Mideast rivals Israel and Syria on Tuesday each announced ambitions to develop nuclear energy, with Israel facing the prospect that its plan could bring new attention to its secretive nuclear activities.

The highest-ranking American official to visit Syria in five years held "candid" talks on Wednesday with the Syrian president, as Washington tries to mend ties with a country seen as key to peace in the region.

The death toll from last week's sinking of a ship off the coast of Lebanon would likely reach 43, Syrian and Lebanese port officials said on Wednesday.

The plot thickened on Thursday over a secret trip by Israel's prime minister, as his office admitted it had misled about his whereabouts but stopped short of denying reports he had stolen away to Russia.

The International Atomic Energy Agency meets Monday for talks that will likely center on the UN watchdog's deadlocked nuclear probes of Iran and Syria.