PERSIAN GULF

RICE MAKES UNANNOUNCED VISIT TO IRAQ

MOSUL, Iraq – Secretary of State Rice made a personal appeal Friday for Iraqis to bridge sectarian differences, venturing to a majority Sunni Arab region of the country to ask for cooperation in the coming election.

“I want to talk about the importance of reaching across sectarian lines,” Ms. Rice said on her unannounced visit to this northern Iraqi city, which is about 60% Iraq Arab. – Associated Press

MIDDLE EAST

ISRAEL’S NEW LABOR LEADER PROMISES TO PUSH FOR EARLY ELECTIONS

JERUSALEM – Israel’s new Labor Party leader, union boss Amir Peretz, said yesterday he will move quickly to pull the party out of the governing coalition, setting the stage for early elections.

Mr. Peretz captured the party leadership early yesterday with a victory over party stalwart Shimon Peres in a nationwide primary. The takeover of Labor by the Moroccan-born Mr. Peretz was hailed as a watershed moment in Israeli politics.

Mr. Peretz promised to “separate” Labor from Prime Minister Sharon’s government and return to the opposition. He is much more dovish than Mr. Sharon in dealing with the Palestinian Arabs and also has opposed the cuts in social spending by the current government. – Associated Press

EAST ASIA

N. KOREA CRITICIZES U.S. FOR UNDERMINING GOODWILL

BEIJING – North Korea criticized America yesterday for undermining the spirit of cooperation at six-nation talks on the North’s nuclear programs, casting a pall over discussions aimed at persuading the regime to disarm, news reports and the American envoy, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, said.

The North said Washington’s sanctions against firms suspected of weapons proliferation and its accusations that North Korea is counterfeiting American money would block progress in the latest round of talks, the South’s Yonhap news agency reported, citing unnamed officials.

– Associated Press

CHINA REPORTS NEW BIRD FLU OUTBREAKS

BEIJING – China reported two new bird flu outbreaks in poultry yesterday and quarantined 116 people in northeastern Liaoning province, while Kuwait confirmed the first known cases in the Persian Gulf, in an imported peacock and a wild flamingo.

The World Health Organization said it was sending experts to southern China to help investigate whether bird flu killed a 12-year-old girl last month.

China earlier warned that counterfeit vaccines were being sold in Liaoning, raising the possibility that millions of chickens, ducks, and other birds, which farmers think are inoculated, might still be susceptible.

– Associated Press

WESTERN EUROPE

JET FINISHES LONGEST NONSTOP COMMERCIAL FLIGHT

LONDON – A Boeing jet arrived in London from Hong Kong yesterday, breaking the record for the longest nonstop flight by a commercial jet.

The 777-200LR Worldliner – one of Boeing’s newest planes – touched down shortly after 8 a.m. at London’s Heathrow Airport after a journey of more than 13,422 miles. The jet spent 22 hours and 43 minutes in the air.

The previous record was set when a Boeing 747-400 flew 10,500 miles from London to Sydney in 1989.

– Associated Press

AUCTION HOUSE SELLS TOOTH BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN NAPOLEON’S

LONDON – A tooth believed to have been pulled from Napoleon’s mouth was sold yesterday at auction in London for about $22,600.

The tooth, part of a small collection of Napoleon Bonaparte items at the sale, was bought by a private collector from England who asked to remain anonymous, said Chris Albury from Dominic Winter, an auction house in Swindon, southwest England.

– Associated Press