Annan to send team to Middle East to urge restraint

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan is sending a three-person team to the Middle East to urge all parties to exercise restraint and help defuse the major crisis in the region, a spokesman said on Thursday.

The team will first visit Cairo to meet with Egyptian officials and consult with Arab League foreign ministers meeting there on Saturday, the spokesman said. Annan was traveling in Rome on Thursday. (Reuters)