AP - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton sought to inject urgency into Israeli-Palestinian peace talks Friday, warning the negotiations may be "the last chance for a very long time" to reach an agreement.
AP - One of the investors in a proposed Islamic center near ground zero is a Long Island medical clinic owner whose expressions of sympathy for Palestinians included a donation to a charity later shut down for links to Hamas.
AFP - Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon on Friday praised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas for launching direct peace talks this week.
AFP - Israel's ambassador to Washington, Michael Oren, warned Friday that Hezbollah has placed around 15,000 rockets along Lebanon's border with Israel, including some that could hit southern Eilat.
AFP - Israel's ambassador to Washington, Michael Oren, said Friday he saw reason for optimism following the relaunch of direct Israeli-Palestinian talks.
AFP - Observers across the Middle East expressed deep pessimism pierced with glimmers of hope on Friday after the launch of yet another round of Israeli-Palestinian talks in a 17-year-old quest for peace.
AFP - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Friday Israel and the Palestinians know they need to find a solution that turns Jerusalem into a "symbol of peace and cooperation" rather than a flashpoint.
AP - Israel and the Palestinians have set a goal of reaching a final peace settlement within one year, a highly ambitious aim given past failures and future obstacles.
AFP - Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Friday said a UN investigating the murder of Lebanese ex-premier Rafiq Hariri did "not concern" him, because it had dismissed data provided by his militant group.
AFP - A series of explosions on Friday ripped through a house rumoured to be serving as an arms depot in south Lebanon, an area considered a Hezbollah stronghold, state media reported.
AP - Hezbollah's leader said Friday he will not respond to a U.N.-appointed prosecutor's demand for the group to hand over all information relevant to the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
AP - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned Friday from the resumption of Mideast negotiations in Washington to confront internal opposition to his peace moves, just as his Palestinian counterpart faced harsh criticism for agreeing to the talks at all.
AP - Explosions ripped through a building Friday in southern Lebanon that might have been used to store weapons by the militant group Hezbollah, security officials said.
AFP - Hardline Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a pro-Palestinian rally on Friday that revived Middle East peace talks are "doomed" to fail, as Islamist militiamen stopped one of his arch rivals from attending the annual march.
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