DOHA, Qatar (Reuters) - OPEC cannot permit Iraq to attend meetings of the cartel while Baghdad remains under the rule of an occupying U.S.-led authority, oil ministers said Wednesday.
"We cannot have relations with Iraq until there is an internationally recognized government, that is a consensus," said Venezuelan Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez.
"This does not mean we do not want Iraq in the organization. We do want Iraq in OPEC and we think Iraq will want to stay in OPEC because they will need a reasonable price for oil," he said.
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Secretary of State Colin Powell turned up pressure on Myanmar's military rulers over the detention of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, saying he would seek action from their Asian neighbors at a meeting next week.
Powell's comments, in a signed article published in the Asian Wall Street Journal on Thursday, were the latest expression of international outrage over the treatment of the pro-democracy activist, who is now in her 13th day of detention.
"The junta that oppresses democracy in Burma (Myanmar) must find that its actions will not be allowed to stand," he said in the commentary in which he called for financial measures against Myanmar's military rulers.