Accord reportedly reached on Jerico

Jerusalem A Palestinian negotiator said today that he has reached an agreement with Israel on the hand-over of the West Bank town of Jericho to Palestinian control after resolving a last-minute dispute over the size of the pullback and over roadblocks.

An Israeli official said negotiations were continuing.

Israel has agreed in principle to hand Jericho to Palestinian control, but the two sides have been at odds over the size of the area from which troops would withdraw.

The Palestinians want Israel to hand over Jericho and the adjacent Bedouin village of Al Awja, and to remove the main army checkpoint at the entrance to Jericho.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, who met with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s aide Dov Weisglass late Monday, said Israel agreed to hand over Al Awja and remove the main checkpoint. He said security commanders were meeting today to work out the details.

Fire in mosque kills at least 59 people

Tehran, Iran A fire raged through a crowded mosque in Tehran during evening prayers Monday after a female worshipper’s veil caught the flames of a kerosene heater, killing at least 59 people and injuring more than 250, Iran’s official media reported.

The Arg Mosque was filled with about 400 worshippers, more crowded than usual because this is the Islamic month of Muharram, a holy period for Shiite Muslims, and heaters were being used because of severe winter weather.

Panicked people raced for the doors and smashed windows to escape the blaze. Hospital records showed that 40 of those killed and the majority of those injured were women.

Latin America flooding leaves at least 86 dead

Tovar, Venezuela Rivers of mud, rocks and uprooted trees left scarred landscapes Monday after devastating floods and landslides across Venezuela and Colombia killed at least 86 people.

At least 53 Venezuelans have been killed in a week of floods and landslides that have destroyed the homes of more than 21,000 people from the Caribbean coast to the southwestern mountains, officials said.

At least 33 were reported killed in neighboring Colombia and some 25,000 people were forced from their homes.

Several victims floated for miles down the Mocoties River, firefighters said.

At least 50 people were listed as missing, but the actual number could be much higher, officials said.