UPI Almanac for Tuesday, April 21, 2009.

UPI Almanac for Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2009.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- High-stakes geopolitical poker with nuclear chips will be played on President Obama's watch. It is hard to see how the United States can leave Iraq militarily 18 months hence without some kind of geopolitical settlement with Iran, which shares a 1,000-mile border with Iraq.

UPI Almanac for Sunday, Jan. 18, 2009.

BEIJING, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte was welcomed to China Wednesday as the two countries celebrated 30 years of diplomacy, officials said.

NAJAF, Iraq, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki met with the Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani Friday in Najaf to discuss the long-term security pact with the United States.

BAGHDAD, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- U.S. negotiators of the long-term security agreement with Baghdad eased some positions in an effort to move the deal forward, lawmakers said Thursday.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- Top U.S. policymakers are declaring victory in Iraq and switching their focus to Afghanistan and Pakistan, where Islamist violence continues to surge following the fall of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.

TEHRAN, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on the Iraqi government to avoid succumbing to U.S. demands for a security deal with Washington.