World in brief

Japan uneasy, but N. Korea talks progress

BEIJING - Japan bristled today at what it said was Chinese insistence that six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program end with an agreement in writing, a day after the North offered to disarm and then quickly condemned the United States for intransigence.

As talks in Beijing convened for a third day, Secretary of State Colin Powell said that meetings so far had displayed a "promising attitude," and diplomats involved in the negotiations did not rule out a fourth day.

Delegates returned to the bargaining table after North Korea put an offer of nuclear disarmament on the bargaining table Thursday, then struck a characteristically tough stance by accusing the United States of blocking progress.

MANILA, Philippines - A passenger ferry carrying more than 850 people between Philippine islands caught fire early today near Manila, sending panicked passengers jumping into the sea. One died and 12 were injured.

Shortly after dawn, more than five hours after the blaze broke out, two loud successive explosions inside the back section of the steel-hulled Superferry 14 were followed by billowing black smoke and walls of flame.

The coast guard said at least 737 people had been rescued and one body recovered.

TALIBAN CALLED FINISHED: Afghan President Hamid Karzai declared Thursday that the Taliban and al-Qaida are no longer effectively operating in Afghanistan, despite such recent assaults as a Wednesday attack that killed five aid workers. "Everything that happens in Afghanistan is not terrorist related," Karzai told reporters during a visit by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

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