Special Reports - UPI.com

Argentina slow to join Latin economic recovery

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:35:23 -0500

BUENOS AIRES, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Argentina is slow to join Latin American countries that are already on the road to economic recovery since last year's financial crisis because of worries over the stability of the Buenos Aires leadership, analysts said Friday.

Ankara weighs human rights bill for Kurds

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:08:20 -0500

ANKARA, Turkey, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Measures under consideration in the Turkish government deal with discrimination and human rights for the Kurdish minority community, the interior minister said.

UNIFIL talks security with Hariri

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:49:03 -0500

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- The United Nations remains committed to monitoring the security situation along the southern border with Lebanon, top peacekeepers said.

Australia commits to Asian security

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:46:08 -0500

CANBERRA, Australia, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- The Australian government is committed to tackling the broad security challenges presented by the multiple threats in Central Asia, s defense minister said.

Thai, Cambodian military leaders to meet

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:45:13 -0500

BANGKOK, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Thai and Cambodian military leaders will meet next week amid growing tensions over Phnom Penh's appointment of a fugitive former Thai premier as an adviser.

Ankara and Damascus form stronger ties

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:12:16 -0500

DAMASCUS, Syria, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- The border between Turkey and Syria is a bond that ties the two neighboring countries together, the Turkish speaker of Parliament said in Damascus.

U.S. military plans on course in Iraq

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:23:28 -0500

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Political stability in Iraq is not a necessary factor for U.S. efforts to move forward with the responsible withdrawal of its combat forces, scholars say.

Iran irked still over Jundallah attacks

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:14:15 -0500

KABUL, Afghanistan, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- The government of Pakistan is expected to hand the alleged perpetrators of an October bombing in southern Iran over to Tehran, Iranian leaders said.

Gates cites corruption as Afghan obstacle

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:55:12 -0500

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Tackling lingering issues over corruption in the Afghan government will not happen overnight, said U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

Iraqis protest veto of election law

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:47:22 -0500

BASRA, Iraq, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Iraqis in the southern province of Basra demonstrated in front of governmental buildings Friday in protest of a decision to veto the election law.

CIA's Panetta arrives in Pakistan

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:38:35 -0500

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- CIA Director Leon Panetta arrived in Pakistan Friday to discuss the issue of the location of the leadership of the Taliban with security officials.

Beirut weighs issue of Hezbollah weapons

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:29:13 -0500

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Lebanese lawmakers cited the issue of Hezbollah weapons as complicating the drafting of a policy statement expected from the new government Sunday.

Israel seeks to check Iranian inroads in South America

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:00:00 -0500

BUENOS AIRES, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Israel is seeking to check Iranian diplomatic and trade advances in South America, a region where it has enjoyed sympathy and support since its founding, but a fuller picture of shifting alliances must also take into account recent advances by China and Russia, analysts said Thursday.

Critics: EU chose lightweight leaders

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:10:51 -0500

By STEFAN NICOLA
UPI Europe Correspondent
BERLIN, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Experts criticize that two political nobodies got the EU's top posts.

FBI's Mueller in Ankara on PKK initiative

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:54:05 -0500

ANKARA, Turkey, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- Washington backs Turkish efforts to control Kurdish guerrillas as part of a broader counter-terrorism effort, the U.S. Embassy in Ankara said.

Ban hopeful on Iraqi vote

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:53:49 -0500

UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- The Iraqi Parliament should act swiftly to adopt reforms to a national election law so the vote can proceed in January, the U.N. secretary-general said.

Corruption looms over Karzai inauguration

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:53:29 -0500

KABUL, Afghanistan, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- With world leaders attending his inauguration, Afghan President Hamid Karzai must address corruption and sideline warlords, Human Rights Watch said.

War against Somali pirates heats up

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:34:07 -0500

MOGADISHU, Somalia, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- China has sent a new navy flotilla to join an international fleet in the Gulf of Aden combating increasingly bold Somali pirates who are pushing deeper into the Indian Ocean as merchant vessels start to fight back against them.

Rafsanjani reacts to Alavi seizure

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:27:48 -0500

TEHRAN, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- The United States and its allies know full well that Iran has no intention of developing nuclear weapons, former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said.

Amnesty blasts Obama's Gitmo delays

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:25:46 -0500

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama needs to explain why there is no sense of urgency to close the prison facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Amnesty International said.

March 14 faces shifting landscape

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:25:29 -0500

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- Political defections and a shifting regional landscape suggest the ruling March 14 coalition in Lebanon needs to transform to lead effectively, analysts say.

Khamenei last supreme leader of Iran?

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:17:45 -0500

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- Concern over political corruption in the office of Iran's supreme leader suggests Ali Khamenei may be the last person to hold the position, an analyst said.

Pakistan committed to counter-terrorism

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:40:22 -0500

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- The success of Pakistani military operations in the tribal regions along the Afghan border is a testament to its resolve to fight extremists, generals said.

Hezbollah adopts new manifesto

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:05:12 -0500

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- Hezbollah announced Thursday it has drafted a new political document outlining the nature of the resistance, its second such measure since 1985.

Al-Houthi rebel leader killed

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:50:11 -0500

SANAA, Yemen, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- A leader of the Shiite al-Houthi rebel group was killed and guerrilla forces retreated following clashes with the Yemeni military, the government said Thursday.