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Reuters - A U.S. presidential panel to probe the cause of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and recommend new rules to prevent future disasters will hold its first public meeting in New Orleans on July 12 and 13, its co-chairs said on Saturday.

AFP - A fuel truck exploded and set fire to a village in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, killing more than 230 people and injuring scores, officials and local residents said Saturday.

AFP - An explosion ripped through a pipeline carrying oil from Iraq to southern Turkey on Saturday, sparking a fire, the Anatolia news agency reported.

Reuters - President Barack Obama, under pressure to spur job growth, said on Saturday two solar energy companies will get nearly $2 billion in U.S. loan guarantees to create as many as 5,000 green jobs.

Reuters - A supertanker adapted to scoop up oil from the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico began tests on Saturday amid a report that some major investors expect the energy giant to replace its top executives.

AP - A tanker truck hauling fuel on a rural eastern Congo highway overturned, gushing oil and exploding in a massive fireball that killed about 220 bystanders, including many who had been watching the World Cup in flimsy roadside shacks, officials and witnesses said Saturday.

AP - A federal judge in New Orleans is trying to streamline the legal process for more than 30 lawsuits arising from the oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico.

AFP - US President Barack Obama announced on Saturday the awarding of nearly two billion dollars to two solar energy companies that have agreed to build new power plants in the United States, creating thousands of new jobs.

AP - Authorities say an out-of-control gasoline tanker flipped over and exploded in northern Nigeria, killing 14 people in the inferno.

AP - Navy spokesman says 12 expatriate sailors kidnapped off coast of Nigeria's southern delta.

AP - A waste services company says a diver performing maintenance on a client's rig in the Gulf of Mexico, unrelated to the massive oil spill, has died after an underwater accident.

AFP - Japan has donated 10 million dollars to Ecuador to help fund a solar energy project in the Galapagos Islands, a UN-designated World Heritage site, Ecuador's Electricity Ministry said Friday.

AP - The two containment devices capturing oil from BP's busted well at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico haven't been collecting the maximum daily amount possible since both were in place, according to an Associated Press analysis of company data.

Reuters - Washington was preparing a revised offshore oil drilling moratorium and cleanup efforts in the Gulf of Mexico returned to normal on Friday after hurricane Alex passed through the region without doing major damage.

AP - BP and the Obama administration face mounting complaints that they are ignoring foreign offers of equipment and making little use of the fishing boats and volunteers available to help clean up what may now be the biggest spill ever in the Gulf of Mexico.

AP - Several environmental groups are asking a federal judge to throw out his order overturning a six-month ban on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico because of his investments in several oil and gas companies.

AP - Fireworks displays have been canceled. White-sand beaches that should be crowded with sunbathers are instead dotted with cleanup workers, booms and sand-sifting equipment. Normally packed hotels are trying to fill rooms ahead of what is a crucial weekend for beach businesses.

AP - Energy prices slid ahead of the Fourth of July weekend after a government report said businesses added jobs, but not as much as in March and April.

AP - BP and several wildlife protection groups are working out the final details of an agreement to resolve a lawsuit alleging turtles were being killed as BP burned oil from its blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico, attorneys said Friday.

AP - The economy may be making people nervous, but drivers should have a happy Fourth of July at the pump.