Special Reports - UPI.com

Honduran Supreme Court mulls compromise to reinstate Zelaya

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:18:57 -0500

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- The Honduran Supreme Court is considering ways to extricate the country from the crisis over the Nov. 29 presidential election, which is most likely to be declared invalid unless ousted President Jose Manuel Zelaya is reinstated before the vote.

Ban calls for action on cluster bombs

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:18:08 -0500

UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- The international community must remain focused on strengthening protective measures for the threat posed by cluster bombs, the U.N. secretary-general said.

New obstacles to Iraqi election?

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:04:07 -0500

BAGHDAD, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Disputes over so-called compensatory seats in the Iraqi Parliament threaten to derail an election law now before the three-member presidency council.

Kurdish initiative will unite Turkey

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:00:55 -0500

ANKARA, Turkey, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Reconciliation efforts with the Kurdish minority being debated in the Turkish Parliament will unite the country under a common banner, officials say.

Brown urges support for Afghan military

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:59:55 -0500

LONDON, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Success in Afghanistan is dependent on a strategy that builds a national defense force capable of taking care of its own security, said the British premier.

Film tells forgotten Jewish fugitive story

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:58:53 -0500

By STEFAN NICOLA
UPI Europe Correspondent
BERLIN, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- After the end of World War II, the city of Berlin -- from where Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler had ordered and planned the Shoah -- became an unlikely temporary home for some 100,000 displaced Jews.

Francop incident problematic -- scholar

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:52:16 -0500

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- The Israeli seizure of Iranian arms bound for Hezbollah indicates international efforts aimed at controlling weapons shipments are ineffective, scholars say.

Jones' AFPAK visit met with bombings

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:44:35 -0500

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- A bombing of the Pakistani intelligence headquarters eclipsed a Friday meeting between U.S. national security adviser James Jones and top military leaders.

Blair to face Iraq war inquiry

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:43:16 -0500

LONDON, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and other officials are expected to testify before a London inquiry investigating the decision to invade Iraq in 2003.

Hezbollah spies infiltrate Israel

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:41:19 -0500

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Hezbollah has infiltrated the security services of Israel and obtained vital documents regarding military activity, the resistance movement said.

Envoy: Assad's Paris visit sign of new era

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:37:04 -0500

PARIS, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- The visit to France by Syrian President Bashar Assad points to a new era in diplomatic and trade relations between the two countries, officials said.

Non-profit front for Iran, U.S. says

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:23:57 -0500

NEW YORK, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- A non-profit organization aimed at promoting Persian philanthropic causes is a front for the government of Iran, the U.S. government says in a lawsuit.

Kidnapped priest released in Philippines

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:59:55 -0500

MANILA, Philippines, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- An abducted Irish priest has been released by his Filipino captors, but police have vowed to continue the search for the gang.

Guards hold key to power in Iran

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:46:04 -0500

TEHRAN, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps has amassed unprecedented power in defending the regime of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad since his disputed re-election in June triggered widespread unrest.

Chavez outburst puts Mercosur vote on hold

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:01:28 -0500

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Brazil's Senate has postponed a vote that would have brought Venezuela finally into the fold of South America's Mercosur trade bloc after a "war" outcry by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Don't heckle Karzai, Khalilzad says

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:34:48 -0500

WASHINGTON, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- Persecution of the Afghan president will do little to encourage the diplomatic engagement needed for the embattled nation, Zalmay Khalilzad said.

Russia still eyeing S-300 sale to Iran

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:54:25 -0500

MOSCOW, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- Moscow officials Thursday downplayed Western pressures over the possible sale of the S-300 missile defense system to Iran.

Pools of Yemeni IDPs ignored -- aid groups

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:53:19 -0500

SANAA, Yemen, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- Focusing on the internally displaced community seeking shelter in refugee camps in Yemen overlooks the broader picture, international aid groups said.

Ankara deliberates PKK initiative

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:48:41 -0500

ANKARA, Turkey, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- More information on government plans to find a political reconciliation to the Kurdish issue will be revealed as early as this week, Ankara says.

Iraqi air force makes milestone strike

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:39:01 -0500

BAGHDAD, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- Iraqi air force pilots struck ground targets from an AC-208 Caravan utility aircraft using a Hellfire missile for the first time since the force was reformed.

Jones heads to Islamabad for AFPAK review

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:09:01 -0500

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- U.S. national security adviser James Jones is scheduled to arrive in Islamabad on Thursday to discuss the so-called AFPAK strategy with national leaders.

German hate crime ends in life sentence

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:57:59 -0500

DRESDEN, Germany, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- In a decision that was welcomed by Egyptian officials, a Dresden court handed a life sentence to a Russian-born German who murdered a pregnant Egyptian woman in a shocking racial hate crime.

Lebanon not a playground, says Hariri

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:44:21 -0500

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- Lebanon will no longer be an arena for regional proxies to carry out their objectives, said Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

Galbraith slams U.N. amid Afghan doubts

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:43:19 -0500

LONDON, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- The outcome of the presidential contest in Afghanistan casts serious doubts on U.N. credibility and NATO confidence, writes former U.N. envoy Peter Galbraith.

India on alert as Mumbai anniversary looms

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:41:33 -0500

NEW DELHI, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- Indian officials have put state security agents on high alert ahead of the anniversary of the November 2008 attacks on Mumbai following arrests in Chicago.