EVENTS
OPEC PRODUCTION DROPS, PRICES RISE OPEC production in July dropped by 330,000 barrels a day, apparently contributing to a rise of nearly $1 a barrel in the oil cartel's average market price, according to figures released yesterday. The Middle East Economic Survey said the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' daily production last month averaged 24.69 million barrels, down from 25.02 million barrels in June. Prices rose by 91 cents a barrel and averaged $17.41 a barrel, still well below the cartel's target of $21, the oil industry newsletter said. Iran and Nigeria were largely responsible for the lower production, it said. Iran pumped more than 3.7 million barrels a day in June but lowered its output by 200,000 barrels a day in July. An oil workers' strike in Nigeria reduced daily production from 1.93 million barrels in June to 1.78 million last month. Nuclear talks try again
US and North Korean negotiators tried again in Geneva yesterday to reach agreement on opening the isolated communist country's nuclear program - suspected of producing atomic weapons - to international inspection. An intensive first day of talks Friday produced little progress on the nuclear dispute, both sides said. St. Petersburg finale Mississippi protest
Signers of a petition calling the killing of abortion providers justifiable homicide promised a peaceful week of ``spiritual warfare'' at Mississippi's two abortion clinics. Protesters from at least nine states were expected to join demonstrations set to begin yesterday at the Jackson and Gulfport clinics of Joseph Booker, the only doctor known to perform abortions in the state. US marshals began protecting the clinics Aug. 1. Voter apathy in Ukraine
Final results yesterday from the latest round of parliamentary elections showed voter apathy continuing to frustrate efforts to fill the seats in Ukraine's parliament. Of 112 seats contested in recent parliamentary elections that wrapped up Sunday, 53 were declared void due to poor voter turnout, according to preliminary results from the International Foundation for Electoral Systems. As a result, the 450-seat parliament will have just 392 deputies when it returns in mid-September. Turkish jets hit Kurds
Turkish jets bombed a Kurdish rebel camp across the border in northern Iraq yesterday, the fifth such attack since July 26. The airstrike reportedly took place in the Sinat region, some nine miles from the Turkish border. PLO, Israel resume talks
Israeli and PLO negotiators opened a fourth week of talks yesterday in Cairo on expanding Palestinian control in the occupied West Bank. The negotiations were called for in last May's PLO-Israeli accord giving limited autonomy to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank town of Jericho. They are aimed at turning over control of health, education, tourism, welfare, and finance to Palestinians in the rest of the West Bank.
