Jordan's king to meet Obama to advance Mideast peace talks January 17, 2012 -- Updated 1211 GMT (2011 HKT) King Abdullah of Jordan will meet with U.S. President Barack Obama about peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. King Abdullah has taken a more active role in the talks "It is little baby steps," he tells the Washington Post Jordan hosted Palestinian and Israeli negotiators earlier this month No significant breakthrough was made, but they agreed to meet again Washington (CNN) -- With a goal toward advancing peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, Jordan's King Abdullah will meet with U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday. In recent months, King Abdullah has taken a more active role in trying to bridge the gulf between Israelis and Palestinians -- filling the vacuum created by the removal of Egypt's former President Hosni Mubarak. "An opportunity presented itself where Israelis and Palestinians were confident with the Jordanian umbrella to start throwing their initial passes at each other," King Abdullah said in an interview with the Washington Post on Monday. The intent, I believe, is there from both sides. It is little baby steps, right at the beginning. Earlier this month, Palestinian and Israeli negotiators met in Amman with representatives of the Middle East Quartet -- made up of the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia -- in an effort to relaunch negotiations after more than a year of deadlock. No significant breakthrough was made, but the two sides agreed to meet again. "The President looks forward to discussing a broad range of bilateral and regional economic and security issues during their Oval Office meeting, including King Abdullah's leadership in advancing our shared goal of a negotiated peace between Israel and the Palestinians," the White House said last week in announcing the Tuesday meeting. Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians fell apart more than a year ago over disagreements on the issue of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. In September, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas made a bid for the United Nations to recognize a Palestinian state, a move Israel called premature without direct talks to address its long-standing security concerns. In November, King Abdullah made a rare visit to the Palestinian political capital of Ramallah in the West Bank, followed by a meeting in Amman a week later with Israeli President Shimon Peres. At the Tuesday meeting, Obama is also expected to "demonstrate support for the political reforms that King Abdullah II is leading to produce a government that is more transparent, inclusive, and responsive to the aspirations of the Jordanian people," the White House said. Outside the White House, the Jordan National Movement -- a group that says it seeks to promote democracy in the country -- will hold a rally to protest King Abdullah's "absolute monarchy system in Jordan." January 17, 2012 -- Updated 0624 GMT (1424 HKT) Pakistan is facing its most serious political crisis in years -- but will it lead to a coup? Many experts believe not. It may be unthinkable that the chocolate we enjoy could come from the hands of children working as slaves -- but it does. January 16, 2012 -- Updated 1223 GMT (2023 HKT) Agriculturalists in Tanzania are helping to conserve threatened forests by cultivating an unlikely crop: butterflies.