Special Reports - UPI.com

Funding for jihad troubling, scholar says

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:45:40 -0500

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- More than 35 percent of Egyptians and Saudis interviewed in a recent survey considered it their duty to back regional mujahedin financially, a scholar notes.

U.S. sees long-term ties to Pakistan

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:21:47 -0500

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Washington is committed to a strategic partnership with Pakistan that extends beyond plans for a regional U.S. military withdrawal in 2011, officials said.

Police kill leading Papua separatist

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:20:41 -0500

JAKARTA, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Police are hunting more suspects after killing a Papua separatist fighter believed to have been involved in the slaying of two Americans in 2002.

Opposition leader sees revolution for Iran

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:15:48 -0500

TEHRAN, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- The Iranian response to the opposition movement that emerged in the wake of disputed June elections has failed to quiet the voice of dissent, an activist says.

Pakistan nabs aide to Taliban's Mehsud

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:14:54 -0500

KARACHI, Pakistan, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Pakistani authorities announced they arrested a suspect believed to be a close personal aide to Taliban leader Hakeemullah Mehsud.

Pakistan's Malik faces arrest warrants

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:13:40 -0500

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- A Pakistani corruption agency issued arrest warrants for Interior Minister Rehman Malik following a government decision to revoke an amnesty law.

Venezuela's entry in Mercosur faces Paraguayan hurdle

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:04:10 -0500

ASUNCION, Paraguay, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Venezuela's incorporation in Mercosur, considered a certainty after Brazilian ratification, now faces a new hurdle in Paraguay, which says the man and not the country is the problem.

Yemen supports U.S. in terror efforts

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:56:46 -0500

SANAA, Yemen, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- The Yemeni government pledged to continue to fight terrorists in its country who are moving to destabilize the region, the Yemeni president said.

Syrian president meets Iraqi SIIC leader

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:55:40 -0500

DAMASCUS, Syria, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Security and political progress in Iraq are included in the foreign policy interests of the government in Damascus, the Syrian president told Iraqi leaders.

Pro-Kurdish lawmakers stay in Parliament

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:54:35 -0500

ANKARA, Turkey, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Lawmakers in Turkey announced plans to stay in Parliament by joining forces with the Peace and Democracy Party following the closure of a pro-Kurdish party.

Beirut awaits U.S. diplomatic efforts

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:40:11 -0500

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Beirut is waiting for the effects of U.S. diplomatic efforts as disputes over the right of Hezbollah to maintain an armed resistance drags on, lawmakers said.

Pro-regime demonstrations rock Iran

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 11:41:23 -0500

TEHRAN, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Demonstrators took to the streets of Tehran following Friday prayers to protest reformers who vandalized pictures of Ayatollah Khomeini, state media said.

Copenhagen summit venue a madhouse

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 10:32:08 -0500

By STEFAN NICOLA
UPI Europe Correspondent
COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Friday saw the biggest security operation ever staged in Denmark, with 115 heads of state and government, including President Barack Obama and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, packed in one building.

Honduras mulls amnesty for activists

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 18:36:33 -0500

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Honduran President-elect Porfirio Lobo is actively considering a general amnesty for all political activists involved in the June 28 takeover that toppled Jose Manuel Zelaya and triggered an international crisis over the legitimacy of the de facto government that succeeded Zelaya.

UNDOF mandate extended to June

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:58:47 -0500

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- The U.N. Security Council extended the mission monitoring a 1973 cease-fire between Israel and Syria, but not without budgetary concerns.

Iraq inquiry chief on the defensive

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:57:17 -0500

LONDON, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- The London inquiry into the British role in the Iraq war wrapped up four weeks of hearings with the chairman of the probe going on the defensive.

Karzai stalls; Eide, Galbraith duke it out

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:55:48 -0500

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Washington is moving forward with "very close consultations" with Kabul ahead of a Cabinet announcement as the U.N. spat in Afghanistan intensifies.

Hariri headed to Damascus?

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:40:04 -0500

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri could head to Damascus as early as Saturday to hold talks with top Syrian officials, Lebanese ministers said.

Afghan army points to problems with police

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:38:54 -0500

MAZAR-E-SHARIF, Afghanistan, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Afghan military officials point to an inadequate and corrupt police force as contributing to a rise in insurgent activity in the northern provinces.

Yemen denies U.S. role in conflict

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:25:50 -0500

SANAA, Yemen, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Yemeni military officials on Thursday backed Washington saying there was nothing to support rebel claims of U.S. airstrikes in the region.

Iranian cleric reacts to Khomeini scandal

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:32:24 -0500

TEHRAN, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- An opposition cleric in Iran said the government was disrespecting the Islamic republic by exploiting the vandalism of pictures of Ayatollah Khomeini.

U.S. war veterans call for climate deal

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:30:10 -0500

By STEFAN NICOLA
UPI Europe Correspondent
COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- U.S. military veterans in Copenhagen have called for a comprehensive climate-protection agreement to avert severe threats to global security arising from global warming.

NATO: Moscow can do 'better' in Afghan war

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:20:00 -0500

MOSCOW, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin welcomed the NATO secretary-general to Moscow to discuss common interests but balked on aid to Afghanistan.

Turkish military continues PKK fight

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:10:00 -0500

ANKARA, Turkey, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- The head of the Turkish military pledged Thursday to take on Kurdish terrorist groups amid a national backlash over a decision to ban a pro-Kurdish party.

Yemen mounts biggest attack on al-Qaida

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:00:00 -0500

SANAA, Yemen, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Yemeni authorities' claim that 34 al-Qaida operatives were killed by government forces in ground and airstrikes indicates a major triumph for the Sanaa government's on-again, off-again counter-terrorism efforts.