Old Masters hip-hop for Kehinde Wiley By FREDERICK M. WINSHIP NEW YORK, Dec. 31 (UPI) --

Mixed year on foreign policy By KRISHNADEV CALAMUR WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 (UPI) --

Yearend: Why the price of oil rose in 2004 By JOHN DALY WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 (UPI) --

India says outsourcing jobs good for U.S. By HARBAKSH SINGH NANDA United Press International NEW DELHI, Dec. 31 (UPI) --

Jordan hopes for peaceful year in region By SANA ABDALLAH AMMAN, Jordan, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Jordan hopes it will not have to struggle for survival in the year ahead with Iraqi and Palestinian elections bringing forward new leadership that could restore peace in the region.

Ukraine -- country of the year By PETER LAVELLE MOSCOW, Dec. 31 (UPI) --

Is Arafat's death good for Israel? TEL AVIV, Israel, Dec. 31 (UPI) --

Analysis: Tragedy cast political shadows By MARTIN SIEFF UPI Senior News Analyst WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 (UPI) --

Tsunami toll ticks to 135,000 By HARBAKSH SINGH NANDA United Press International NEW DELHI, Dec. 31 (UPI) --

Analysis: Anno Putinus Zero By PETER LAVELLE MOSCOW, Dec. 31 (UPI) --

Yearend: 'The Passion' top religion event By UWE SIEMON-NETTO UPI Religious Affairs Editor WASHINGTON, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- Mel Gibson's film "The Passion of the Christ" was seen by many believers as the most important religious event of 2004. On that, Catholics, evangelical Christians, and even some moderate Muslims will agree.

Death toll mounts as Sri Lanka mourns By RAVI R. PRASAD COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Dec. 31 (UPI) --

Palestinians lost leader, found hope in 2004 By SAUD ABU RAMADAN GAZA, Dec. 31 (UPI) --

N. Korea to face critical decision in 2005 By JONG-HEON LEE UPI Correspondent SEOUL, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- For North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, 2005 could be a decisive year in determining the fate of his isolated regime, which has been in a prolonged standoff with the United States over his nuclear ambitions.

Jordan survives a year amid turbulence By SANA ABDALLAH AMMAN, Jordan, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Jordan survived another year amid the deteriorating conditions in Iraq and the continued Palestinian-Israeli bloodshed across its western border by containing the growing popular anger at the U.S. and Israeli occupations.

Libya breaks out of international isolation By SADEK TARHOUNI TRIPOLI, Libya, Dec. 31 (UPI) --

Outside View: Same old Song By MORGAN STRONG Outside View Commentator BRICK, N.J., Dec. 31 (UPI) --

Outside View: Political truth in labeling By CHUCK MUTH Outside View Commentator WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 (UPI) --

Outside View: Providing healthy choices By EDWIN J. FEULNER Outside View Commentator WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 (UPI) --

Outside View: The missing left wing By MARK Q. RHOADS Outside View Commentator WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 (UPI) --

UPI Intelligence Watch By JOHN C.K. DALY and MARTIN SIEFF WASHINGTON, Dec. 30 (UPI) --

Analysis: U.S. awaits Asia cattle response LOS ANGELES, Dec. 30 (UPI) --

Analysis: Tsunami waves' tragic turns of fate By MARTIN SIEFF UPI Senior News Analyst WASHINGTON, Dec. 30 (UPI) --

More bodies found; tsunami toll is 125,000 By HARBAKSH SINGH NANDA United Press International NEW DELHI, Dec. 30 (UPI) --

Israeli officer in court over girl's slaying CAMP BAR-LEV, Israel, Dec. 30 (UPI) --

Feature: Dallas police have new eyes By PHIL MAGERS DALLAS, Dec. 30 (UPI) --

Analysis: Canada may halt cross-border Rx By AL SWANSON UPI Urban Affairs Correspondent ST. PAUL, Minn., Dec. 30 (UPI) --

Analysis: Quake an opportunity for Bush By ROLAND FLAMINI Chief International Correspondent WASHINGTON, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- The Asian quake disaster offers the Bush administration an opportunity to demonstrate U.S. generosity to the world and particularly to Islamic countries, but will they take it?

Analysis: Taser safety doubted, defended By LES KJOS MIAMI, Dec. 30 (UPI) --

Commentary: The indifferent man -- part 2 By UWE SIEMON-NETTO UPI Religious Affairs Editor PARIS, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- This is the second installment of the United Press International's series on the religiously indifferent man. This new species is incapable of dealing with theological issues raised by catastrophes such as the tsunami disaster in Asia, which underscores t

Analysis: Yukos' Chinese afterlife By PETER LAVELLE MOSCOW, Dec. 30 (UPI) --

Analysis: U.S.-Russia teamwork unraveling By MARTIN SIEFF UPI Senior News Analyst WASHINGTON, Dec. 30 (UPI) --

Outside View: Trojan horse of Wahhabism By STEPHEN SCHWARTZ Outside View Commentator WASHINGTON, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- As international attention is galvanized by the slaying of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh by a presumed Islamic extremist and the long-term implications of the spread of Islamic fundamentalism within Europe, Greece continues to be roiled by a debate over t

Feature: No Happy New Year for many in U.S. By JILLIAN JONAS NEW YORK, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- While the Bush administration says the U.S. economy is finally improving, those improvements are not reaching many of the country's working poor.

Bush, tsunamis grab headlines in 2004 By JOHN HENDEL UPI Americas Editor WASHINGTON, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- The president of the United States is a newsmaker wherever he goes, but in 2004 George Bush was directly involved in, or closely connected with, much of the major news throughout the year, although even he was pushed off front pages the last week of the y

Re-election sets up new Bush challenges By RICHARD TOMKINS UPI White House Correspondent WASHINGTON, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- President George W. Bush sprints into second term and a new year with a stunning election victory behind him but dogged by carryover issues that will continue to roil his administration and the country.

The year in politics 2004 By PETER ROFF UPI Senior Political Analyst WASHINGTON, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Most of the major political events for 2004 are connected to the presidential campaign. In that sense, therefore, the single biggest story is the re-election of U.S. President George W. Bush. That story, however, has many component parts worthy of specifi

Sri Lanka struggles to check epidemic By RAVI R. PRASAD COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Dec. 30 (UPI) --

Panic in India over fresh tsunami alert By HARBAKSH SINGH NANDA United Press International NEW DELHI, Dec. 30 (UPI) --

Review of the Arab press AMMAN, Jordan, Dec. 30 (UPI) --

Dame Edna, self-styled gigastar, is back By FREDERICK M. WINSHIP NEW YORK, Jan. 3 (UPI) --

Gulliver's China and the Tao of 2004 By EDWARD C. LANFRANCO BEIJING, Dec. 30 (UPI) --

Eye on Eurasia: Camps in Russia for aliens By PAUL GOBLE TARTU, Estonia, Dec. 29 (UPI) --

Brazil tackles the role of world leader By CARMEN GENTILE UPI Latin America Correspodent RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec. 30 (UPI) --

Year ahead: Uncertain LatAm is the norm By CARMEN GENTILE UPI LAtin American Correspondent RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- The only thing predictable about Latin America is its unpredictability, as the region stretching south of the U.S. border to the brink of Antarctica appears poised for another year of political wrangling, economic ups and downs and perhaps even the occasi

North Korea mired in nuclear standoff By JONG-HEON LEE UPI Correspondent SEOUL, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Throughout 2004, North Korea was under strong international pressure to give up its nuclear ambitions, with military tensions were running high on the Korean peninsula.

Blair to face judgment of British voters By HANNAH K. STRANGE UPI UK Correspondent LONDON, Dec. 30 (UPI) --

U.S. to focus on Iraq, allies By KRISHNADEV CALAMUR WASHINGTON, Dec. 30 (UPI) --

Outside view: Prepare the public By NICOLE LURIE and JEFFREY WASSERMAN Outside View Commentators ARLINGTON, Va., Dec. 30 (UPI) --

Analysis: Heating oil half empty By HIL ANDERSON UPI Chief Energy Correspondent LOS ANGELES, Dec. 29 (UPI) --