Medvedev has announced that Moscow plans to hold a Middle East peace conference before the end of 2009, an idea supported by Egypt.  In a meeting with the League of Arab States, Medvedev commented that the peace process might result in an independent Palestine with the capital in East Jerusalem.  The BBC comments on the motivation for the trip: ‘in terms of influence, Russia lags far behind China and the US – not just in Egypt but right across the African continent’.  The Times examines Soviet-era relations with Africa, facilitated by communist ideals in the continent: will the President be able to resuscitate the same interaction with profit-seeking in mind?