New Delhi, Feb 17: US civil rights leader Martin Luther King III met Congress president Sonia Gandhi here last evening.

Prominent American civil right activists and lawmakers including John Lewis, Congressman Spencer Bachus, Andrew Young and legendary jazz musician and Grammy winner Herbie Hancock are part of the delegation.

The delegation is on a 12-day trip to India to retrace the steps of Martin Luther King Jr., who came to India to study Mahatma Gandhi.

The delegation will travel around major locations associated with Mahatma Gandhi.

Amman - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Monday met his Jordanian counterpart Salah Bashir to discuss the latest developments in the Middle East and international efforts to enable a peaceful settlement in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"Bashir underlined the importance of reviving serious and effective Palestinian-Israeli negotiations at the earliest possible time with a view to reaching a settlement on the basis of the two- state solution, the Arab peace initiative and the relevant UN resolutions," a foreign ministry statement said.

Amman - Prime Minister of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt Wolfgang Boehmer on Monday met Jordan's King Abdullah II and Prime Minister Nader Dahabi to discuss bilateral cooperation in the areas of

Amman - King Abdullah II of Jordan on Monday pledged to work with US President Barack Obama on an amicable settlement between the Palestinians and Israel, and urged an early involvement of the new US administration in the Middle East peace process.

The monarch made the remarks during separate meetings with the chairman of the US Senate's Foreign Relations Committee, John Kerry, and a US congressional delegation currently touring the region, the royal court said.

Sao Paulo  - Colombian President Alvaro Uribe on Monday congratulated his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez on his referendum victory that removed term limits on his re-election.

"First, congratulations to President Chavez, because he obtained a democratic victory. Second, congratulations to our Venezuelan brothers for practicing democracy. And third, we will hope that antagonisms are overcome in Venezuela," Uribe said.

Islamabad - Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith on Monday announced a four-fold increase in the numbers of Pakistani government military officers to be trained in Australia.

Speaking at the beginning of a three-day visit to Pakistan, Smith said the decision would "raise the numbers to 40 to 50 officers."