Reuters: Pope and the Saudi King meet 07 November

Speculation abounds that Musharraf was on a mission to end his political isolation at home by reaching out to arch foe Nawaz Sharif, who lives in exile in the Saudi city of Jeddah.

Some 13,500 people packed the South Lawn of the White House on Wednesday to welcome Pope Benedict XVI. President George W. Bush welcomed the leader of the world's 1.1 billion Roman Catholics on his historic visit to the United States and said America and the world need his "message of hope." Images and soundbites.

News from Reuters

News from Reuters

Rice along with Defense Secretary Robert Gates met with King Abdullah in the Red Sea port of Jeddah.

Pope Benedict XVI pleaded on Sunday for an end to sectarian hatreds as he became the first pontiff to pray at Ground Zero, where nearly 3,000 people died in the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Pope Benedict XVI went out of his way to use a historic six-day visit to the United States to try to heal the wounds left by the sexual abuse scandal involving Catholic priests. An AFPTV report.

Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis is in Turkey for a landmark visit, the first by a Greek government leader in five decades. The three-day stay, in which he will meet with his counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is meant to boost rapprochement efforts between the two rival nations. Athens and Ankara normalised relations in 1990, but tensions remain. Increasing numbers of Greeks are now visiting the neighbouring state as tourists, but according to Greek officials, only a mere handful have dared to move there. An AFPTV report.

The Pontiff made his call on the last day of a trip to Austria during a Mass in Vienna's majestic St. Stephen's Cathedral.