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Suicide attack kills seven in Iraq

BAIJI, Iraq, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- At least seven people were killed by a car bomb Saturday near northern Iraq's largest oil refinery.

The bombing in Baiji, in Salahuddin province, came a day after attacks in the neighboring province of Diyala killed at least 26 people, the BBC reported Saturday.

The attack in Baiji targeted housing for security forces guarding oil installations. The dead included at least four guards and three civilians, the BBC said.

Baiji, about 155 miles north of Baghdad, is a key transfer point for crude oil being exported from Iran. The area has seen a sharp rise in violence as insurgents have been routed from Baghdad by an increased U.S. troop presence, the BBC reported.

Oil reaches shore in South Korea

SEOUL, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- A massive oil spill Saturday began reaching pristine beaches and fish farms on the South Korean coast.

An estimated 10,500 tons of oil were released into the water off South Chungcheong province Friday when the Hong Kong-registered oil tanker, Hebei Spirit, collided with a barge, Yonhap news agency reported Saturday.

The spill is the largest in South Korea's history.

Six helicopters and at least 70 private and government ships contained some of the oil while tides and wind pushed more of it toward Simnipo and Mohang, where the beaches turned black as the sand absorbed the oil, Yonhap reported.

An estimated 5,650 fish, oyster and abalone farms operate in the area, which also is popular with tourists.

"Once the oil reaches here, it's the end of farming," said Kang Tae-chang, 47, head of the fish farmers' organization in the village of Uihang-ri."

Jets nearly collide at Newark Airport

NEWARK, N.J., Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Federal aviation officials say a passenger jet landing in Newark, N.J., came within 300 feet of colliding with a jet taxiing across the runway.

The near collision between the two Continental Airlines planes occurred Thursday night at Newark Liberty International Airport, CNN reported Saturday.

Flight 2558, an Embraer 145, was crossing the end of a runway as Flight 573, a Boeing 737, flew over it on an instrument approach, said FAA spokesman Jim Peters.

The pilot of the taxiing jet had acknowledged air traffic control's instruction to hold at the end of the runway but the jet continued taxiing, Peters said, noting investigators are examining radar and radio transmissions to determine what happened, CNN reported.

Summit agenda includes human rights

LISBON, Portugal, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- The crisis in Zimbabwe and Sudan's Darfur region are on the agenda at a summit in Portugal between African leaders and the European Union.

It is the first summit between EU and African leaders in seven years, the BBC reported Saturday.

Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates, the summit's host, has said the meeting heralds a new and equal relationship for the continents.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is boycotting the summit because of the presence of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, who is banned from the EU but was invited to the summit after African leaders threatened not to attend. Brown is critical of Mugabe's human rights record.

Tropical Cyclone Daman heads toward Tonga

SUVA, Fiji, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Tropical Cyclone Daman headed southeast toward Tonga after hitting a remote island in the Fiji group Saturday.

Residents of Vanua Levu sent a radio message reporting that they sheltered in caves to survive the storm, Radio New Zealand reported. The island is Fiji's second largest but has only about 70 residents.

Daman also flattened buildings on the island of Cikobia.

The Tonga Meteorological Service warned of gale-force winds expected Sunday with heavy rain on northern islands.