Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday it was likely that Syria would be invited to an upcoming Middle East peace conference in the United States.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday hailed a “historic opportunity” for peace as his people marked the third anniversary of the death of his iconic predecessor Yasser Arafat.

Turkey’s military has detained and brought charges against the eight Turkish soldiers recently released by Kurdish separatists for disobeying orders that have facilitated “catastrophe”, military sources said on Sunday.