DAMASCUS, Syria — Angelina Jolie met with Iraqi refugees in Syria yesterday and urged the world not to forget the plight of those among them who cannot return home because of the trauma they suffered and the country's instability.

Jolie visited Syria in her role as a good will ambassador for the United Nations' refugee agency and was accompanied by her partner, Brad Pitt, the agency said.

Tens of thousands of Iraqi refugees have returned home from Syria and other neighboring countries over the past year, but many more are unable or unwilling to return to a country still shaken by violence.

SUSPECT CHARGED IN LETTERMAN BLACKMAIL

NEW YORK — A CBS newsman who prosecutors said was desperate and deep in debt was charged yesterday with trying to blackmail David Letterman for $2 million in a plot that forced the late-night comic to acknowledge having sex with some of the women who have worked for him.

Robert J. "Joe" Halderman, a producer for the true-crime show "48 Hours Mystery," pleaded not guilty in a Manhattan court as he was arraigned on one count of attempted first-degree grand larceny, punishable by five to 15 years in prison. His connection to Letterman was not immediately clear.

The bizarre case has created a messy legal and professional problem for one of CBS' most valuable personalities, though Letterman's revelations on Thursday's show were an immediate success: His overnight ratings were up 38 percent over the same night a week ago, the Nielsen Co. said.

POLANSKI AGREED TO PAY VICTIM $500,000

LOS ANGELES — Film director Roman Polanski agreed to pay his sexual assault victim $500,000 to settle a lawsuit 15 years after he fled the U.S., according to court documents provided to media outlets yesterday.

The deal between Polanski and the victim, Samantha Geimer, was reached in October 1993. Court records do not indicate if Polanski, now 76, ever paid. The last court filing in August 1996 shows Polanski owed Geimer $604,416.22, including interest.

Polanski pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with Geimer, who was 13 years old in 1977. He fled in 1978 before he was sentenced and is being held in Switzerland after his arrest there last weekend on a fugitive warrant in the case.

JACKSON ADMINISTRATORS GET NEW POWERS

LOS ANGELES — A judge has increased the powers of two men currently administering Michael Jackson's estate in part because of the singer's substantial debts.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff yesterday gave attorney John Branca and music executive John McClain general powers over Jackson's estate, which allow them to consider creditors' claims.

Numerous people have filed claims against the pop singer's estate for unpaid bills. Until yesterday, no one could accept or reject creditors' claims against Jackson, who died with an estimated $400 million in debt.