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Talking gaining favor for Mideast issues

WASHINGTON, July 18 (UPI) -- Negotiating with enemies instead of shunning them may be signaling the United States, Israel and European allies are changing Mideast tactics, analysts said.

The shift is borne out by recent events -- U.S. and Iranian diplomats at the same table, an Israeli-Hezbollah prisoner swap, Syria's president welcomed in France and the United States considering setting up a diplomatic presence in Iran, The New York Times reported Friday.

"The overall picture is moving in the direction of cooling the political atmosphere," said Muhammad al-Rumaihi, a former government adviser in Kuwait and the editor of Awan, a Kuwaiti independent daily newspaper.

Allies and enemies alike are realizing that tactics they've been using for years to achieve their goals -- whether violence and terrorism or sanctions and isolation -- aren't working and pragmatically turned words instead of weapons, political analysts told the Times.

"We are seeing the outlines of a general thaw in the region," said Osama Safa, director of the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies in Beirut. "You may have to deal with governments on political issues, but when it comes to security, they have to deal with non-state actors like Hezbollah and Hamas."

Typhoon Kalmaegi kills six in Taiwan

BEIJING, July 18 (UPI) -- Typhoon Kalmaegi battered Taiwan Friday, killing at least six people and injuring six others as it traveled toward mainland China, emergency officials said.

Another six people were reported missing as the storm dumped heavy rain on central and southern Taiwan, CNN reported. Many low-lying areas, especially in southern Taiwan, reported flooding.

Forecasters predicted the storm to reach the coastal areas of southeastern China Friday, prompting officials in Zhejiang and Fujian provinces to prepare for flooding, reported Xinhua, China's state-run news agency.

China's state flood control agency instituted a level-three flood control emergency response mechanism to cope with the storm, Xinhua said. Departments dealing weather forecasting, water resources and transportation were ordered to monitor the situation to provide advance information to the public.

Ships and boats were advised to return to ports.

Forecasters predicted severe storms and heavy rains could hit coastal cities in the provinces in the next two days. Shanghai, China's largest metropolitan city, is in the path of Kalmaegi.

Kalmaegi, which spawned in the Pacific Ocean, was upgraded to typhoon level Thursday. It is the seventh Pacific tropical storm this year.

House GOP blocks drilling bill

WASHINGTON, July 18 (UPI) -- Energy bills in the U.S. Congress took two paths as the House of Representatives shot down a drilling bill while the Senate readied a bill to curb speculators.

Senate Majority Senator Harry Reid, D-Nev., laid the groundwork to begin debate on a bill that would curb speculation in the oil markets, which members of both parties have said is partially to blame for the jump in oil prices, The New York Times reported Friday.

The measure, up for a crucial test early next week, would give the Commodities Futures Trading Committee more staff and new authority to pursue suspected cases of excessive speculation. It also would force traders using foreign exchanges to adhere to U.S. regulations, among other things.

House Republicans, meanwhile, blocked Democrats' efforts to force energy companies to drill for oil on land they already lease from the U.S. government.

On a 244-173 vote, Democrats fell 30 votes shy of bringing a measure to the floor that would have forced companies to explore for oil where drilling has been sanctioned instead of opening up new, protected areas, such as the outer continental shelf, the Times reported Friday.

Opponents said the legislation could hamper domestic exploration because it would bar oil companies from getting new leases if they weren't working existing holdings. They also argued that current technology makes drilling less of an environmental threat.

Mandela plans quiet day as he turns 90

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, July 18 (UPI) -- Former South African President Nelson Mandela planned to spend his 90th birthday Friday quietly with his family.

But the festivities in Qunu, his home village in the southeast of the country, have mushroomed, the BBC reports. There will be a birthday dinner for 500 guests Saturday, a concert and a soccer festival.

Mandela, the African National Congress leader who spent 27 years as a prisoner on Robben Island, is one of the most honored men in the world. His 90th birthday has already been marked by a concert in London and other international events.

One of those who paid tribute to Mandela on the eve of his birthday was F.W. DeKlerk, the last white president of South Africa.

"After his inauguration, Nelson Mandela used his personal charm to promote reconciliation and to mold our widely diverse communities into an emerging multicultural nation," DeKlerk told reporters Thursday. "This, I believe, will be seen as his greatest legacy."

Pope prays during Last Supper staging

SYDNEY, July 18 (UPI) -- Pope Benedict XVI attended a staging of the Stations of the Cross, which trace the last hours of Jesus, Friday during World Youth Day celebrations in Sydney.

The pontiff appeared at St. Mary's Cathedral as part of the re-enactment of the "Last Supper," the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported. He began with a prayer.

"Lord many people lack the food and drink to bring true joy. They do not know or have forgotten how you wish to meet them at the Eucharist and share with them your humanity and divinity," Benedict said.

About 80 performers participated in the pageant at various Sydney landmarks as part of the World Youth Day celebrations.

A group of people tried to draw attention to the issue of sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests was told it had to move from one location in Sydney's Hyde Park to another to accommodate security measures for the pilgrims.

On Saturday, the pope is to join a vigil of tens of thousands of Catholic youths who will sleep out at Randwick racecourse, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Up to 500,000 people are expected to attend the Sunday mass celebrated by Pope Benedict, the Herald reported.