Jerusalem - An East Jerusalem Palestinian rammed his car into a crowd of soldiers late Monday at a Jerusalem intersection, injuring at least 17 people before being shot dead, in the city's third such vehicle attack since July, paramedics and police said.

Most of the wounded were soldiers from the artillery corps who were on a tour of Jerusalem ahead of the Jewish High Holidays, which begin next week. Most of the wounded suffered minor to moderate injuries; one victim was described as moderately to seriously injured.

Amman - King Abdullah II of Jordan is to travel to Cairo on Tuesday for talks with Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak on the latest developments in the Middle East, officials said Monday.

Ramallah - Israe

Washington - Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is to visit US President George W Bush next Thursday, the White House said Friday.

The two men are to discuss progress toward building Palestinian institutions and "toward realizing the vision of two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security," the White House said in a statement.

Homs, Syria - The secretary of exiled Hamas leader Khaled Mashaahl has been assassinated in the Syrian city of Homs, a US-based Syrian opposition group said Monday.

The Reform Party of Syria (RPS) said on its website that Hisham al-Labadani was dragged from his car in broad daylight and shot on Thursday.

The website cited "operatives close to the event" as saying that the assassination was a signal that some elements of the Syrian regime of Bashar Assad were sending to Hamas to end its ties with Iran, the Islamist group's main sponsor.

Amman