* Iran talks critical, says Blair The next two days will be a “fairly critical” phase in the talks to free the 15 Royal Navy personnel captured by Iran, Tony Blair has said.

* China to extend Sudan military ties China and Sudan have agreed to strengthen military ties, highlighting their co-operation as Western nations seek UN action over violence in Darfur.

* Ukraine rivals in tense stand-off Ukraine’s PM Viktor Yanukovych has called the president’s decision to dissolve parliament a “fatal mistake”, amid a deepening political crisis.

* On Mideast Trip, U.N. Chief Sought to Expand New Role When Secretary General Ban Ki-moon addressed United Nations peacekeepers standing at attention in their powder-blue berets and military decorations in southern Lebanon on Saturday, he confessed that he had risen only to the lowly rank of corporal in the South Korean Army.

* Darfur peace force ‘needed now’ The African Union has called on Sudan to speed up plans for a new AU/UN peace force in Darfur where five Senegalese soldier were killed on Sunday.

* Iran Nuclear Bomb Could Be Possible by 2009 Iran has more than tripled its ability to produce enriched uranium in the last three months.

* Europe tops US in stock market value Europe has eclipsed the US in stock market value for the first time since the first world war.

* Aids Victims Risk Lives Thousands of Aids and HIV patients are risking their lives by refusing medication in favor of holy water.

* Jewish Philosophy / Exodus in our time Rabbi Joseph Dov Soloveitchik (1903-1993) was not only one of the 20th century’s leading experts on Jewish law, but also one of the most innovative and profound Jewish thinkers in recent generations.

* US House speaker defies White House with Syria visit House speaker Nancy Pelosi is due in Syria Tuesday, the most senior US official to visit in years, in defiance of the White House which accuses her of undermining US policy.