The stakes could hardly be higher, but so are the odds. The international peace conference convened by President George Bush in Annapolis in the United States has brought together more than 40 states and international agencies in the search for the most elusive peace deal of all, one between the state of Israel and its hostile neighbours. The burden of the search for peace lies mainly on the shoulders of the Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas, who rules the West Bank but whose administration was evicted from Gaza by Hamas (which is not attending the conference); and on Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, leader of an unpopular coalition in a nation that is tired of violence and may be ready for a deal. But there is a supporting cast of hundreds, Britain among them, and with Tony Blair, international peace broker, in the shadows.

The only certainty is that success in these negotiations before the deadline set by Mr Bush at the end of next year will require painful concessions if Palestinians and Israelis are to find common ground. And this explains the presence of such a large international gathering, for the role played by outside pressure on these two will prove crucial. In the Palestinian case, it will be pressure from other Arab nations and the EU; in the Israeli case, pressure above all from the host nation, the United States. If Mr Olmert and Mr Abbas eventually walk away from Annapolis with any sort of deal, it will be attacked by their powerful political enemies as a betrayal. They have to be able to demonstrate that they had virtually no choice and that the pressure on them was too formidable to resist.

The weakness in this game plan is America itself, which has displayed under Mr Bush an erratic attitude to the Middle East peace process. As Israel's generous financial and military backer, America has enormous influence over Israeli policy but has often been slow to exert that influence. This used to exasperate Mr Blair who as British Prime Minister ...

From time to time an idea comes along that captures the mood of the moment. Eight years ago a new organisation, Fathers Direct, did just that. Its main aim was to provide information on fatherhood through training and advice, but its very existence reflected the growing belief that fathers should play as vital a role in the raising of children as mothers do. Indeed, much of Fathers Direct's focus has been on helping ...

In a remarkable speech analysing the relationship between belief and non-belief, Archbishop Bruno Forte has spelt out the basis for a new type of engagement between Catholicism and the secular world. Speaking to the Catholic bishops of England and Wales at their autumn conference, the archbishop of Chieti-Vasto in Italy made a distinction between "indifferent" non-believers and those who still addressed the ...

Celebration of the Eucharist is at the heart of Catholic identity, to the extent that regular attendance at Mass usually defines who is and who is not entitled to call themselves by that name. This may be why liturgical controversy in the Church sometimes takes on a hard and bitter edge. The latest display of ill feeling has been triggered by the somewhat unenthusiastic welcome in some parts of the Church given to ...