EAST ASIA

23 DEAD IN EARTHQUAKES IN JAPAN

OJIYA, Japan – Tens of thousands of Japanese huddled in emergency shelters yesterday after a series of earthquakes in northern Japan flattened homes, toppled bridges, and derailed trains, killing at least 23 people and injuring as many as 2,000. Eight people were believed missing. A 6.8-magnitude quake rocked the largely rural Niigata prefecture Saturday evening, rattling buildings as far away as the Japanese capital. Several strong quakes followed through the night, and aftershocks continued to jolt the area yesterday. The Japanese government said 23 people were killed and 1,217 were injured, while public broadcaster NHK, citing hospital data, said 23 people were killed and more than 2,000 were injured. Early today, a 5.6-magnitude aftershock hit the region, jolting survivors huddled in makeshift emergency shelters. It hit near Ojiya, the epicenter of Saturday’s temblor. No damage or injuries were immediately reported.

– Associated Press

POWELL SPURNS N. KOREAN BID FOR CONDITIONS ON TALKS

TOKYO – Calling it a matter of urgency, Secretary of State Powell said yesterday North Korea should resume participation in nuclear disarmament talks and set aside its concerns about new “hostile acts” by America against the communist government.

Speaking at a news conference, Mr. Powell also gave assurances that President Bush seeks a peaceful solution to the long-running impasse over North Korea’s nuclear weapons programs. “We still have time,” Mr. Powell said, alluding to the stalled six-party negotiating effort. Mr. Powell was flanked by Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura at a news conference. He also had a half hour meeting with Prime Minister Koizumi, a valued American ally for his support for administration policies in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. Mr. Powell was to travel to China last night and then visit South Korea.

– Associated Press

CENTRAL ASIA

SOYUZ CAPSULE LANDS

ARKALYK, Kazakhstan – A Russian-American crew returned to Earth from the international space station yesterday in a pinpoint landing on the Kazak steppe, and NASA’s chief said America wanted to continue the joint relationship on future missions to Mars.

Russian rockets and the nonreusable Soyuz space craft have been the only way NASA can get to the space station and back since the American shuttle fleet was grounded after the Columbia burned up on re-entry in February 2003, killing all seven astronauts aboard. The bell-shaped Soyuz TMA-4, carrying Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Yuri Shargin and American astronaut Mike Fincke, parachuted down to the landing site, some 55 miles north of the Kazakh town of Arkalyk, at 4:36 a.m. (8:36 p.m. EDT Saturday).

– Associated Press

WESTERN EUROPE

PLANNED ANTI-SEMITISM CAMPAIGN DEEMED TOO SHOCKING

PARIS – A Jewish group said yesterday it plans to “modify” its publicity campaign to fight anti-Semitism that showed an image of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary with the slur “Dirty Jew” scrawled across it to mimic graffiti after it drew negative reactions. “Faced with the reactions to this campaign against anti-Semitism, the Union of Jewish Students of France has decided to modify the visuals,” the group said in a statement. The advertisements were due to be published in French newspapers this week. Last week newspapers ran articles previewing the ads, which were designed to shock and draw attention to France’s ongoing battle against anti-Semitism. “We have to accept that something strong is needed today to fight against anti-Semitism,” said the group’s president, Yonathan Arfi. “And we thought these advertisements were good. We thought they were strong.” Mr. Arfi said that “reaction came from everywhere” and eclipsed the goal of the campaign, which was not to spark anger or show disrespect for Catholicism.

– Associated Press

CARIBBEAN

POLICE MOVE INTO INSURGENT-RUN AREA OF HAITI

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Using armored cars and earth movers, U.N. peacekeepers and Haitian police moved into an area early yesterday controlled by insurgents loyal to ousted President Aristide, protecting workers removing burned out cars used as road blocks.

One police officer was shot and killed, said Brazilian Colonel Luiz-Felipe Carbonell, apparently in early resistance that ended when scores of troops moved in. The chant of hymns wafted from church services and a U.N. helicopter roared overhead as the operation got under way in Bel Air, an area of concrete homes on a hill overlooking the National Palace. Dozens of Brazilian troops and police arrived two days after the government said it would root out gangs that have blockaded areas of certain neighborhoods.

On Friday, interim President Alexandre called the gangs “terrorists” and urged people in several troubled neighborhoods to cooperate with authorities to “expel these bandits.”

– Associated Press