SEOUL - South Korea and Japan temporarily suspended a military exchange programme amid a row over disputed islands. Japanese naval and air force chiefs halted trips to South Korea which had been due to start yesterday. South Korea would also halt similar trips to Japan, officials said. The dispute is over ownership of the South Korean-controlled Dokdo Islands - known as Takeshima in Japanese - in the Sea of Japan, known to Koreans as the East Sea. AFP
SIKAKAP, Indonesia - Police said 53 Sri Lankan asylum seekers were refusing to leave their boat after it ran out of fuel and was towed to a port in western Indonesia. On Sunday, the ship was towed to Mentawai Island off Sumatra after residents reported the Sri Lankans were offering gold and jewellery to obtain food, water and fuel. Another group of 43 Sri Lankans is being held in Mentawai after being rescued last week, nine days after their boat's engine broke down. AP
MANILA - Robbers at a convenience store in Manila shot dead an American executive of an English language training centre. Robert Edward Armstrong was inside the store when four robbers ordered staff and at least three customers into a storage room while they emptied the cash register. Police said 45-year-old Armstrong was shot when he tried to dash out of the store. The wounded American managed to get into his car but one of the robbers shot him again. AP
