UPI International Intelligence articles from June 2005

UPI International Intelligence archives from June 2005

UPI Energy Watch.(Intelligence Analysis - Middle East)
June 10, 2005... Byline: ANDREA R. MIHAILESCU Iraq, Iran to cooperate on oil issues Iraq's oil minister Wednesday said he is interested in enhancing cooperation with Iran in the oil industry. Iraqi state television quoted Ibrahim Bahr al-Uloum as...

Liberty veterans file war crimes brief.(Intelligence Analysis - Middle East)
June 10, 2005... Byline: PHILIP TURNER WASHINGTON, June 10 (UPI) -- Surviving members of the USS Liberty, a ship that was attacked by Israel almost 40 years ago, said Friday they filed a report with the secretary of the Army about war crimes they said were...

Japan looks at security future.(Intelligence Analysis - Asia)
June 10, 2005... Byline: DONNA BORAK WASHINGTON, June 10 (UPI) -- Japan's bid to normalize relations with its East Asian neighbors comes as its bolsters its strategic relationship with the United States, which has prompted regional challenges, experts say....

Analysis:Seoul falls short of GDP target.(Intelligence Analysis - Asia)
June 10, 2005... Byline: JONG-HEON LEE SEOUL, June 10 (UPI) -- South Korean officials acknowledged Friday the country cannot achieve its 2005 target of 5 percent economic growth because of weak consumption and falling overseas demand, with warnings of a...

Analysis: Italy birth referendum stirs debate.(Intelligence Analysis - Europe/Transatlantic)
June 10, 2005... Byline: ROLAND FLAMINI WASHINGTON, June 10 (UPI) -- Italians go to the polls this weekend to vote in a national referendum. No, it's not another vote on the European Union constitution, but it has created a political storm both in the...

Analysis: Russia's struggling liberals.(Intelligence Analysis - Europe/Transatlantic)
June 10, 2005... Byline: PETER LAVELLE MOSCOW, June 10 (UPI) -- United Press International's Moscow correspondent Peter Lavelle engages Russia experts Eric Kraus, Dale Herspring, Gordon Hahn, Andrei Tsygankov, Ira Straus, Edward Lozansky, Vladimir Frolov...

Opponents to fight Israeli court decision.(Intelligence Analysis - Middle East)
June 10, 2005... Byline: JOSHUA BRILLIANT JERUSALEM, June 10 (UPI) -- Israel's High Court of Justice overwhelmingly upheld the legality of the government's decision to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and from four settlements in the northern West Bank. ...

Eye on Eurasia: Russia provokes radicalism.(Intelligence Analysis - Asia)
June 10, 2005... Byline: PAUL GOBLE VIENNA, June 10 (UPI) -- Russia's confrontational approach toward its rapidly increasing Muslim population already has helped to generate Islamic fundamentalism and, if continued, may ultimately threaten both its...

Analysis: EU budget battle heats up.(Intelligence Analysis - Europe/Transatlantic)
June 10, 2005... Byline: GARETH HARDING BRUSSELS, June 10 (UPI) -- As if the European Union did not have enough problems with its constitution, which was roundly rejected by French and Dutch voters last week, the club's leaders are also involved in a...

Ex-Shabak boss surveys scene with optimism.(Intelligence Analysis - Middle East)
June 10, 2005... Byline: JOSHUA BRILLIANT TEL AVIV, Israel, June 10 (UPI) -- In a series of interviews to Israeli media, the just-retired head of the Shabak security service, Avi Dichter, seemed confident the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and four West...

Analysis: N. Korea tests China's patience.(Intelligence Analysis - Asia)
June 10, 2005... Byline: EDWARD LANFRANCO BEIJING, June 10 (UPI) -- China's efforts to step up as a player on the world stage hosting talks to resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis continue to be stymied by Pyongyang's intransigence. Earlier this...

Iraqi labor leaders fight for rights.(Intelligence Analysis - Middle East)
June 10, 2005... Byline: ALEXANDRA KLAREN WASHINGTON, June 9 (UPI) -- Iraqi labor leaders plan to meet with U.S. lawmakers and other officials to drum up support for greater workers' rights in Iraq, organizers say. "This is a chance for people in the...

Analysis: Putin's self-defeating policy.(Intelligence Analysis - Europe/Transatlantic)
June 13, 2005... Byline: MARK N. KATZ WASHINGTON, June 13 (UPI) -- Under both Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin, Russia has fought long and hard to prevent Chechnya from seceding from the Russian Federation. Under Putin in particular, Moscow has acted...

Outside View: Islamists in Uzbekistan.(Intelligence Analysis)
June 13, 2005... Byline: ALEXEI MALASHENKO MOSCOW, June 13 (UPI) -- So, what really happened in mid-May in the Uzbek town of Andizhan? It is still not known for sure how many people were killed in the riot. Nor is it known who organized it and why. A...

Walker's World: G7's almost empty gesture.(Intelligence Analysis - Europe/Transatlantic)
June 13, 2005... Byline: MARTIN WALKER WASHINGTON, June 11 (UPI) -- There are three striking features of the gesture of slightly disgruntled generosity the world's richer countries were persuaded to make to the world's 18 poorest states over the weekend....

Politics & Policies: Mubarak's bluff.(Intelligence Analysis)
June 13, 2005... Byline: CLAUDE SALHANI WASHINGTON, June 13 (UPI) -- Egyptians throughout the ages have been great builders. From erecting obelisks to constructing pyramids and colossal temples that have survived more than 4,000 years, Egyptians have shown...

Interview: NATO military head Harald Kujat.(Intelligence Analysis - Europe/Transatlantic)
June 13, 2005... Byline: GARETH HARDING BRUSSELS, June 13 (UPI) -- Gen. Harald Kujat is the outgoing Chairman of NATO's Military Committee, the former chief of staff of the German armed forces and a recent recipient of the U.S. Legion of Merit -- America's...

Analysis: N.Korea given last chance.(Intelligence Analysis - Asia)
June 13, 2005... Byline: JONG-HEON LEE SEOUL, June 13 (UPI) -- North Korea was given a last chance to diplomatically resolve its nuclear weapons program as the leaders of the United States and South Korea offered it benefits in return for a return to...

U.K. frustration over U.S. climate deal.(Intelligence Analysis - Europe/Transatlantic)
June 13, 2005... Byline: HANNAH K. STRANGE LONDON, June 13 (UPI) -- The British government is deeply disappointed by Washington's refusal to sign up to a deal on tackling climate change, Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett has disclosed. In an...

Analysis: Muslims' anti-U.S. protests.(Intelligence Analysis - Middle East)
June 13, 2005... Byline: PHILIP TURNER WASHINGTON, June 13 (UPI) -- After two suicide attacks last month by Sunni Muslims left 27 people dead at mosques in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, thousands flooded streets in protest -- not against suicide...

UPI Energy Watch.(Intelligence Analysis - Middle East)
June 13, 2005... Byline: ANDREA R. MIHAILESCU EU still dependent on Russian energy Decreasing the European Union's dependence on Russian energy supplies is unlikely, said an EU representative Friday. "We do not have a choice," Francois Lamoureux,...

Kashmir blast unlikely to affect peace.(Intelligence Analysis - Asia)
June 13, 2005... Byline: AZAM S. AHMED WASHINGTON, June 13 (UPI) -- A blast in Indian Kashmir killed 14 people and wounded up to 100 others Monday and experts say despite a deal between India and Pakistan to resolve their dispute, the attack is unlikely to...

EU criticizes U.S. approach to China.(Intelligence Analysis - Asia)
June 13, 2005... Byline: DONNA BORAK WASHINGTON, June 13 (UPI) -- European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, who struck a deal last week with his Chinese counterparts to curb surging textile exports, criticized the United States for taking what he called...

Lebanon: a new emerging Christian power.(Intelligence Analysis - Middle East)
June 13, 2005... Byline: DALAL SAOUD BEIRUT, Lebanon, June 13 (UPI) -- Former renegade Lebanese army commander Gen. Michel Aoun emerged from the third round of Lebanon's general elections as the Christians' new prominent leader. Aoun's stunning...

Cyprus backs Turkey's EU bid.(Intelligence Analysis - Europe/Transatlantic)
June 13, 2005... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA WASHINGTON, June 13 (UPI) -- The accession of Turkey into the European Union is essential to solve the Cyprus problem, a senior Cypriot diplomat in Washington said Monday. "We are in favor of Turkey joining the...

Outside View: Talking points.(Intelligence Analysis)
June 14, 2005... Byline: BOUTHAINA SHAABAN DAMASCUS, Syria, June 14 (UPI) -- I wondered when I heard President Bush saying on television he felt "wary of Syria after reading the newspapers," if the leader of the world's superpower gets his information from...

Analysis: Putin between left and right.
June 14, 2005... Byline: PETER LAVELLE MOSCOW, June 14 (UPI) -- As the country celebrated "Day of Russia" Sunday, Vladimir Putin's political foes used the occasion to speak out against the direction of Kremlin policies. Liberal politicians and groups claim...

See end to U.N. war tribunals by 2010.
June 14, 2005... Byline: WILLIAM M. REILLY UNITED NATIONS, June 13 (UPI) -- The heads of the international criminal tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia said they expect trials to be concluded near the end of 2008 in the Arusha, Tanzania,...

Tycoon's return stirs S.Korea.
June 14, 2005... Byline: JONG-HEON LEE SEOUL, June 14 (UPI) -- The return of South Korea's disgraced tycoon Kim Woo-choong after six years in exile has sparked a public debate over his role in the collapse of the Daewoo Group, now defunct but at the time...

Analysis: The EU's enlargement wobbles.
June 14, 2005... Byline: GARETH HARDING BRUSSELS, June 14 (UPI) -- Could the eastern enlargement of the European Union become the first victim of French and Dutch voters' rejection of the club's constitution? Although there is no direct link between...

Experts split on Africa aid.
June 14, 2005... Byline: KAT HUANG WASHINGTON, June 12 (UPI) -- Group of Eight finance ministers announced a deal over the weekend to forgive multilateral debts in the world's poorest countries, but experts called for a more extensive plan. Under the...

Analysis: What next in Darfur?
June 14, 2005... Byline: AZAM S. AHMED WASHINGTON, June 9 (UPI) -- Talks between the Sudanese government and Darfur rebels taking place in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, meant to end the violence that has claimed more than 180,000 lives has brought renewed...

UPI Energy Watch.
June 14, 2005... Byline: ANDREA R. MIHAILESCU Security increased in Iraq to fend off pirates Coalition forces in Iraq are increasing their presence in and around oil platforms following recent piracy and banditry. Security forces are boosting...

Lawmakers question F-16s to Pakistan.
June 14, 2005... Byline: PHILIP TURNER WASHINGTON, June 14 (UPI) -- U.S. lawmakers Tuesday criticized the Bush administration's plans to sell advanced fighter jets to Pakistan, saying the move could result in an arms race with India, derailing a...

Blair: 'Sharp disagreement' over EU rebate.
June 14, 2005... Byline: HANNAH K. STRANGE LONDON, June 14 (UPI) -- Britain was granted the rebate in 1984 after Margaret Thatcher famously declared: "I want my money back." It was intended to make up the considerable shortfall between Britain's...

The latest in the oil-for-food scandal.
June 14, 2005... Byline: WILLIAM M. REILLY UNITED NATIONS, June 14 (UPI) -- The Independent Inquiry Committee into the U.N.'s Iraq Oil-for-Food Program has said it is reopening the investigation into Secretary-General Kofi Annan's possible role in the...

Politics & Policies: Lebanon's Machiavelli.
June 15, 2005... Byline: CLAUDE SALHANI WASHINGTON, June 15 (UPI) -- Many Lebanese remain divided over the country's former army commander, Gen. Michel Aoun, wondering if he is Niccolo Machiavelli's "Prince," or Antoine de Saint Exupery's "Little Prince?"...

Analysis: Korean peace, long way to go.
June 15, 2005... Byline: JONG-HEON LEE SEOUL, June 15 (UPI) -- Five years ago, the divided Korean peninsula was swept by an unprecedented wave of reconciliation and reunification euphoria. Leaders from the two rival Koreas met in June 2002 for the...

Kyrgyzstan says democracy is on the way.
June 15, 2005... Byline: NIKO KYRIAKOU WASHINGTON, June 14 (UPI) -- The acting foreign minister of Kyrgyzstan played down fears her country's "Tulip Revolution" in March would end up replacing one authoritarian regime with another. The country's...

Walker's World: Brits isolated again.
June 15, 2005... Byline: MARTIN WALKER LONDON, June 15 (UPI) -- By the end of this week, the company that runs the tunnel under the English Channel will almost certainly be bankrupt. It has never made money, and was sold to investors on the basis of...

Analysis: Church blocks Italian referendum.
June 15, 2005... Byline: ROLAND FLAMINI WASHINGTON, June 14 (UPI) -- The 26 percent voter turnout in last week-end's referendum to ease Italy's strict fertility laws even surprised the Italian bishops who - backed by the pope himself -- had campaigned hard...

Analysis: Japan balances history, security.
June 15, 2005... Byline: AZAM S. AHMED WASHINGTON, June 14 (UPI) -- Stepped up tensions between China and Japan could be eased by the recognition and resolution of Japan and China's past, particularly as Japan steps up its security efforts in the region,...

Analysis: French, U.K. visions clash.
June 15, 2005... Byline: GARETH HARDING BRUSSELS, June 15 (UPI) -- There will be two major battles raging in the Brussels region over the next few days. The first will take place on the blood-soaked fields of Waterloo, where thousands of volunteers will...

Interview: Ex-European Minister MacShane.
June 15, 2005... Byline: HANNAH K. STRANGE LONDON, June 15 (UPI) -- Britain's former European Minister Dennis MacShane spoke to United Press International on the future of the EU constitution, France and Germany reluctance to implement economic changes and...

UPI Energy Watch.
June 15, 2005... Byline: ANDREA R. MIHAILESCU Iran, India ink $20B LNG deal Iran and India signed a $20 billion agreement Tuesday to export 5 million tons of Iranian liquefied natural gas annually to India beginning 2009-2010. A consortium of...

Palestinian PM moves to fight lawlessness.
June 15, 2005... JERUSALEM, June 14 (UPI) -- Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmad Qureia told his Cabinet Tuesday the government would have to suspend its activities if it cannot end the security chaos. Labor Minister Hasan Abu Libdeh and Cabinet Secretary...

Outside View: EU needs radical changes.
June 15, 2005... Byline: FRANK KAUFMAN WASHINGTON, June 15 (UPI) -- Europe is a land of conflict grounded in religious difference. August Prize winner Sweden's Per Olov Enquist notes "half of Europe's wars, from the Monophystic struggles in the Roman...

Analysis: From Gazprom to 'Kremprom'.
June 15, 2005... Byline: PETER LAVELLE MOSCOW, June 15 (UPI) -- The Kremlin is set become the largest shareholder in the world's biggest gas company -- Gazprom. Owning a controlling stake in the company serves three Kremlin purposes: extending the state's...

Europe lags under anticapitalist sentiment.
June 15, 2005... WASHINGTON, June 15 (UPI) -- France and the Netherlands' rejection of the European constitution are indications economic malaise in Europe must be fixed before further political integration is attempted, experts say. "Everyday I have to...

Israeli settlers aim to stop pullout.
June 15, 2005... Byline: JOSHUA BRILLIANT JERUSALEM, June 15 (UPI) -- Sixty-one days before the Israeli army is to begin evacuating the Gaza Strip and four settlements in the northern West Bank, settlers are about to launch a new campaign they hope would...

Clark to join committee to defend Sadam.
June 15, 2005... Byline: AZAM S. AHMED WASHINGTON, June 15 (UPI) -- Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark said Wednesday he will serve on the Emergency Committee for Iraq to defend the rights of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and other officials...

Q&A: Syrian U.K. Ambassador Khiyami.
June 16, 2005... Byline: HANNAH K. STRANGE AND BASSAM ALLONI LONDON, June 15 (UPI) -- Syria's ambassador to Britain, Sami Khiyami, speaks to United Press International about recent U.S allegations of continued Syrian intervention in Lebanon. Khiyami:...

Group: Guinea on edge of collapse.
June 16, 2005... Byline: JASON MOTLAGH WASHINGTON, June 15 (UPI) -- Guinea is at risk of becoming West Africa's next failed state, bedeviled by a stalled economy and the specter of a military coup against ailing President Lansana Conte, says a new report...

Analysis: N. Korea woos South against U.S.
June 16, 2005... Byline: JONG-HEON LEE SEOUL, June 16 (UPI) -- South Korean delegates heading to Pyongyang will be greeted by a festive atmosphere in an apparent bid by North Korea to trigger a sense of Korean nationalism to cope with U.S. pressure over...

Analysis: Iran's next president?
June 16, 2005... Byline: MODHER AMIN TEHRAN, June 15 (UPI) -- Iranians go to the polls Friday to elect a successor to President Mohammad Khatami, who was swept to a landslide victory in 1997 on a reformist ticket but failed to deliver on all his promises...

Activists: No military help for Indonesia.
June 16, 2005... Byline: KATHERINE TORRES WASHINGTON, June 16 (UPI) -- The U.S. renewal of military aid and training assistance to Jakarta continues to spark criticism and activists accuse elements of the Indonesian military of continuing to kill and...

Analysis: Ivanov to follow Putin?
June 16, 2005... Byline: PETER LAVELLE MOSCOW, June 16 (UPI) -- Who will succeed Russian President Vladimir Putin when he leaves office in 2008? The early and still-to-be-anointed front-runner is Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov. Being in the pole position...

Analysis: EU,U.S. trade praise, not barbs.
June 16, 2005... Byline: GARETH HARDING BRUSSELS, June 16 (UPI) -- A senior U.S. official may have been slightly exaggerating when he predicted Monday's meeting between U.S. and European leaders would be a "love-in," but after years of trans-Atlantic...

China, Taiwan relations is tricky business.
June 16, 2005... Byline: KATHERINE TORRES WASHINGTON, June 15 (UPI) -- There is no straightforward way to predict how economic integration between Taiwan and China will affect the political and security relationship between the two sides, experts say. ...

Interview: China expert Ted Fishman.
June 16, 2005... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA WASHINGTON, June 16 (UPI) -- China uses 40 percent of the world's concrete and one-fifth of the world's steel. It grows three times faster than the United States. If you haven't yet noticed, China is on the rise. ...

Sex advertising may fuel trafficking.
June 16, 2005... Byline: ANGELA WOODALL WASHINGTON, June 16 (UPI) -- Shopping for sex has never been easier with the added anonymity and ease of the Web, but some activists are worried increased accessibility will feed the trafficking of women and children...

UPI Energy Watch.
June 16, 2005... Byline: ANDREA R. MIHAILESCU Maritime pirates strike again in Iraq Coalition forces boosted security measures this week in and around Deep Water Anchorages A and B but piracy attacks persist. Pirates boarded a tanker at the Basra...

What will follow Israel's pullback?
June 16, 2005... Byline: JOSHUA BRILLIANT TEL AVIV, Israel, June 16 (UPI) -- After Israel completes its partial withdrawal from the Palestinian territories, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's coalition is likely to fall out over what the next steps should be....

Next Iran president's power limited.
June 16, 2005... Byline: STEFAN NICOLA WASHINGTON, June 16 (UPI) -- No matter who wins Friday's presidential election in Iran, the new president will be unable to influence domestic and foreign policy because of the country's political structure, experts...

Politics & Policies: Iran's elections.
June 17, 2005... Byline: CLAUDE SALHANI WASHINGTON, June 17 (UPI) -- President Bush's denouncing of Iran's electoral system a day before the Islamic Republic went to the polls to choose a new president was seen by Iranian opposition groups as a sign of...

UK hand strengthened on EU economic reform.
June 17, 2005... Byline: HANNAH K. STRANGE LONDON, June 17 (UPI) -- As European leaders reconvene for the second day of the Council summit in Brussels, British Prime Minister Tony Blair appears to be winning the argument over the need for root-and-branch...

Analysis: U.S. judging U.N. beauty contest.
June 17, 2005... Byline: ROLAND FLAMINI WASHINGTON, June 17 (UPI) -- Groucho Marx once famously said he wouldn't want to join a club that would have him as a member. Two major countries Thursday faced the reverse situation: the club they want to join may...

Analysis: Kim moves to end nuke dispute.
June 17, 2005... Byline: JONG-HEON LEE SEOUL, June 17 (UPI) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Il said Friday his country would return to international nuclear disarmament talks as early as next month if it reaches an agreement with the United States, said a...

Mexican moves to renegotiate NAFTA.
June 17, 2005... Byline: ELIZA BARCLAY MEXICO CITY, June 16 (UPI) -- A movement is gaining traction in the Mexican Congress to roll back a section of the North American Free Trade Agreement that lifted tariffs on corn and beans. Victor Suarez, a...

Analysis: the Kremlin's 'soft power'.
June 17, 2005... Byline: PETER LAVELLE MOSCOW, June 17 (UPI) -- United Press International's Moscow correspondent Peter Lavelle engages Russia experts Dale Herspring, Gordon Hahn, Andrew Liakhov, Ethan S. Burger, Andrei Tsygankov, Edward Lozansky, Patrick...

Peace for N. Uganda likely in near future.
June 17, 2005... Byline: AZAM S. AHMED WASHINGTON, June 17 (UPI) -- Now is the most promising chance for peace in Northern Uganda after 19 years of war that has seen more than 20,000 children abducted and 1.6 million people displaced, according to the...

Analysis: China's aircraft carrier gamble.
June 17, 2005... Byline: EDWARD LANFRANCO BEIJING, June 17 (UPI) -- China's ambitions as a rising power have been marked by economic muscle, but how is the country spending its new wealth? Is a derelict Ukrainian warship being refitted as a carrier,...

Analysis: Timing and oil-for-food scandal.
June 17, 2005... Byline: WILLIAM M. REILLY UNITED NATIONS, June 17 (UPI) -- U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan doesn't want to be "drawn" into allegations involving the Iraq oil-for food program and reminds reporters they are not the official investigators...

Eye on Eurasia: Mufti campaign heats up.
June 17, 2005... Byline: PAUL GOBLE VIENNA, June 17 (UPI) -- A senior Muslim leader is supporting the idea that Russia's Muslims should create a single Muslim spiritual directorate headed by a single supreme mufti and argued that Ravil Gainutdin, the head...

More work needed in Afghanistan.
June 17, 2005... Byline: CHETAN KULKARNI WASHINGTON, June 17 (UPI) -- Greater attention to reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan by the United States and integration of local strongmen into the political process is necessary to avoid future deterioration...

Outside View: When left, right are correct.
June 17, 2005... Byline: DAVID KIMCHE JERUSALEM, June 17 (UPI) -- We are all, left and right, entrenched in our views, convinced we know best what is good for Israel. But what if die-hard right-wingers and die-hard leftists started listening to each...

Analysis: Black clouds over Brussels.
June 17, 2005... Byline: GARETH HARDING BRUSSELS, June 17 (UPI) -- After the French and Dutch rejections of the European Union's first-ever constitution, European leaders were keen to show the bloc's 450 million citizens it was capable of delivering at a...

Analysis: Hamas' new political prospects.
June 17, 2005... Byline: JOSHUA BRILLIANT TEL AVIV, Israel, June 17 (UPI) -- A Palestinian public opinion poll published this week indicates Hamas' recent victory in local elections was no fluke, and not a result of local, clannish concerns. The...

U.S. watches China's oil demand, deals.
June 17, 2005... Byline: ANDREA R. MIHAILESCU WASHINGTON, June 17 (UPI) -- The Bush administration is closely watching China's growth as the second-largest oil consumer, following the United States, and the expansion of its dealings with countries such as...

UPI Energy Watch.
June 17, 2005... Byline: ANDREA R. MIHAILESCU Russia cargo train derails, spills oil near Moscow A derailment of 24 railway tankers carrying fuel oil resulted in an oil spill Wednesday in the Tver region, near Moscow, Russian news media reported. ...

Mandelson calls for free trade.
June 17, 2005... Byline: DONNA BORAK WASHINGTON, June 17 (UPI) -- Ahead of the U.S.-EU summit next week, European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson called on developed countries to increase efforts to eliminate trade barriers and avoid protectionist...

Diplomatic Notes.
June 18, 2005... Byline: ROLAND FLAMINI There was a valedictory air about Joschka Fischer's visit to Washington last week. The German Foreign Minister was lobbying the Bush administration to support Germany's bid for a permanent seat in the U.N. Security...

Corridors of Power: The EU talks in DC.
June 19, 2005... Byline: ROLAND FLAMINI WASHINGTON, June 19 (UPI) -- But for the pleasure of getting out of Brussels, and every visiting European's ritual of an afternoon's shopping in Washington's dollar-cheap department stores is there much point to the...

Clashes on eve of Sharon-Abbas meeting.
June 20, 2005... Byline: JOSHUA BRILLIANT BAQA ASH SHARQIYA, West Bank, June 20 (UPI) -- Two Israelis in a minivan early Wednesday drove into the main street of Baqa ash Sharqiya, in the northern West Bank, on their way from the settlement of Hermesh to...