PAREPARE, Indonesia — Rocky seas hindered rescuers today as they searched for nearly 250 people missing and feared dead after a ferry capsized off Indonesia's Sulawesi island.

About 250 passengers and 17 crew were believed to have been aboard the 700-ton Teratai Prima when it sank yesterday as it traveled to Samarinda on the Indonesian half of Borneo island.

At least 22 people were rescued from the sea by fishermen yesterday. The ship had radioed that it was "hit by a storm" before it went down, a port official said.

DEADLY FLOODING STRIKES IN FIJI

SUVA, Fiji — Flooding has left six people dead and sent thousands seeking emergency shelter in Fiji, where more severe rainstorms are expected this week, officials said today.

Six people were killed in the western district of the Pacific nation's main island of Veti Levu, said the acting chief of disaster management, Aisea Qumihajelo.

Four days of torrential rains have flooded several towns and rural villages — forcing more than 6,000 people into emergency shelters, he said.

IRAQI VOTE FOR SPEAKER DELAYED

BAGHDAD — Iraq's parliament delayed a vote on a new speaker yesterday after the main Sunni bloc failed to agree on a candidate and instead descended into bitter infighting that has sharpened sectarian rivalries ahead of key elections this month.

The 275-member legislature convened yesterday for the first time this year to select a replacement for former speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, a Sunni who resigned last month after widespread complaints about his erratic behavior.

MILITANTS, TROOPS CLASH IN PAKISTAN

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Hundreds of militants, many from Afghanistan, attacked a Pakistani paramilitary camp in a lawless northwestern tribal region yesterday, sparking a clash that left six security troops and 40 insurgents dead.

The brazen raid in Moh- mand suggested sophisticated cross-border coordination among Taliban militants nesting in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and underscored the continued strength of the militancy despite an ongoing Pakistani military offensive.

Access to the remote mountain region is severely restricted, making it nearly impossible to independently verify the account of the attack.