Italian Foreign Minister to go to Beirut for talks

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema will travel to Beirut on Monday for talks on the fighting between Israel and Hizbullah guerrillas in southern Lebanon, officials said. D'Alema has been involved in the intense international diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict, and in his upcoming trip he hoped to "get direct information on the situation in the country," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The ministry did not give details. But Premier Romano Prodi was quoted as saying by Italian news agencies that D'Alema will go to Beirut on Monday. "Let's hope that in the meantime humanitarian aid can get there," Prodi said, according to the ANSA and Apcom news agencies. Late last month, D'Alema met with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and other top officials in Jerusalem.