World highlights

¤ Iraq's Prime Minister said in a joint statement with the US ambassador his government had "timelines" for the resolution of the country's problems after the two men met following days of diplomatic tension.

"The Iraqi government has made clear the issues that must be resolved, with timelines, to take positive steps forward on behalf of the Iraqi people," government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said, reading from a joint statement by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and envoy Zalmay Khalilzad after their meeting.

¤ Coalition naval forces are helping to guard vital oil installations in top exporter Saudi Arabia as part of heightened security following an al Qaeda threat last month, naval sources said. In their sights are the kingdom's Ras Tanura terminal, the world's biggest offshore oil export facility, and Bahrain's Bapco refinery.

¤ UN troops rescued an ally of President Joseph Kabila from hostile soldiers and police stepped in to stop a clash between rival political demonstrators as tension mounted ahead of Congo's election. Kabila ally Francois Joseph Mobutu Nzanga, son of late dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, had been trapped for almost 24 hours at a radio station in the northern town of Gbadolite after a gunbattle in which at least four people died.

¤ The top UN official in Sudan, Jan Pronk, will return to Khartoum and stay in his post through the end of the year, despite the government's announcement he was "history", the United Nations said.