UN reaches oil agreement with Iraq

The United Nations says it has reached agreement with Iraq on conditions for extending the oil-for-food programme.

A UN spokesman, Fred Eckhard, said the extension would last until the end of November.

Last week, the Security Council decided to re-authorise the programme after Britain and the United States abandoned proposals to revise it.

The oil-for-food deal allows Iraq to sell oil for needed goods, although under strict UN supervision. The programme began almost five years ago, as a relaxation of UN sanctions against Iraq.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service