Special Reports

STRASBOURG, France, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- EU lawmakers Tuesday approved the body's new Commission after a five-month delay.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Taliban sources claimed Tuesday their leader Hakimullah Mehsud was dead, though the details and a lack of official statements muddy the narrative.

MOGADISHU, Somalia, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- The shaky Western-backed Transitional Federal Government, barely able to control a few blocks of the capital, appears to be bracing for a three-pronged military offensive against Islamist militants aligned with al-Qaida.

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Statements criticizing the right of Hezbollah to maintain an armed resistance against Israel are dangerous sentiments, a Shiite leader said in Beirut.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- The Afghan government should suspend legislation that offers immunity from war crimes in exchange for pledges of support, Amnesty International said.

BEIRUT, Lebanon, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Spain needs to take a leadership role as the rotating head of the European Union and call on Israel to stop its aggression against Lebanon, Beirut said.

STANFORD, Calif., Feb. 9 (UPI) -- The 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution on Thursday could be a bellwether moment for the clerical regime in Tehran, analysts said.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- There are no foreign security contractors from Xe Services, formerly Blackwater, operating in Pakistani territory, the interior minister said.

LONDON, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- The London inquiry into the Iraq war may ask for meetings with officials from the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush, the inquiry chairman said.

SANAA, Yemen, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- A deputy al-Qaida commander in Yemen in an audio tape called on the mujahedin in the region to prepare for holy war against the West.

KABUL, Afghanistan, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- There is no time to waste in moving forward with reconciliation and reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan, NATO's civilian administrator said.

DAMASCUS, Syria, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Damascus welcomed a delegation from Armenia on Tuesday to discuss strengthening bilateral relations and regional issues.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- The Soviet Union’s Vladimir Lomeiko. The Czech Republic’s Vojtech Cepl. The United States of America’s Norbert Auerbach. Now, at 83, Poland’s stately Krzysztof Skubiszewski. One by one, the grand old men -- of another time, of another place -- are being called to their maker. They saw the future. They believed. They paved the way for Democracy from communism.

NEW DELHI, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Pakistan's senior representative in India has met the foreign secretary as the two countries get ready to restart stalled high-level talks over border issues.

CAIRO, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Egyptian security forces Monday arrested a deputy leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and two other senior leaders as the country prepares for new elections.