Clinton will push peace deal in Syria

PRESIDENT Bill Clinton, raising the stakes of his Middle East trip next week, announced yesterday that he would stop in Damascus to see President Hafez al-Assad in an effort to speed up the slow-moving negotiations for a peace treaty between Israel and Syria. 'I want there to be more progress and I think the visit will further it,' Mr Clinton said at the White House.

The visit to Syria - still on the State Department's list of nations that support international terrorism - is a big political gamble. His Secretary of State, Warren Christopher, has made five trips to the Middle East since May without producing an agreement.

Mr Clinton said he had decided to go ahead with his Middle East trip, the most extensive by a US president in two decades, despite heightened security concerns after the bus bombing in Tel Aviv that killed 22 people. He will also stop in Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Mr Clinton said it was necessary 'to stand shoulder to shoulder' with America's friends in the Middle East at this key time in the peace process.

WASHINGTON - A bag containing documents related to Mr Christopher's travel plans fell off a transfer vehicle at New York's Kennedy Airport and the papers were found blowing across the runway, the State Department said. A spokeswoman insisted the bag 'contained no classified material', although she acknowledged the department generally does not publicise Mr Christopher's travel arrangements for security reasons.

Lebanon raid, page 11