* Netanyahu: Settlements debate is a waste of time Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that international “arguing” over Israel’s stance on settlements was impeding progress on the Middle East peace progress.

* Netanyahu: Iran greatest threat to peace In Rome for his first European visit since being elected, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu briefed Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi on his peace plan.

* China urges caution on North Korean ship checks Beijing backed a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning North Korea’s nuclear test on May 25.

* Iran’s Crisis Posing a Problem for Its Mideast Allies If the street protests roiling Iran since its disputed election have created a problem for the leadership in Tehran, imagine the dilemma it raises for Iran’s allies elsewhere in the Middle East.

* China and US hold military talks Defence officials from the United States and China are meeting in Beijing for two days of high-level talks.

* Russia aims to host Middle East peace parley by end of 2009 Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in Cairo on Tuesday that Moscow aimed to hold a Middle East peace conference before the end of 2009.

* No ‘Big Bang’ for EU foreign service, says Solana The EU’s planned foreign service should be established gradually and not in a ‘Big Bang’, if the Lisbon Treaty is ratified after a second Irish referendum.

* Iran’s supreme strategy: Why is Ahmadinejad the chosen one? The price has been high of massive and sometimes violent Iranian reaction to the official landslide reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

* Ethiopian troops return to Somalia With or without an international mandate, Ethiopian forces have entered Somali territory to back up a fast-failing Somali government.

* Europe must change after economic crisis, says Sarkozy In a historic speech before a joint session of the French parliament on Monday (22 June), President Nicolas Sarkozy said that the global economic crisis meant that “nothing will be the same any more”.