The U.S. and Israel haven’t resolved a dispute over Israel’s plan to build new housing in east Jerusalem, despite several days of high-level talks between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. leaders. Before leaving the U.S. early Thursday, Netanyahu said he thought some progress had been made in defusing the unusually public spat. “I [...]
LONDON (Reuters) – The arrests of senior Afghan Taliban members in Pakistan have stopped most talks between the insurgents and U.N. representatives, the former head of the U.N. mission in Afghanistan said in a BBC interview. Norwegian Kai Eide, who stepped down this month, said talks dried up several weeks ago after more than a [...]
RAMALLAH, West Bank – Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas will not relaunch negotiations with Israel unless it cancels plans for new illegal settler homes in Palestinian East Jerusalem, his top negotiator said Thursday. “Abbas has told (Arab League Secretary General Amr) Mussa that he informed (US Vice President Joe) Biden yesterday that he could not [...]
Plans to engage the Taliban in talks have gathered pace, with Afghanistan inviting members to a peace council and reports of a secret UN meeting. At a key Afghanistan summit in London, President Hamid Karzai vowed to reach out to "disenchanted brothers". A UN official told news agencies special envoy Kai Eide had met Taliban [...]