US envoy George Mitchell (C) leaves the presidential palace in Damascus after his meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on June 13, 2009. Mitchell, the highest ranking official to visit Syria since President Barack Obama took office in January, is in Damascus on the the latest leg of a regional tour. He met Assad as Obama's administration steps up efforts to bring peace to the Middle East. Getty Images logo Getty Images 5 months ago

US envoy George Mitchell (C) leaves the presidential palace in Damascus after his meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on June 13, 2009. Mitchell, the highest ranking official to visit Syria since President Barack Obama took office in January, is in Damascus on the the latest leg of a regional tour. He met Assad as Obama's administration steps up efforts to bring peace to the Middle East.

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  1. Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman stands with U.S. envoy George Mitchell (L) before their meeting in Jerusalem October 8, 2009. U.S. President Barack Obama's special peace envoy sought on Thursday an "early relaunch" of Israeli-Palestinian talks, but Israel said Washington's goal of comprehensive peace was an illusion.
  2. Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman walks with U.S. envoy George Mitchell (L) before their meeting in Jerusalem October 8, 2009. U.S. President Barack Obama's special peace envoy sought on Thursday an "early relaunch" of Israeli-Palestinian talks, but Israel said Washington's goal of comprehensive peace was an illusion.
  3. Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman stands with U.S. envoy George Mitchell (L) before their meeting in Jerusalem October 8, 2009. U.S. President Barack Obama's special peace envoy sought on Thursday an "early relaunch" of Israeli-Palestinian talks, but Israel said Washington's goal of comprehensive peace was an illusion.
  4. U.S. Mideast envoy George Mitchell, left, shakes hands with Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, during their meeting in the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2009. Lieberman declared Thursday that there is no chance of reaching a final accord with the Palestinians any time soon, casting a pall over Mitchell's latest effort to get peace talks moving again.
  5. U.S. Mideast envoy George Mitchell, left, shakes hands with Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, during their meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2009. Lieberman declared Thursday that there is no chance of reaching a final accord with the Palestinians any time soon, casting a pall over Mitchell's latest effort to get peace talks moving again.
  6. U.S. Mideast envoy George Mitchell, left, and Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, right, meet at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2009. Lieberman declared Thursday that there is no chance of reaching a final accord with the Palestinians any time soon, casting a pall over Mitchell's latest effort to get peace talks moving again.
  7. Indonesian activists wear masks featuring US President Barrack Obama (L), Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (2nd L), President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso(2nd R) and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd during a protest against biodiversity offset programs, in Jakarta on November 18, 2009. Scores of environment activists held a protest against the program of biodiversity offset as they believed that biodiversity offsets are conservation activities intended to compensate for the residual, unavoidable harm to biodiversity caused by development projects, and is not the real solution and will ruin ecological dignity of developing countries.
  8. OREM, UT - NOVEMBER 16: In this photo illustration, a copy of Sarah Palin's book 'Going Rogue' sits on end on a display in the back room of a Costco November 16, 2009 in Orem, Utah. The Orem Costco received between 800-900 copies of the book which will go on sale tomorrow.
  9. OREM, UT - NOVEMBER 16: Gary Haynes (R) and Matt Cross (L) open boxes of Sarah Palin's book 'Going Rogue' as other books sit on a display in the back room of a Costco November 16, 2009 in Orem, Utah. The Orem Costco received between 800-900 copies of the book which will go on sale tomorrow.
  10. OREM, UT - NOVEMBER 16: Matt Cross (R) puts copies of Sarah Palin's book 'Going Rogue' on a display in the back room of a Costco November 16, 2009 in Orem, Utah. The Orem Costco received between 800-900 copies of the book which will go on sale tomorrow.
  11. OREM, UT - NOVEMBER 16: Gary Haynes (R) and Matt Cross (L) put copies of Sarah Palin's book 'Going Rogue' on a display in the back room of a Costco November 16, 2009 in Orem, Utah. The Orem Costco received between 800-900 copies of the book which will go on sale tomorrow.
  12. OREM, UT - NOVEMBER 16: Gary Haynes (R) and Matt Cross (L) put copies of Sarah Palin's book 'Going Rogue' on a display in the back room of a Costco November 16, 2009 in Orem, Utah. The Orem Costco received between 800-900 copies of the book which will go on sale tomorrow.
  13. Syrian President Bashar Assad, left, and his host Croatian President Stipe Mesic pose before before convening for talks in the Presidential palace in Zagreb, on October 28. 2009. Assad arrived on a two-day visit.
  14. Syrian President Bashar Assad, left, and his host Croatian President Stipe Mesic pose for a photo before convening for talks in the Presidential palace in Zagreb, on October 28. 2009. Assad arrived on a two-day visit.
  15. Syrian President Bashar Assad, left, and his host Croatian President Stipe Mesic inspect the guard of honour during an arrival ceremony at the Presidential palace in Zagreb, on October 28. 2009. Assad arrived on a two-day visit.
  16. King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia offers Syria's President Bashar al-Assad (R) a legion of honour, in Damascus October 7,2009. King Abdullah arrived in Damascus on Wednesday on a visit aimed at reconciling with Syria and forging a common Arab stance on issues regarding Lebanon, the Arab-Israeli conflict and regional and international alliances to help stabilise the Middle East, political sources said.

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  1. U.S. Secretary of Defence Robert Gates (L) shakes hands with Afghan President Hamid Karzai during a news conference in Kabul December 8, 2009.
  2. South Korean Army soldiers walk during a South Korea-U.S. combined air assault exercise to prepare for possible aggression by North Korea in Yeoju, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009. U.S. President Barack Obama's envoy began a rare trip to North Korea Tuesday for the highest-level talks with the communist nation in more than a year as a senior U.S. official warned of strong sanctions against Pyongyang unless it rejoins international nuclear talks.
  3. Iraqi security forces and rescuers search for survivors at the site of a bomb attack near the new Finance Ministry in Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009. An official at Iraq's Interior Ministry says dozens have been killed in a series of coordinated blasts around Baghdad.
  4. Afghan President Hamid Karzai, right, speaks as U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates listens during a joint press conference at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009. Gates said that the Afghan security force needs to be strengthened and more soldiers and police need to be recruited to battle militants, but he added that the U.S. is committed to help Afghanistan for the long haul.
  5. Iraqi security forces gather at the site of a bomb attack near the Labor Ministry building in Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009. An official at Iraq's Interior Ministry says dozens have been killed in a series of coordinated blasts around Baghdad.
  6. Fire fighters evacuate the body of a victim killed by bomb attack near the new Finance Ministry in Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009. An official at Iraq's Interior Ministry says dozens have been killed in a series of coordinated blasts around Baghdad.
  7. Pakistani nurses give medical help to a girl injured by a bombing at a local hospital in Multan, Pakistan on Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009. A bomb exploded near an intelligence office in central Pakistan, authorities said. According to officials over 40 people injured and many dead.
  8. Relatives mourn beside the body of Gong Jian, a student who died in a stampede at Yucai Middle School in Xiangxiang, Hunan province, December 8, 2009. Eight children died and 26 were injured in the stampede at the school's stairwell, local media reported on Tuesday.
  9. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle (L), his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner (2nd R) and Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet (R) pose with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton (2nd L) at the start of a European Union foreign ministers meeting in Brussels December 8, 2009.
  10. Simarak Na Nakhon Panom (C), the mother of arrested Thai national Siwarak Chothipong, cries outside the Phnom Penh municipal court where her son is being tried December 8, 2009. The Thai national who manages flights in the country, was charged with stealing Thaksin's flight schedule before his November 10 arrival and sending it to diplomats at the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh.
  11. COLOGNE, GERMANY - DECEMBER 08: A general view of the trophy during the German Football Association (DFB) women trophy presentation at the Cologne guildhall on December 8, 2009 in Cologne, Germany.
  12. COLOGNE, GERMANY - DECEMBER 08: A general view of the trophy during the German Football Association (DFB) women trophy presentation at the Cologne guildhall on December 8, 2009 in Cologne, Germany.
  13. COLOGNE, GERMANY - DECEMBER 08: A general view of the trophy during the German Football Association (DFB) women trophy presentation at the Cologne guildhall on December 8, 2009 in Cologne, Germany.
  14. COLOGNE, GERMANY - DECEMBER 08: A general view of the trophy during the German Football Association (DFB) women trophy presentation at the Cologne guildhall on December 8, 2009 in Cologne, Germany.
  15. DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - DECEMBER 08: Michelle Wie of the USA plays from above the blowing sand on the 'At the Top Burj Dubai' viewing area approximately 648 metres above ground on the 124th floor in the world's tallest building Burj Dubai as a preview for the Dubai Ladies Masters at the Emirates Golf Club, on December 8, 2009 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
  16. DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - DECEMBER 08: Michelle Wie of the USA plays from above the blowing sand on the 'At the Top Burj Dubai' viewing area approximately 648 metres above ground on the 124th floor in the world's tallest building Burj Dubai as a preview for the Dubai Ladies Masters at the Emirates Golf Club, on December 8, 2009 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.