* Peres entrusts Livni with forming gov’t Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni will begin efforts to form a new government on Tuesday via direct and indirect negotiations with potential coalition partners.

* Iranian president blames US for market collapse Iran’s president blamed U.S. military interventions around the world in part for the collapse of global financial markets.

* Abdullah, Mubarak to discuss Livni’s new role The election of Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni as head of the Kadima Party is expected to be at the core of talks Tuesday between Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

* China paper urges new currency order after “financial tsunami” Threatened by a “financial tsunami,” the world must consider building a financial order no longer dependent on the United States.

* The speech Palin never gave: Ahmadinejad dreams of Final Solution Her appearance in the rally in Dag Hammarskjold Plaza was cancelled in a flap between protest organizers and Hillary Clinton.

* Arctic ‘no sanctuary’ from drilling, says EU As the Arctic ice melts, Europe would be foolish to regard the region as a sanctuary that must be protected from resource extraction.

* Russia engages in ‘gangland’ diplomacy as it sends warship to the Caribbean Russia flexed its muscles in America’s backyard yesterday as it sent one of its largest warships to join military exercises in the Caribbean.

* Germany and UK want global financial regulator The UK and Germany believe that a new international system regulating the financial sector must be constructed.

* 30 years of peace, but no one wants to be Israel’s ambassador to Egypt Thirty years after prime minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian president Anwar Sadat signed their historic peace agreement, few are interested in representing Israel in Cairo.

* PA Threatens Military Attack on Hamas Palestinian General Dhiab al-Ali, who heads the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) military forces in the West Bank, has threatened to use force against Hamas in Gaza.