Morning Brief: Oil majors returning to Iraq

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RAMZI HAIDAR/AFP/Getty Images

Major Western oil companies may soon be headed back to Iraq. The New York Times reports that ExxonMobil, Shell, Total, BP, and several others are "in the final stages" of negotiating an agreement with the Iraqi government to work on the country's biggest oil fields.

Global Economy

Want to drill for deep-sea oil? Get in line: There's a five-year wait for existing offshore drill-ships, and a new one will set you back $500 million.

The Arctic's sea ice is melting even faster this year.

Americas

The U.S. Government Accountability Office has taken Boeing's side in its $100 billion tanker dispute with the Air Force.

Six human feet have washed up on the western shores of Canada.

Mexico is putting price controls on food, and Brazil's central banker views inflation as his "biggest concern."

Decision '08

Barack Obama said the United States should avoid turning Osama bin Laden into a "martyr."

John McCain said the United States should build 45 nuclear reactors.

Europe

Russia warned Georgia against "provocations" toward its troops in Abkhazia.

The EU parliament voted to limit the detention of undocument migrants to 18 months.

Middle East and Africa

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon slammed Zimbabwe's government for "violence, intimidation and the arrest of opposition leaders." South African President Thabo Mbeki spent his birthday with Robert Mugabe, his Zimbabwean counterpart.

Israel made a peace offer to Lebanon (it was swiftly rejected).

The Iraqi government launched an offensive in the southern Shiite city of Amara.

Iran says it is ready to negotiate over its nuclear program.

Asia

The Taliban has been routed outside of Kandahar, according to local Afghan officials.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she expects a nuclear declaration from North Korea "soon."

China and the United States announced plans to negotiate a bilateral investment treaty.

Today's Agenda

Israel and Hamas are beginning to enforce a ceasefire in Gaza.

EU leaders are meeting in Brussels to discuss the Lisbon Treaty fallout.

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