RIYADH, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah said on Saturday that oil should not be allowed to become a tool of conflict, in a speech at the opening of the OPEC summit in Riyadh.

'Oil is an energy for construction and must not become an instrument for conflict,' he said.

KABUL, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) - Two NATO soldiers and their interpreter were killed when their vehicle was blown up in Afghanistan Saturday while officials reported that 33 Taliban-linked rebels died in new operations.

The two International Security Assistance Force soldiers died with their interpreter when their vehicle struck a bomb in the south, ISAF said.

Another three soldiers were wounded in the blast caused by what the military calls an 'improvised explosive device' -- homemade bombs that are among the main threats to security forces here.

LONDON, Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) - The price of lead struck yet another all-time high point on Wednesday owing to persistent jitters over stretched global supplies and fierce demand, traders said.

The price of lead for delivery in three months rose to an historic 3,860 dollars a tonne on the London Metal Exchange.

'In our view, strong demand in Asia and supply shortages will continue to support the rally higher,' said analysts at Barclays Capital.

Base metal lead has been plagued by chronically low stockpiles.

SINGAPORE, Sept 28, 2007 (AFP) - United Nations special envoy Ibrahim Gambari was in Singapore Friday on his way to Myanmar, the city-state's foreign ministry said.

Gambari has been sent by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to try to open dialogue between the ruling junta and pro-democracy activists after a deadly crackdown on anti-government protests in Myanmar's main city, Yangon.

The UN envoy met officials from Singapore's foreign ministry during his stopover, the ministry said in a statement.

LONDON, Sept 27, 2007 (AFP) - The price of lead struck an historic high in London trading on Thursday as the base metal benefited from supply difficulties.

The price of lead for delivery in three months rose to an historic 3,520 dollars a tonne on the London Metal Exchange.

Amid already low stockpiles of the base metal, there is an investigation into lead contamination at the minerals export port of Esperance in Australia following the discovery of high levels of lead in rainwater tanks, analysts at BaseMetals.com noted Thursday.

SINGAPORE, Sept 27, 2007 (AFP) - Singapore on Thursday urged Myanmar to give full access to a United Nations envoy and said it was 'deeply troubled' by reports that violence had been used against demonstrators.

Singapore is the current chair of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which includes Myanmar.

It said the city-state welcomed the decision by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to send special envoy Ibrahim Gambari to the military-ruled state.

Par by Susan Njanji

BO (Sierra Leone), 7 sept 2007 (AFP) - Sierra Leoneans on Saturday vote in a tight presidential run-off seen to test the west African country's ability to cement peace following the end of one of the most brutal civil wars in modern times.

The election pits candidates from the parties that have ruled the country the longest: the opposition All People's Congress (APC)'s leader Ernest Koroma and Vice President Solomon Berewa from the ruling Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP).

LONDON, Aug 6, 2007 (AFP) - British experts scrambled Monday to pinpoint the source of a foot and mouth outbreak threatening a new farming crisis, homing in on a possible leak from an animal research centre near the stricken farm.

Environment Secretary Hilary Benn said he hoped for a report within 48 hours on whether the virus was leaked from a research centre at Pirbright, just a few miles from the outbreak of the potentially devastating disease south of London.

HELSINKI, Aug 2, 2007 (AFP) - Finnish telecommunications equipment giant Nokia on Thursday reported a 148 percent surge in second quarter net earnings and boosted its position as the world's number one mobile phone provider.

Nokia said net earnings came to 2.8 billion euros (3.8 billion dollars) in the April-June period after 1.1 billion in second quarter 2006 from sales that rose 28 percent to 12.6 billion euros.

The company said its share of the world mobile phone market had risen to 38 percent from 34 percent in second quarter 2006.