CAMARILLO, Calif. — The national average price for gasoline rose about 16 cents over the last two weeks, according to a survey released Sunday.

The average price of regular gasoline Friday was $2.96 a gallon, mid-grade was $3.08, and premium was $3.19, oil industry analyst Trilby Lundberg said.

The nation’s lowest price was in Newark, N.J., where a gallon of regular cost $2.73, on average. The highest was in San Francisco at $3.28, according to the Lundberg Survey of 7,000 stations.

Two wildfires still burning

Despite benefiting from weaker-than-predicted weekend winds, firefighters Sunday remained unable to fully contain the last two threatening Southern California wildfires. Authorities said the Poomacha fire in northeastern San Diego County was proving tougher than expected to contain because it is burning in steep, remote terrain. The blaze might not be surrounded by ground crews until Saturday. The outlook was more optimistic at the Santiago fire in Orange County, which might be contained by Tuesday.

Florida: New heart drug

Prasugrel, a new blood thinner, proved better than Plavix, one of the world’s top-selling drugs, at preventing heart problems after procedures to open clogged arteries, doctors reported Sunday in Orlando. But the new drug also raised the risk of serious bleeding. Still, many doctors said that on balance, the new drug comes out ahead.

D.C.: Thompson stands by aide

Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson said Sunday that a friend with a criminal record for cocaine and marijuana sales would remain a top fundraiser for his campaign while he evaluates the situation. For months, Thompson has been flying to campaign events around the country in a private jet lent to his campaign by Alabama developer Philip Martin, who has known the former Tennessee senator for more than a decade. Thompson said he first learned of Martin’s criminal background Saturday.

Cuba: U.S. transfers detainees

Eleven detainees at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay — eight Afghans and three Jordanians — have been transferred to the custody of their home countries, the Pentagon announced Sunday. The men were flown out of the U.S. naval base in southeast Cuba after a military review was conducted at Guantanamo gauging whether the prisoners have intelligence value or pose a threat to the United States. The military does not provide details about individual cases. Roughly 320 detainees remain at Guantanamo on suspicion of links to al-Qaida or the Taliban.

Chad: Alleged kidnappers released

Seven Europeans among 17 detained for over a week in an alleged attempt to kidnap 103 African children were released Sunday and left the country with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The Europeans — among them nine French citizens — were arrested Oct. 25 when a charity calling itself Zoe’s Ark was stopped from flying the children to Europe. The group said the children were orphans from Sudan’s Darfur region and it intended to place them with host families. However, France’s Foreign Ministry and others have cast doubt on the group’s claims.

Venezuela: Protests may be denied

President Hugo Chavez said Sunday his government could deny permits for opposition-led protests because of violence during demonstrations against proposed constitutional amendments that would let him run for re-election indefinitely. He accused his opponents of planning to spur widespread political upheaval ahead of the Dec. 2 referendum on the 69 proposed constitutional changes.

Israel: Talks progress seems dim

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice returned to Israel on Sunday for the third time in six weeks, seeking to nudge the Israeli and Palestinian sides closer together in advance of an upcoming U.S.-sponsored peace conference. But Rice acknowledged that her two-day visit was unlikely to produce agreement on a hoped-for joint pre-conference statement of mutual goals. The conference is loosely scheduled to take place before Dec. 21, but no formal date has been set and Rice said the time wasn’t right to issue formal invitations.

Britain: Aung San Suu Kyi piano

A group of women has raised money to send a piano to detained Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a British newspaper reported Sunday. The Sunday Times said the group, led by actress Maureen Lipman, wants to replace Suu Kyi’s nonfunctioning piano. Suu Kyi, 62, has spent about 12 of the past 18 years in detention without trial. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.

From Herald news services