Obama’s high-stakes attempt to relaunch peace talks risks stoking Mideast strife

JERUSALEM — Rather than getting Israelis and Palestinians back to negotiations, President Barack Obama’s high-stakes attempt to relaunch Mideast peace talks runs the risk of cementing Israeli intransigence and exacerbating Palestinian weakness.

Israel’s Netanyahu welcomes Obama call for Mideast talks without preconditions

JERUSALEM — Israel’s prime minister welcomed Thursday President Barack Obama’s call for the resumption of Mideast peace talks without preconditions despite Palestinian demands for a halt to new Jewish settlements in the West Bank before any new negotiations begin.

Israelis, Palestinians to meet with US officials, not each other

NEW YORK — Israelis and Palestinians said Wednesday that their envoys would meet with U.S. officials but not with each other, cementing the impression that a U.S.-sponsored meeting between their leaders had fallen flat.

Obama tells world audience that fixing problems not just ‘America’s endeavor’

UNITED NATIONS — President Barack Obama challenged world leaders Wednesday to shoulder more of the globe’s critical burdens, promising a newly cooperative partner in America but sternly warning they can no longer castigate the U.S. as a go-it-alone bully while still demanding it cure all ills.

Israeli FM: Netanyahu talks with Obama, Palestinians a victory for firm stand on settlements

JERUSALEM — Israel’s foreign minister said Wednesday that the summit of Israeli, U.S. and Palestinian leaders proved Israel could successfully fend off international pressure to freeze West Bank settlement construction.

Israeli FM: Netanyahu talks with Obama, Palestinians was victory for firm stand on settlements

JERUSALEM — Israel’s foreign minister says a meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Palestinian and American leaders was a victory for Israel because it took place even though Israel refused demands to freeze settlement in the West Bank.

Gaps loom large as Obama exhorts Israel, Palestinians to make peace

NEW YORK — Despite a blunt admonition from President Barack Obama to stop wasting time, Israeli and Palestinian leaders gave little indication they’re willing to narrow the gaps that have crippled Mideast peacemaking.

Stern-faced Obama tells Israeli, Palestinian leaders they must do more to revive peace talks

NEW YORK — Bristling with impatience, President Barack Obama sternly prodded Israeli and Palestinian leaders to relaunch Mideast peace negotiations Tuesday, grasping a newly personal role in their historic standoff. He won an awkward, stone-faced handshake but no other apparent progress beyond a promise to talk about more talks.

Obama: Israeli, Palestinian leaders must do more to make peace talks possible

NEW YORK — Pressing for elusive Mideast peace, President Barack Obama on Tuesday challenged Israeli and Palestinians leaders to do more, saying it was time to “find a way forward.” It was the president’s most direct engagement yet on a problem that has vexed leaders for years.

Obama: US understands gravity of warming planet and is ‘determined to act’

UNITED NATIONS — President Barack Obama on Tuesday declared that the United States is a serious partner in combating global warming, telling world peers “we are determined to act.”

Obama tells UN summit: Clean-planet polices can’t be sacrificed on alter of economic growth

UNITED NATIONS — President Barack Obama says the United States was slow to recognize the magnitude of climate change, but that Washington is moving swiftly to catch up.

Obama plays Diplomatically in Israeli Palestinian Meeting and China Talks

Not enough common ground between Abbas and Netanyahu to relaunch peace talks at summit

NEW YORK — The Israeli and Palestinian leaders shook hands at the start of their first face-to-face meeting Tuesday, hosted by President Barack Obama, but the small gesture was unlikely to translate into a quick resumption of peace talks.

Carter says Israel must stop building settlements in Palestine to achieve Middle East peace

HARRISONBURG, Virginia — Israel must stop building settlements in the Palestinian territories if peace is ever to be achieved in the Middle East, former President Jimmy Carter said Monday night as he received an award at a Virginia university for his humanitarian efforts.

Netanyahu aide says Israeli leader won’t bend on settlements at meeting with Obama, Abbas

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won’t bend on his opposition to a settlement freeze when he meets the American and Palestinian leaders in New York, a top aide said Monday.

Obama faces tough task in getting Israelis, Palestinians talking again

JERUSALEM — Barack Obama will try to get Mideast peacemaking back on track this week in a meeting with the Israeli and Palestinian leaders, hoping the weight of the U.S. presidency can resolve a showdown over Israeli settlement construction and get the sides talking again after months of deadlock.

Israeli troops shoot dead 2 Palestinian militants on Gaza-Israel border

JERUSALEM — A Palestinian Health Ministry official says Israeli forces have killed two Palestinian militants and wounded three in an incident along the Gaza border.

Thai prime minister calls for reconciliation after activists’ march to border sparks violence

BANGKOK — Thailand’s prime minister called for peace and reconciliation on Sunday, a day after a nationalist group provoked clashes with police and villagers during a march to the Cambodian border.

Obama to host meeting with Israeli and Palestinian leaders to lay groundwork for Mideast peace

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will host a meeting Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in an effort to lay the groundwork for renewed negotiations on Mideast peace.

Obama to host meeting with Netanyahu and Abbas

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will host a meeting Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in an effort to lay the groundwork for renewed negotiations on Mideast peace.

Thai protesters mark coup’s 3rd anniversary, nationalists spark brawl near Cambodia

BANGKOK — As thousands of demonstrators marked the anniversary of a 2006 coup in the Thai capital Saturday, a rival group of protesters clashed with police and villagers near the Cambodian border, showing the country’s long-running political crisis is far from settled.

Anti-government protesters in Thailand mark anniversary of 2006 military coup

BANGKOK — Thai nationalists clashed with police and villagers Saturday as they tried to march toward an ancient temple on the Cambodian border, while anti-government protesters in the capital marked the third anniversary of a coup that continues to create political turmoil.