* China, Iran, North Korea have formed strategic alliance China, Iran and North Korea have established a strategic alliance that focuses on missile and nuclear development.
* PLO executive committee approves proximity talks with Israel The Palestinian Authority on Saturday got the green light to restart peace talks with Israel after the PLO's executive committee voted to approve indirect negotiations.
* 'We can't leave Euro to speculators' French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced early Saturday that the 16 eurozone nations will set up a financial defense plan by the time markets open next week to shield their shared currency against further attack.
* 'Talks doomed due to Arafat's legacy' Israeli-Palestinian negotiations are doomed to hit a brick wall because no Palestinian leader will accept anything less than what Yasser Arafat rejected at Camp David 10 years ago.
* UK parties consider a power deal Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg is meeting his MPs and peers to discuss a power-sharing offer from the Conservatives.
* Plunge in US equities remains a mystery The day after $1,000bn was briefly wiped off the market value of US equities, traders were still trying to work out what caused share prices to plunge and then rebound so dramatically in a matter of minutes.
* Germany approves biggest cheque in history to save debt-swamped Greece German leaders today approved the country's share of the rescue package for debt-laden Greece after a boisterous debate in which the finance minister told them they had no alternative to the unpopular measure.
* Assad: Israel no peace partner Israel is not ready for peace with Damascus, Syrian President Bashar Assad said Saturday in a joint press conference with Turkish counter Abdullah Gul.
* Lebanon says it won't ask Hezbollah to disarm Lebanon's president says the government cannot ask Hezbollah to give up its weapons at a time of heightened tension with Israel.
* IAEA to discuss Israel's nuclear activities for first time Israel's secretive nuclear activities may undergo unprecedented scrutiny next month.