The New York Times said Regev indicated all issues would be on the table, including the thorny topic of which country has jurisdiction over the disputed Shabaa Farms area.
The call for talks with Lebanon comes at a time when Israel and Syria are holding indirect negotiations on a host of topics. Because the Lebanese Islamic militant group Hezbollah has links to both Syria and Hamas, engaging Lebanon is seen as a logical progression of the other diplomatic efforts, the newspaper said.
The Shabaa Farms issue will likely be an early focus of any negotiations with Lebanon, sources said. Israel continues to hold the district as part of its occupation of the Golan Heights, and Hezbollah has cited Shabaa Farms as justification for hanging on to weapons in the face of a U.N. resolution calling for them to disarm, the Times said.
Obama team courting Clinton supporters
WASHINGTON, June 18 (UPI) -- Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and campaign aides are scouring Capitol Hill seeking support from Obama's former rival for U.S. president, Sen. Hillary Clinton.
Obama met Tuesday with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, many with long, friendly relationships with the Clintons, The Politico, a political news Web site, said. He's expected to meet with members of the Congressional Black Caucus, a third of whom backed Clinton in the Democratic primaries.
More meetings with other Democratic groups are on the schedule, Obama's aides said.
"We want to work closely with every single senator in there," said David Axelrod, Obama's chief strategist, after meeting with the Democratic Caucus. "We want to have a dialogue. We don't consider ourselves to be the repository of all wisdom."
Obama said he had a "terrific conversation" with the Hispanic caucus.
"We're all excited about the prospects of victory in November," he said. "We'll be unified going forward."
Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif., said the Hispanic group talked to Obama about the Hispanic vote and Clinton's role in the campaign.
Clinton was not on Capitol Hill because she was taking time off to be with her family, the New York senator's office said.
Mbeki flies to Zimbabwe for talks
HARARE, Zimbabwe, June 18 (UPI) -- South African President Thabo Mbeki flew to Zimbabwe Wednesday to discuss the upcoming presidential runoff with President Robert Mugabe.
Other leaders in southern Africa drafted Mbeki to work out an agreement between Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai, his political rival and head of the Movement for Democratic Change. But, Tsvangirai believes that Mbeki favors Mugabe, The New York Times reported.
Tsvangirai won more votes than Mugabe in the national election in March, while failing at least in the official count, to get the absolute majority needed to avoid a runoff. The runoff election is scheduled for June 27.
On Wednesday, U.N. Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour said that a representative of her organization was thrown out of Zimbabwe on Tuesday. An Arbour spokesman said that the officer, who arrived in the country Sunday, had long experience in Zimbabwe.
Chinese food safety agreement announced
ANNAPOLIS, Md., June 18 (UPI) -- Strong progress is being made on food and feed safety standards for imported Chinese food, officials of that nation and the United States announced.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt signed a statement Wednesday along with Li Changjiang, of the People's Republic of China outlining steps taken by both nations in implementing a 2007 Memorandum of Agreement on food and feed safety, it was announced in a joint press release following meetings in Annapolis, Md.
"Today's progress report reflects strong and sustained cooperation by both nations to strengthen the safety of food products exported to the United States from China," Leavitt said. "I'm very pleased with our efforts and commend our Chinese counterparts for their commitment to this important work."
U.S. and Chinese officials continue working on implementation of a second Memorandum of Agreement signed in December 2007 to enhancing the safety of a variety of medical products.
