Cheney set for Mideast tour

Dick Cheney, the US vice-president, is to visit the Middle East in a bid to shore up talks between Zionist regime and the Palestinians, the White House has said.

Cheney will leave on Sunday for a tour that will take him to Saudi Arabia, occupied Palestine territories, Turkey and Oman, his office said.

The vice-president's visit follows a brief trip to the region by Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, who held meetings with Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, and Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister.