Japan hit hard by quake
TOKYO, March 24 (UPI) -- Strong earthquakes hit minutes apart in the Pacific Sunday, one off Japan's largest island, Honshu, and two in the archipelago nation of Vanuatu.
One person was killed and at least 137 were injured in Japan, which was rattled by more than 50 noticeable aftershocks, Kyodo News Service reported. A 52-year-old woman died when a stone lantern fell on her in her garden in Wajima.
Hundreds of houses were destroyed or damaged in Wajima, causing the evacuation of more than 1,000 people. Train service was suspended, highways were blocked and electricity and water were cut in parts of the stricken region. The Noto airport also was closed.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ordered the government "to work toward securing the citizens' safety and take all possible measures to rescue them."
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage in the Vanuatu region.
The Japanese quake registered 6.9 on the Richter scale and the bigger of the Vanuatu quakes hit a magnitude of 7.2.
Mark Leonard from Geoscience Australia told the Australian Broadcasting Corp., the second temblor that rocked quake-prone Vanuatu was "the biggest earthquake down in that southern area of Vanuatu for some years."
Moscow nightclub fire claims 10 lives
MOSCOW, March 25 (UPI) -- At least 10 people died in a fire at a Moscow nightclub early Sunday and authorities said the death toll could rise as crews searched the rubble.
About 150 people were in the Lenkom Theater when the blaze broke out, RIA Novosti reported.
Most of the dead suffered carbon monoxide poisoning and four people were hospitalized with smoke-related injuries, a Moscow emergency ministry spokesman said.
"The bodies of the dead persons were found during the effort to put out the fire. Their identity is being established," ministry spokesman Yevgeny Bobylev told the Russian news agency.
He said more bodies may be found as debris is cleared from the central Moscow site. Arson is being investigated as one of the possible causes of the blaze, he said.
Mao's son dies
BEIJING, March 25 (UPI) -- Mao Anqing, the only surviving son of the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong, has died in Beijing at the age of 84, Xinhua reported Sunday.
A mourning hall was in place in Beijing for Mao Anqing, who died Friday of an undisclosed cause.
Born in 1923 in central China's Hunan Province, Mao Anqing was sent to Shanghai with his two brothers after their mother, Yang Kaihui, was killed in 1930 by a rival warlord.
He traveled to Moscow in 1936 for schooling and returned to China in 1947 to work as a Russian translator for the government. He translated dozens of works on Marxism, Leninism and other political science topics, Xinhua said.
His father, Mao Zedong, led the communist takeover of China in 1949 and led the nation with an iron fist until his death in 1976.
Colo. immigrant groups plan boycott
DENVER, March 25 (UPI) -- Immigrant advocates in Colorado are organizing a one-week spending boycott to demonstrate what a major part immigrants play in the economy.
The Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition has asked illegal immigrants to buy only the absolute necessities, like food and medicine, starting Sunday, the Denver Post reported.
"The economic boycott will illustrate the need for immigration reform and that without immigrants, both documented or undocumented, our state could not survive," said Julien Ross, the coalition coordinator. "We can no longer take for granted immigrants and their contributions."
Some local businesses have agreed to support the boycott. But Jeff Campos, president of the Denver Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, believes the boycott is not helpful, although the group supports immigration reform that would give some illegal entrants the right to remain in the United States.
Others are totally unsympathetic.
"If the illegal immigrants don't want to spend money here, I do believe they should go home and spend all they want in their home country," said Robert Brown, a Denver lawyer.
