New York  - UN Security Council members met Tuesday to demand again that Israelis and Palestinians end their decades-long conflict with a comprehensive settlement that includes a Palestinian state.

"A Palestinian state is long overdue," said US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, adding that the two sides must take political and security steps to arrive at a full-fledged Palestinian state.

Tel Aviv  - Israel and the Palestinian Authority renewed peace talks on December 12, 2007. One year on, the main sponsors of the peace process are desperately trying to save what they can from the negotiations.

The so-called Quartet of peace makers - the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations - said in a statement Monday night that the process was "irreversible" and should in fact be intensified.

New York  - Israel's decision to expel a US expert on human rights was a "dangerous" move that contravened mandates given to rights advocates working for the United Nations, the UN General Assembly president said Monday.

Richard Falk was detained at Jerusalem's airport on Sunday and then deported back to the United States. Falk's mandate given by the 192-nation assembly is to assess the situation in Palestinian- occupied territories.

The Israeli foreign ministry on Monday said Falk was "unwelcome in Israel."

Beirut  - French president Nicolas Sarkozy is expected to visit Lebanon but will not visit neighboring Syria, Lebanese governmental sources said Monday.

Sarkozy's visit would include a single meeting with President Michel Suleiman and a trip to meet with the French contingent in UNIFIL, the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, on New Year's day.

Geneva/Jerusalem  - A UN expert on human rights in the Palestinian territories was deported by Israel Monday, after being refused entry to the country.

Richard Falk had arrived on Sunday to conduct a field visit to the Palestinian areas, but was detained by the Israeli authorities at the airport and never let into the country, a UN official said.

The official said Falk's phone was also taken away and contact with him was limited until he was sent on a plane to the United States.