61.   Iraq temporarily halted oil exports in December in a pricing dispute with the United Nations and has since only resumed modest exports.

62.   Iraqi Oil Minister Safa Hadi Jawad said on arrival that he expected his country to resume oil exports next year, but he did not elaborate.

63.   It was the last obstacle before Iraq could resume oil exports for the first time since May.

64.   Last Friday, Iraqi envoy Abdul Amir al-Anbari expressed concern over delays in allowing Iraq to resume exports.

65.   Ministers from Nigeria and Libya, among the early arrivals for the OPEC meeting that formally begins Wednesday, predicted Iraq can resume oil exports without a price collapse.

66.   Norway also has announced plans to resume exports of whale products, mostly blubber it hopes to sell to Japan.

67.   Nonetheless, Iraq appeared likely to resume oil exports soon.

68.   Russia has been promising for weeks to clear up supposed bureaucratic red tape and resume exports.

69.   Rashid denied that Iraq has conditions to resume its exports.

70.   Scotland is now applying for permission from the European Union to resume sheep exports, Finnie said.