JERUSALEM (AP) – Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Saturday she would push for an easing of Israeli restrictions on Palestinians in the West Bank as she began her latest Mideast mission aimed at reviving faltering peace talks.

Rice said she was looking for “real concrete progress” on several issues, including improving the movement and access of people and goods from the West Bank. Israeli checkpoints and strict travel rules have curtailed such commerce and largely crippled the Palestinian its economy.

Easing the restrictions would clear the way for economic revival projects proposed by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, now a Mideast peace envoy, with the strong backing of Palestinian leaders who control the West Bank.

Argentine farmers keep strike going

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) – Farmers seething at export taxes on their crops resumed their blockades of rural highways on Saturday after talks failed to end a 17-day-old strike that has halted grain exports and emptied supermarket shelves of meat.

Eduardo Buzzi, a leader of one of four striking farm groups, said a failure to reach a breakthrough in talks that ended early Saturday has jeopardized their attendance at a second round called by the government for Monday.

“We went to negotiate and it turned out that the dialogue consisted of talking in vague generalities,” Buzzi told Argentine Radio 10. “As such we doubt there will be a meeting on Monday.”

On Saturday, farmworkers restored highway blockades across several rural provinces including Entre Rios, Cordoba, Santa Fe and Chaco.

The move came a day after they called a “truce” in the strike and temporarily lifted barricades to allow bargaining to begin on disputed tax hikes.

Adding new pressure on the government, the country’s four big farm groups said the strike will continue until at least Wednesday.

In a joint statement, they said they would decide at that point whether to extend the protest.

Hatchell couldn’t bring herself to belabor her team’s 25 turnovers, double-digit rebounding deficit or bumbling first half.

The Tar Heels had shown too much grit, too much poise in the face of adversity, to be cut down by their own coach.

LaToya Pringle had 27 points and 11 rebounds, and North Carolina climbed out of an 18-point hole in a 78-74 victory over fourth-seeded Louisville on Saturday, keeping alive the top-seeded Tar Heels’ bid for a third straight trip to the Final Four.

“When you look at those numbers and you still won, I see that as a positive, because I don’t think we’re going to play like that again,” Hatchell said. “Those kids had so much heart. It’s tough, and we had to rise to the occasion.”

The victory extended the Tar Heels’ winning streak to 16 and placed them in the regional final on Monday night, when they’ll play LSU, which beat Oklahoma State 67-52.

AP-ES-03-29-08 1825EDT