The Quartet of international mediators to the Middle East conflict gather in Lisbon today to discuss the humanitarian crisis on Palestinian territories aggravated by internal conflict.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice flies to Paris early next week for meetings with top French officials and Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora. Middle East issues and Sudan will be on the agenda for the three-day Rice visit to the French capital, beginning Sunday.

Foreign ministers of Arab League countries will hold an emergency session in Cairo Friday on the situation in Palestine and Lebanon, the secretary general of the 22-nation bloc said Thursday.

The Vatican says Pope Benedict XVI discussed "the worrying situation" in Iraq with U.S. President George W. Bush during a meeting at the Vatican today. The Holy See said the pontiff told Bush he would like to see a "regional and negotiated" solution to conflicts in the Middle East.

The recent eruption of violence in the Gaza Strip and its extension into southern Israel illustrates the volatility of the Middle East conflict, and the longer it continues, the greater the long-term threat to prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace, the United Nations' political affairs chief told the Security Council today.

Yesterday Pope Benedict XVI marked Easter Sunday with a wide-ranging speech on conflicts and "natural calamities" around the world. Pope decried the "continual slaughter" in Iraq and the "growing unrest and instability" in Afghanistan.

In a letter to Arab leaders, Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for a time limit for the U.S. military presence in Iraq. In a message sent to the Arab League summit in Saudi Arabia, Putin said he was "deeply concerned" over the situation in Iraq.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in separate talks Sunday as she continued a quest for what she termed a "common agenda" to move forward on a two-state solution of the Middle East conflict. She'll complete her fourth mission to the region in as many months on Monday with a meeting in Amman with Jordan's King Abdullah and follow-up talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.