If America is serious about restoring hope, it cannot rely on its existing three-step plan for ending the intifada: a ceasefire, followed by resumed security co-operation, followed by confidence-building measures such as a freeze on Jewish settlements.

ECONOMIST: Israel and Palestine

The company said it has resumed production at its Thailand assembly operation.

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The resumed talks with Mr Arafat's men will therefore be in the nature of a holding operation for the next two or three months, these sources maintain, while the negotiation with Syria, which never ceased despite its formal suspension, resolves itself one way or the other.

ECONOMIST: Middle East peacemaking reawakens