BAGHDAD – U.S. Vice President Joe Biden urged Iraqi leaders yesterday to press ahead and form a government after four months of post-election deadlock but said neither Washington nor anyone else should dictate to them.
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PENSACOLA BEACH – U.S. Gulf coast beaches, normally packed on Independence Day, were quiet yesterday as workers cleaned up tar balls from BP’s leaking oil well while the company was reported to be taking steps to ward off potential takeover bids.
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YEREVAN – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said yesterday it was a U.S. priority to help Armenia and Azerbaijan settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and urged them to refrain from violence over the separatist region.
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KIRKUK – The flow of oil on Iraq’s main pipeline to Turkey was halted for a third day yesterday after a technical problem on the Iraqi side was compounded by a bomb attack by suspected PKK rebels in Turkey.
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PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria – Nigerian gunmen released 12 foreign workers yesterday, two days after attacking their cargo vessels in the oil-producing Niger Delta, military and security officials said.
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JOHANNESBURG – South African unions dropped yesterday a threat to strike at power utility Eskom this week after receiving a higher wage offer, ending concerns about electricity supplies during the soccer World Cup.
