* Olmert meets King Abdullah in a surprise visit to Jordan Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Thursday made a surprise visit to Aqaba to meet with Jordan's King Abdullah II.
* Hezbollah wants veto in Lebanon No president will be elected in Lebanon unless the Hezbollah-led opposition gets veto power in the future government, the leader of the militant group declared Wednesday.
* Musharraf: UK agrees to investigate Bhutto death Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said Wednesday that he had requested a team of investigators from Britain's Scotland Yard to assist in the investigation into the killing of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.
* Bush to Visit Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia's king will urge President Bush when he visits the country later this month to apply pressure on Israel to halt settlements in Palestinian territories.
* Egypt Breaks Explicit Agreement with Israel Egypt is allowing some 1,200 Arabs - including Hamas terrorists - to return to Gaza without having to go through Israeli security.
* 'Israel's image hurt since pullout' Israel's image in the international media has deteriorated since the 2005 disengagement from the Gaza Strip.
* EU alarmed at post-election violence in Kenya The European Union has cast doubt over Kenya's presidential election results and urged local leaders to prevent violence.
* Palestinian groups to meet in Syria on Jan. 23 Syria-based Palestinian factions opposed to peace with Israel decided Wednesday to hold their regional conference later this month in the Syrian capital.
* Oil hits $100 a barrel mark The price of crude has passed the psychological mark of $100 a barrel for the first time.
* 10,000 policemen to secure Bush visit In one of the largest security operations in years, more than 10,000 Israeli police officers will secure US President George W. Bush's visit to Jerusalem next week.