VOL. XLIII

No. 24

12 June 2000

The Political Scene

The latest visit to the Middle East by US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has secured the participation of Yasir 'Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak in talks in Washington on 14 June. But new Syria-Israel negotiations remain a distant prospect, not helped by an internal challenge to Mr Baraks coalition government. Saudi Arabias ruling family has formed an 18-prince council. And the US has told Libya it needs to do more to justify...