UPI International Intelligence articles from January 2007

UPI International Intelligence archives from January 2007

Walker's World: Bush's new order.
January 2, 2007... Byline: MARTIN WALKER PARIS, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Not since the grimmest days of the Cold War has a New Year has opened with such a sense of foreboding for the United States. The sky is darkening with the flocks of chickens coming home to...

Analysis: Press pays heavy toll in 2006.
January 2, 2007... Byline: CLAUDE SALHANI WASHINGTON, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- The year 2006 had the sad distinction of being the deadliest year for the press. Eighty-one journalists and 32 media assistants were killed in 21 countries, while 56 journalists were...

Analysis: Will Saddam's death heal Iraq?
January 2, 2007... Byline: CLAUDE SALHANI WASHINGTON, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was executed by hanging early Saturday morning in a Baghdad security facility where, ironically, many of his opponents were put to death during his...

Analysis: Never again?
January 2, 2007... Byline: ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE WASHINGTON, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Through history, rulers, despots, nations and empires have humbled and humiliated, and with the advent of Adolph Hitler, massacred Jews by the millions. From the Exodus from ancient...

Analysis: Ban takes U.N. reins.
January 2, 2007... Byline: WILLIAM M. REILLY UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Ban Ki-moon, former foreign minister of South Korea, has formally taken over as the eighth U.N. secretary-general replacing retiring Kofi Annan as the world's top diplomat. His...

Analysis:Former reps. recommend talks.
January 3, 2007... Byline: JOSHUA BRILLIANT TEL AVIV, Israel, Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Two Israelis who had represented their country in talks with Syria advocated Israel respond more positively to Syrian President Bashar Assad's calls for peace. The two are...

Review of the Arab press.
January 3, 2007... AMMAN, Jordan, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Arab press roundup for Jan. 3: Arab newspapers commented Wednesday on the execution of toppled Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, with many condemning the move, the timing and the way it was done and broadcast to...

Analysis: Seoul in N.Korea dispute.
January 3, 2007... Byline: LEE JONG-HEON SEOUL, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- South Korea is under a policy dispute over how to deal with North Korea following controversial remarks by Seoul's pointman on Pyongyang who hinted at massive economic aid to the communist...

Walker's World: France as 'problem child'.
January 3, 2007... Byline: MARTIN WALKER PARIS, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- In Europe at the start of this New Year, all eyes are turning to the east, where three intriguing dramas are under way. Ready or not, Romania and Bulgaria have joined the European Union,...

ETA-Spanish peace talks off.
January 3, 2007... BERLIN, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Three days after ETA bombed the Madrid Airport, the Spanish government ended all peace negotiations with the Basque terrorist group. "The talks are over. ETA has broken, terminated and brought an end to the peace...

Analysis: Darfur tops U.N. to-do list.
January 3, 2007... Byline: WILLIAM M. REILLY UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- New U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, with a call for collective action on a host of international crises, put Sudan's Darfur conflict at the top of his list of diplomatic...

Outside View: Futility in military force.
January 3, 2007... Byline: VIKTOR LITOVKIN MOSCOW, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Some of the most significant events of the outgoing year were in the military sphere -- the defeat of the U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq, the Israeli army's setback in Lebanon and the...

Review of the Arab press.
January 4, 2007... AMMAN, Jordan, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- Arab press roundup for Jan. 4: Arab newspapers continued to comment Thursday on the execution of Saddam Hussein. Bahrain's Akhbar al-Khaleej said Saddam walked to his hanging without fear and his head raised...

Analysis: Alleged corruption shocks Israel.
January 4, 2007... Byline: JOSHUA BRILLIANT TEL AVIV, Israel, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- The arrest of the head of the Tax Authority, his predecessor, senior officials and the house arrest of the head of Prime Minister's Bureau this week suggested to Israelis that...

Analysis: N.Korea in power shift?
January 4, 2007... Byline: LEE JONG-HEON SEOUL, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- Will North Korean leader Kim Jong Il bring a change to the country's power structure dominated by aged revolutionary leaders in their 70s or 80s? This is the question of the moment following the...

Analysis: Germany's big 2007.
January 4, 2007... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA BERLIN, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- The German government has a set of initiatives in the bag for the many challenges it faces during its European Union and Group of Eight presidencies, which began on Jan. 1, 2007. German...

Politics & Policies: Golan, key to peace.
January 5, 2007... Byline: CLAUDE SALHANI WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- To open a door, you need a key. And to open peace talks in the Middle East, you also need a key. In the latter case the key is the Golan Heights. Captured from Syria by Israel in the...

Analysis: Help Abbas if you want peace.
January 5, 2007... Byline: JOSHUA BRILLIANT TEL AVIV, Israel, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- A former adviser to the heads of the Israeli Shabak intelligence service is recommending Israel engage Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in a serious peace process...

Review of the Arab press.
January 8, 2007... AMMAN, Jordan, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- Arab press roundup for Jan. 8: Qatar's al-Rayah said Monday that despite all the failures of the Iraqi government security plans and the American forces, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government insists on...

Walker's World: Rumors of war.
January 8, 2007... Byline: MARTIN WALKER WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- The firm denial by Israel of a report in the London Sunday Times that its Air Force was training for a strike against Iran's nuclear facilities was as predictable as it is hollow. There is...

Analysis: Iran runs Iraq terror network.
January 8, 2007... Byline: CLAUDE SALHANI WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- Newly obtained intelligence reports indicate Iran is increasing its efforts to destabilize Iraq just as President George W. Bush is reviewing his policy options. While Bush is looking...

Outside View: Jihadi threat in the Sahel.
January 8, 2007... Byline: HRACH GREGORIAN WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- In a Sept. 11, 2006, video, Ayman al-Zawahiri declared that "Osama bin Laden has told me to announce to the Muslims that the GSPC (the Algerian-based Salafist Group for Preaching and...

Atlantic Eye: Dirty little secrets.
January 8, 2007... Byline: MARC S. ELLENBOGEN PRAGUE, Czech Republic, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- The most despicable aspect about the resignation of Poland's Archbishop-designate Stanislaw Wielgus is that he almost got away with it. Not only did he lie, he lied again...

Policy Watch: Maliki's monumental mistake.
January 8, 2007... Byline: MARK N. KATZ WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- Saddam Hussein was a horrible man. We still do not know how many Iraqis he killed during his tyranny. He is responsible for the deaths of many Iranians and Kuwaitis too. His unseemly...

Analysis: Planned settlement arouses ire.
January 8, 2007... Byline: JOSHUA BRILLIANT MASCIOT, West Bank, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- A year and a half after soldiers evicted his family from an illegal settlement on Gaza Strip's coast, 27-year-old Yossi Hazut led visitors through barren desert land to the site...

Analysis: Middle East, explosive as ever.
January 9, 2007... Byline: CLAUDE SALHANI WASHINGTON, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- The Middle East, it seems, has always been sitting on the edge of a disaster. If a report published by the London Sunday Times carries any water, yet another disaster may be in the making....

Review of the Arab press.
January 9, 2007... AMMAN, Jordan, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Arab press roundup for Jan. 9: Syria's official Tishreen daily said in its editorial Tuesday that U.S. President George W. Bush is not expected to have a magic wand to resolve the problems caused by his...

Analysis: Schmoozing at the White House.
January 9, 2007... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA BERLIN, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Last week's meeting between U.S. President George W. Bush and German Chancellor Angela Merkel -- right now Europe's most powerful politician -- was a welcome break for Bush from the criticism...

Outside View: Separatism good for Russia?
January 9, 2007... Byline: ALEXANDER POGORELSKY MOSCOW, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- In general, Russia does not stand to gain from the international recognition of self-proclaimed post-Soviet countries. However, together with the world community it will have to search...

Analysis: Implications of Hamas' alliance.
January 10, 2007... Byline: JOSHUA BRILLIANT JERUSALEM, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- A prominent expert on Palestinian affairs has predicted the Israeli army will invade the Gaza Strip to crack down on militants. The expert, intelligence Brig. Gen. Shalom Harari,...

Commentary: Carter's echo in Israel.
January 10, 2007... Byline: ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE WASHINGTON, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- "Palestine Peace Not Apartheid," Jimmy Carter's 20th book since he left the presidency in 1981, provoked a fusillade of epithets that ranged from anti-Semitism to plagiarism. The...

Review of the Arab press.
January 10, 2007... AMMAN, Jordan, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- Arab press roundup for Jan. 10: Arab newspapers commented Wednesday on U.S. President George W. Bush's expected announcement of a new strategy in Iraq and the Middle East, saying the leaks of this strategy...

Walker's World: Is Doha really dead?
January 10, 2007... Byline: MARTIN WALKER WASHINGTON, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- There is a slim chance that European and American leaders can combine their efforts over the next two months to raise Lazarus from the dead by reviving the prospect of a successful Doha...

Analysis: S.Korea's Roh raises stakes.
January 10, 2007... Byline: LEE JONG-HEON SEOUL, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- A desperate political bid by South Korea's unpopular leader Roh Moo-hyun is likely to backfire as the majority of people are opposed to his sudden proposal of introducing a U.S.-style four-year...

Analysis: Climate protection tops EU plan.
January 10, 2007... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA BERLIN, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- A new European Commission study on climate change has warned of drought-like conditions, catastrophic damage to the economy and tens of thousands of deaths if urgent steps are not taken to...

Analysis: U.N. sees slower economic growth.
January 10, 2007... Byline: WILLIAM M. REILLY UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- The world economy is expected to decelerate in 2007, with the growth of world gross product down to 3.2 percent this year from the 2006 estimate of 3.8 percent, the United Nations...

Review of the Arab press.
January 11, 2007... AMMAN, Jordan, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- Arab press roundup for Jan. 11: The London-based al-Hayat Thursday quoted the Iraqi judge who sentenced toppled Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to death as saying the timing of his execution was not appropriate....

Analysis: Somalia on a horn of dilemmas.
January 11, 2007... Byline: JOSHUA BRILLIANT Around the world Somalia has become the example of what political science specialists call a "failed state." In its case that failure is particularly outstanding. All other states between the Sahara and...

Analysis: Bush ups ante in Iraq.
January 11, 2007... Byline: CLAUDE SALHANI WASHINGTON, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- President George W. Bush revealed his latest policy intended to try and extricate Iraq from the brink of civil war and to quell the violence that has gripped the country since the U.S....

Analysis: N.Korea to face tough year.
January 11, 2007... Byline: LEE JONG-HEON SEOUL, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- North Korea is expected to launch tough public campaigns this year to tighten its grip on citizens as their loyalty may wane in the wake of mounting outside pressure following the country's...

Commentary: Russia revised.
January 11, 2007... Byline: ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE WASHINGTON, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- It's no longer politically incorrect to be skeptical about Putin's Russia. In fact, said a leading European expert on Russia, speaking privately in Washington, "Russia is a far...

Analysis: Bush speech falls flat in Europe.
January 11, 2007... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA BERLIN, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- Analysts and politicians in Europe are unhappy about U.S. President George W. Bush's new Iraq strategy, which they say will fail as a last-ditch effort to bring stability to the restive...

Policy Watch: Iraq and the war on terror.
January 12, 2007... Byline: MARK N. KATZ WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- Unlike his earlier optimistic assessments of the situation in Iraq, President George W. Bush's Jan. 10 address to the nation painted a much grimmer picture of the complex problems that have...

Analysis: U.N. chief answers some critics.
January 12, 2007... Byline: WILLIAM M. REILLY UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says while he saw the "necessity" behind U.S. military operations in Somalia, diplomatic efforts must be redoubled to bring peace to the...

Outside View: The EU view from Russia.
January 12, 2007... Byline: DMITRY DANILOV MOSCOW, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- Far from concealing its expectations, Moscow has made it clear that it hopes Germany will lead the EU towards rapprochement with Russia during its EU presidency. Indeed, why not? Germany...

Analysis: Economy up despite police probes.
January 12, 2007... Byline: JOSHUA BRILLIANT TEL AVIV, Israel, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was in China this week, largely to get its leaders to help block Iran's nuclear program, and when he left he said he had heard "surprising and...

Bangldesh orders radio, TV to be silent.
January 12, 2007... DHAKA, Bangladesh, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- All radio and TV stations in Bangladesh were ordered to stop broadcasting news programs and one TV station owner was placed under house arrest. Reporters Without Borders, the Paris-based media watchdog,...

Politics & Policies: Iran must be stopped.
January 15, 2007... Byline: CLAUDE SALHANI WASHINGTON, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- While optimistic about the future of the Middle East, Israel's former ambassador to the United States believes Iran will have to be stopped, possibly by military force. Speaking to...

Walker's World: The new ASEAN.
January 15, 2007... Byline: MARTIN WALKER WASHINGTON, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- The most important place in diplomacy over the weekend was not with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in the Middle East, nor with the "21st century Socialism" rhetoric of...

Review of the Arab press.
January 15, 2007... AMMAN, Jordan, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- Arab press roundup for Jan. 15: Egypt's al-Ahram said in its editorial Monday that since U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is not carrying any new ideas or plans for reviving the stalled Mideast peace...

REALPOLITIK: A recipe for greater disaster.
January 15, 2007... Byline: ALON BEN-MEIR NEW YORK, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- Since President Bush unveiled his "new strategy" for Iraq the debate in the House, the Senate, and the media has centered around two main options: immediate withdrawal or an escalation of...

Commentary: Thinking the unthinkable.
January 16, 2007... Byline: ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- No sooner did the United States invade Iraq in March 2003 than Iran poured hundreds of agents into Iraq to aid the majority Shiites in consolidating a sudden geopolitical bonus --...

Analysis: Cell phone cams expose torture.
January 16, 2007... Byline: CLAUDE SALHANI WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- Human rights groups have long complained against the use of torture in Egypt, a fact consistently denied by the Egyptian government. But a video recording made with a cell phone camera...

Outside View: Planning ahead.
January 16, 2007... Byline: FRANK KAUFMANN NEW YORK, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- Sixteen Asian nations assembled in the Philippines just signed the Cebu Declaration on Energy Security. Signatories to the agreement pledged their support on ensuring the security of energy...

Analysis: Police to investigate Olmert.
January 16, 2007... JERUSALEM, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- Police investigations into suspected government corruption have spread to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. State Attorney Eran Shendar Tuesday instructed police to investigate Olmert's involvement in the privatization...

Walker's World: The drooping dollar.
January 17, 2007... Byline: MARTIN WALKER WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- The almighty dollar is not nearly as mighty as it was. The upstart new currency of the euro is eating the dollar's lunch. The value of euro banknotes now in circulation is greater than...

Review of the Arab press.
January 17, 2007... AMMAN, Jordan, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- Arab press roundup for Jan. 17: Arab newspapers commented Wednesday on U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's Middle East tour to gather Arab support for President George W. Bush's new Iraq strategy. The...

Analysis: EU boosts its security efforts.
January 17, 2007... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA BERLIN, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- The European Union's interior and justice ministers have drafted several measures to improve border security and the fight against terrorism and organized crime. Meeting in Dresden from...

Analysis: Are N.Korea sanctions working?
January 17, 2007... Byline: LEE JONG-HEON SEOUL, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- Are three-month-long international sanctions on North Korea effectively forcing the defiant country to finally give up its nuclear weapons program? The answer seems unclear for now as China...

Outside View: Russian energy for Asia.
January 17, 2007... Byline: VLADIMIR PETROVSKY MOSCOW, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Leaders of the 16 countries that attended Monday's East Asia Summit in Cebu, the Philippines, have signed an agreement to promote energy security and find alternatives to conventional...

Review of the Arab press.
January 18, 2007... AMMAN, Jordan, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Arab press roundup for Jan. 18: Lebanon's an-Nahar said in a commentary Thursday that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's Middle East tour to sell the new Bush plan in Iraq has two problems: One she...

Analysis: Israel's military commander quits.
January 18, 2007... Byline: JOSHUA BRILLIANT JERUSALEM, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Israel's failures in the last Lebanon War have led Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Dani Halutz to resign in a move that could further shake the positions of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert...

Analysis: U.N. chief optimistic for future.
January 18, 2007... Byline: WILLIAM M. REILLY UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in the eyes of many commentators, appeared to stumble from nearly his first day in office Jan. 1. He returned to U.N. World Headquarters in...

Outside View: Arabs give U.S. free hand.
January 18, 2007... Byline: MARIANNA BELENKAYA MOSCOW, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- While the American elite is discussing in Washington whether or not to support President Bush's strategy in Iraq, the Arab leaders have already accepted it. Attending a foreign...

Analysis: S.Korea, U.S. struggle for FTA.
January 19, 2007... Byline: LEE JONG-HEON SEOUL, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- The latest round of free trade talks between South Korea and the United States ended on Friday with no major progress to tear down trade barriers between the two markets. Wrapping up the...

Policy Watch: Citizen Bush.
January 19, 2007... Byline: MARK N. KATZ WASHINGTON, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- The November 2006 Congressional elections made clear that a majority of the American voters no longer support the war in Iraq. The Iraq Study Group, co-chaired by former U.S. Secretary of...

Analysis: Israelis, Syrian draft non-paper.
January 19, 2007... Byline: JOSHUA BRILLIANT NETANYA, Israel, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- Israeli leaders have rejected Syrian President Bashar Assad's calls for peace talks, but private Israelis and a Syrian-American with close contacts in Damascus drafted...

Politics & Policies: Et tu Maliki?
January 19, 2007... Byline: CLAUDE SALHANI WASHINGTON, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- This past year was not a very good one for President George W. Bush. The war in Iraq dragged on with no apparent end in sight and the insurgency was getting stronger and more brazen....

Commentary: Billionaires in a year.
January 22, 2007... Byline: ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE WASHINGTON, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- If Moses, after spending 40 days and nights with the Almighty, had come down from Mount Sinai today bearing two tablets with the Ten Commandments, he would have been hard pressed to...

Review of the Arab press.
January 22, 2007... AMMAN, Jordan, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- Arab press roundup for Jan. 22: Egypt's al-Ahram warned Monday the escalation in the Gulf is not in the interests of any party and will have serious security, political and economic repercussions on the...

Realpolitik: One last shot.
January 22, 2007... Byline: ALON BEN-MEIR NEW YORK, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- After more than six years of tragic neglect, Washington might have one last chance to push for an end to the Israeli-Palestinian impasse. Whether there is a direct or indirect link between...

Outside View: Don't ignite the Shiites.
January 22, 2007... Byline: M.D. NALAPAT MANIPAL, India, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- The origins of al-Qaida can be traced to the decision taken by the British sometime in 1911 to back the raggedy assembly of Bedouins led by the al-Saud clan against the Turks. The...

Walker's World: Bush goes green.
January 22, 2007... Byline: MARTIN WALKER WASHINGTON, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- The annual State of the Union speech is the classic example of the "bully pulpit" reserved for the president of the United States. In 1995, President Bill Clinton showed how it could be...

Analysis: What next for Iraq?
January 22, 2007... Byline: CLAUDE SALHANI WASHINGTON, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- Is the current morass in Iraq a reflection of the Bush administration's incompetence in dealing with the situation, or is Iraq in its current configuration simply ungovernable? ...

Review of the Arab press.
January 23, 2007... AMMAN, Jordan, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- Arab press roundup for Jan. 23: Lebanon's Daily Star warned Tuesday the Lebanese stand on the "abyss of uncertainty opened up by the failings of their political leaders" as the opposition decided to escalate...

Analysis: Germany's FM in deep trouble.
January 23, 2007... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA BERLIN, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- The case of a former Guantanamo inmate is evolving into a disaster for German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, with politicians from all parties unwilling to rule out a collective...

Atlantic Eye: Friedrich Hitzer's compass.
January 23, 2007... Byline: MARC S. ELLENBOGEN PRAGUE, Czech Republic, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- Friedrich Hitzer, the German publicist, translator and journalist -- and someone I greatly respected -- has died unexpectedly. He was 72. A renaissance man and free...

Analysis: Optimism rises over NKorea talks.
January 24, 2007... Byline: LEE JONG-HEON SEOUL, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- Hopes are cautiously running high for progress in upcoming talks on ending North Korea's nuclear weapons programs as Washington and Pyongyang seem to find a compromise over the thorny issue of...

Review of the Arab press.
January 24, 2007... AMMAN, Jordan, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- Arab press roundup for Jan. 24: The London-based al-Quds al-Arabi commented Wednesday that since the fall of Baghdad by the U.S. invasion in April 2003, the Palestinians in Iraq have been facing the worse...

Commentary: Hawks and doves over Iran.
January 24, 2007... Byline: ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE WASHINGTON, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- "Cataclysmic... Apocalyptic," said Gianfranco Fini, Italy's former deputy prime minister and foreign minister, and leader of the National Alliance. He had just been asked for the...

Analysis: Bush tries to win Democrats.
January 24, 2007... Byline: CLAUDE SALHANI WASHINGTON, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- President Bush weakened by the war in Iraq tried to appease the Democratic majority on Capitol Hill Tuesday night by promising domestic social changes, yet remained steadfast when it came...

Analysis: U.N. OKs Nepal mission.
January 24, 2007... Byline: WILLIAM M. REILLY UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- The U.N. Security Council has unanimously approved a resolution establishing a political mission in Nepal to enforce a peace agreement between Maoist rebels and a seven-party...

Analysis: N.Korea reaches out to South.
January 24, 2007... Byline: LEE JONG-HEON SEOUL, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- North Korea has offered an olive branch to rival South Korea in an apparent bid to win economic and food aid as economic woes mount in the wake of U.S.-led financial squeezes. The North...

Analysis: Europe derides Bush speech.
January 24, 2007... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA BERLIN, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- U.S. President George W. Bush's State of the Union Address neglected the European security and foreign policy approach for Iraq and the greater Middle East, observers say. When analysts --...