Rice meeting with Olmert in Israel  —  JERUSALEM - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, leading the first high-level U.S. diplomatic mission since war broke out in Lebanon, said Tuesday the time has come for a new Middle East and an urgent end to the violence hanging over the region.

Lebanese parliament speaker rejects Rice cease-fire proposal  —  Nabih Beri, Lebanon's parliament speaker and Hezbollah's de facto negotiator, rejected proposals brought by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Monday, inisisting a cease-fire must precede any talks about resolving Hezbollah's presence …

CNN's Robertson Now Admits: Hezbollah 'Had Control' of His Anti-Israel Piece  —  Better late than never?  On CNN's Reliable Sources on Sunday, CNN's senior international correspondent Nic Robertson added all of the caveats and disclaimers that he should have included in his story last week …

Nations Reluctant to Commit Troops to Lebanon  —  PARIS, July 24 — Support is building quickly for an international military force to be placed in southern Lebanon, but there remains a small problem: where will the troops come from?  —  The United States has ruled out its soldiers participating …

Democrats Lose if Lieberman is Defeated  —  The most interesting question about the possibility that Connecticut Democrats could deny Joseph Lieberman renomination is whether that would help or hurt the senator's political prospects.  Or, for that matter, the Democratic Party's.

Former President Joins Rally for Lieberman  —  WATERBURY, Conn., July 24 — Former president Bill Clinton joined a stage full of Connecticut officials Monday night in testifying to the Democratic credentials of Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, whose 18-year tenure is threatened by the primary challenge of antiwar insurgent Ned Lamont.