U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday entered two days of intense talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, voicing hope that they want peace but warning they must show progress soon.

In his fifth visit in as many months, Kerry will have lunch with Jordan's King Abdullah II and then dinner in Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He returns to Amman for lunch Friday with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.

The U.N.'s special envoy to Baghdad voiced worry over rising levels of violence and worsening sectarianism in Iraq in an interview with Agence France Presse, warning in particular of a deterioration in security.

Martin Kobler, who made the remarks at the conclusion of his posting to the country, said much was still to be done, with little progress in the past two years on several key political issues, including laws regulating the energy sector and the dispersal of oil income and a long-running dispute over a swathe of territory in north Iraq.

Three car bombs exploded Wednesday in Sebha, southern Libya, leaving at least one person dead, local officials said.

"Three car bombs exploded in three different districts within half an hour," local town council member Ayoub al-Zarrouk told Agence France Presse, saying there was at least one known fatality.

Islamist President Mohamed Morsi warned on Wednesday that political divisions in Egypt "threaten to paralyze" the country, as at least one person was killed and scores were hurt in clashes between his supporters and opponents.

In a televised speech to mark his turbulent first year in power, "Egypt faces many challenges. The polarization has reached a stage that could threaten our democratic experience and paralyze the nation."

McDonald's Israel, a franchise of the American fast food chain, has rejected an offer to open a restaurant in the Jewish settlement of Ariel in the occupied West Bank, media reported on Wednesday.

Israeli television stations said the company had rejected for "ideological reasons" an offer to locate in a mall under construction in Ariel that is due to open at the beginning of next year.

A Kurdish bloc won the most seats in one of two provinces that held delayed elections last week, surprisingly beating out the governor's Sunni Arab party, results published on Wednesday showed.

The Taakhi and Taayish list, a pro-Kurdish grouping, fell short of a majority, but won 11 of a possible 39 seats in Nineveh in Thursday's elections, according to results released by Iraq's election commission.

Fighting erupted in the Libyan capital on Wednesday when gunmen from the western city of Zintan tried to free five comrades seized by former rebels, a security source told Agence Franc Presse.

The clashes with small arms and heavy weapons broke out in the Abu Slim area near central Tripoli, an AFP journalist and witnesses said.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry voiced confidence on Wednesday that Israeli and Palestinian leaders both wanted peace as he called for progress "as soon as we can" in moving towards talks.

After stops in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, Kerry arrived in Jordan where he was to focus his energies on drawing Israel and the Palestinians back into direct negotiations after a hiatus of nearly three years.

At least one person was killed and 237 were hurt in clashes between supporters and opponents of Mohamed Morsi Wednesday, the health ministry said, as Egypt's Islamist president prepared to address the nation on his first year in power.

Islamists had been holding a pro-Morsi rally in the Nile Delta city of Mansura when opponents began throwing rubbish at them and fighting erupted, a security official said.

Qatar's new emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani said his country seeks ties with "all governments" and will not take sides, in a conciliatory speech Wednesday which steered clear of the Syrian conflict.

In his first address to the nation since assuming power, Tamim said his country "rejects divisions in Arab societies on sectarian lines," in reference to Sunni-Shiite tensions convulsing the region.