MIDDLE EAST

MIDDLE EAST ENVOY SAYS TIME RUNNING OUT FOR GAZA CROSSING DEAL

KARNI CROSSING, Gaza Strip – A top Middle East envoy, James Wolfensohn, warned yesterday that time is running out for Israel and the Palestinian Arabs to wrap up a deal on opening the Gaza Strip’s border crossings, saying it would be a “tragedy” if an agreement was not reached soon. Mr. Wolfensohn met with Israeli and Palestinian Arab officials late yesterday in hopes of breaking the impasse. The meeting ended without an agreement.

– Associated Press

U.S. DIPLOMAT REBUKES IRANIAN LEADER OVER ISRAEL REMARKS

JERUSALEM – Secretary of State Rice gave her strongest rebuke yet yesterday to the hard-line Islamic leadership of Iran. Ms. Rice was referring to President Ahmadinejad’s remark last month that Israel is a “disgraceful blot” that should be “wiped off the map.”

“No civilized nation should have a leader who wishes or hopes or desires or considers it a matter of policy to express that … another country should be pushed into the sea,” Ms. Rice said. “It is unacceptable in the international system.”

– Associated Press

IRAQI DEFENSE MINISTER SLAMS SYRIA FOR EXPORTING TERROR

AMMAN, Jordan – Iraq’s defense minister, Saadoun al-Dulaimi, criticized Syria for letting militants train on Syrian soil and warned yesterday that an escalation of violence in Iraq will spill over into neighboring countries. “Let me tell the Syrians that if the Iraqi volcano explodes, no neighboring capital will be saved,” Mr. al-Dulaimi told the Associated Press.

– Associated Press

PERSIAN GULF

SUNNIS CALL FOR HALT TO MILITARY OPERATIONS; 3 AMERICANS DIE

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Sunni Arab politicians stepped up demands yesterday for an end to American and Iraqi military operations, claiming they threaten Sunni participation in next month’s elections. The American command announced the deaths of three more American troops.

Meanwhile, about 1,100 Iraqi lawyers said they withdrew from Saddam Hussein’s defense team over the slayings of two colleagues representing co-defendants of the ousted leader.

– Associated Press

WESTERN EUROPE

FRENCH POLICE CHIEF OPTIMISTIC THAT RIOTING NEARING END

PARIS – France’s worst rioting since the 1960s seems to be nearing an end, the national police chief said yesterday. In scattered attacks, youths rammed a burning car into a center for retirees in Provence and pelted police with stones in the heart of Lyon, the country’s third biggest city. A firebomb was tossed at a Lyon mosque but did not explode.

The European Commission’s president, Jose Manuel Barroso, proposed that the European Union give $58 million to France for helping riot-hit towns recover. He said the E.U. could make up to $1.2 billion available in longer-term support.

– Associated Press

U.N. NUCLEAR INSPECTOR TO PUSH IRAN TO ACCEPT COMPROMISE

VIENNA, Austria – The head of the U.N. nuclear monitoring agency has thrown his weight behind a proposal that calls for Iran to move its uranium enrichment program to Russia and plans to carry the details with him to Tehran within days, diplomats said yesterday.

The planned trip by the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, is meant to persuade Tehran to accept the initiative aimed at eliminating Iran’s capacity to make fuel for nuclear weapons, despite an initial rejection.

– Associated Press

EAST ASIA

BUSH HEADS TO ASIA

BUSAN, South Korea – President Bush departs today for a seven-day trip to visit enthusiastic allies Japan and Mongolia, along with China and South Korea – who may have differences with Washington but do not want them to disrupt relations. He also will attend the Asia Pacific Economic Conference summit in Busan, where 21 member states are expected to agree to support free-trade talks at the World Trade Organization. About 18,000 people carrying anti-globalization signs peacefully demonstrated in Seoul on Sunday in advance of the APEC summit.

– Associated Press