Saturday morning roundup

An internal dispute is preventing the Israeli government from agreeing to a settlement freeze, according to French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner. Kouchner said the "central pillars" of the Israeli government didn't agree on how to proceed -- likely a reference to prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman and defense minister Ehud Barak.

Get sick, go to jail? The governor of Egypt's Suez province said yesterday that his government will prosecute anyone who catches bird flu. They'll face the charge of "raising birds" -- which apparently carries fines and/or a jail sentence. Egypt has ordered citizens to destroy thousands of chickens after the most recent bird flu outbreak.

At least four people were killed when a car bomb went off in a market in Kukchali, a mixed Sunni/Shi'a area on the outskirts of Mosul. 40 were wounded, according to Iraqi police. It's at least the fifth attack in Mosul this week. (You can track the violence in Iraq on our interactive map.)

Israeli tourism on the Sinai is drying up. Just 66,000 Israelis have passed through the Taba border crossing this year, according to the Israeli Airports Authority, which manages the crossing. That's half as many as last year -- and less than one-third as many as 2004. Tourism has declined over fears of terrorism on the Sinai, which has seen several high-profile attacks -- in Taba, Sharm al-Shaikh and Dahab -- in the past five years.

Iraq won its first home football match since 2002, defeating the Palestinian team 3-0 in a friendly contest in Irbil. About 25,000 fans packed into Fransou Hariri Stadium to watch; others sat on the roofs of nearby buildings. Iraq's last home game was a 2-1 victory over Syria in 2002.

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