Today's Story Line

The hopeful trip of China's leader to Japan ended up being a lesson in Japanese conservatism. China wanted a written apology for Japan's war past, but didn't get it. Tokyo correspondent Cameron Barr tells why. China's insistence may be due to the Communist Party needing to keep memories of its fight against Imperial Japan alive as a way to defend its legitimacy. Quote of note: "German leaders have bowed before victims of the Nazis and asked for forgiveness, but the Japanese have never done anything like that." - senior Chinese official.

First the US wages war against Saddam, then imposes sanctions, and now boosts Iraq's opposition. Will it work?

Our Kurd story shows how ethnic rebellions can quickly spill over borders to create an international crisis.

Coming to America soon: publication of single books of the Bible. We preview the popularity and controversy in Britain over these bite-size scriptures (page 1).

- Clayton Jones, World Editor

pronunciation guide..

* Kurd leader Abdullah Ocalan: ahb-DOO'-lah OH'-jah-lahn

PRESS CLIPS

* why chanel sells well in france: A study by Le Figaro newspaper found fewer than half of French people take a bath or shower every day, and the average French family uses only half as much soap each year as a German or English family. Instead, the French use cosmetics and perfumes to a degree unmatched by any other European nation.

PHOTOGRAPHERS ON THE JOB..

* WHEN A LONG-RANGE LENS HELPS: Staff photographer Robert Harbison worked for a week in steamy Nicaragua, covering the after-effects of hurricane Mitch - without changing his clothes. It wasn't his fault, and certainly not his choice. His luggage had been bumped off his Continental Airlines flight to make room for cargo heading for hurricane victims. Each day, he checked to see if his bag had arrived. No bag. Finally, it arrived and was available on the morning of Nov. 23 - a few hours after he was to fly home to California. Continental at first would not change his flight date. Then it said he could fly him out a week later. After no small amount of angst, Continental finally agreed to let him leave on the next day's flight. He got his bag out of customs, put on clean clothes, and had to quickly check it in for his return flight - hoping it would arrive with him in LA. It did. When he opened the bag at home, his wife wanted to burn the clothes he had worn all week.

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