1. OIL AND GAS:
Soaring prices spur worries about piracy, marine terror

UNITED NATIONS -- France raised eyebrows this year by signing a pact with the United Arab Emirates to establish a permanent military base near Abu Dhabi. While many saw the plan as a hedge against Iran and a means to revive French prestige, others saw an effort to guard oil and gas shipments against pirates and seaborne terrorists. France's heightened concern about maritime security was underscored this month when Paris won unanimous adoption of its U.N. Security Council resolution aimed at combating piracy. A recent upsurge in pirate incidents, coupled with the record high oil and natural gas prices, were on the U.N. agenda last week during talks on maritime security. Go to story #1