■ Malaysia
Robbers fool guards
Robbers distracted three Malaysian security guards by throwing a handful of bank notes on the ground, then ran off with a bag of cash containing 1 million ringgit (US$263,000), police said. The guards had picked up the bag of cash from a bank in the mall and had placed it on the floor as they waited for an elevator to take them back to their security van, assistant police commissioner Hadi Ho Abdullah said. As they waited, a group of men approached and one dropped a wad of notes on the floor. "They saw several 1 ringgit notes strewn on the floor and went to pick them up, thinking they were from the bag," Hadi was quoted as saying. "They turned around and found the bag containing the 1 million ringgit missing."
■ Japan
Naval operation extended
Japan's Cabinet approved a plan yesterday to extend by six months a naval operation to provide non-combat support for the US-led military mission in Afghanistan. The operation was extended to Nov. 1, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said. Two destroyers and a single support vessel from the Maritime Self-Defense Force will be sent to the Arabian Sea through Nov. 1 to replace three destroyers and two support vessels that are returning to Japan on May 1. The contingent will be scaled down because the US coalition's refueling needs have decreased, officials say.
■ Thailand
Murder, arson in south
A village leader was shot dead and around 50 structures including schools were set ablaze as fresh violence erupted in Thailand's troubled south, officials said yesterday. A 40-year-old village chief in Narathiwat province's Si Sakhon district was shot dead Thursday by unknown assailants, police said, as authorities detained at least 10 youths for the arson attacks in Narathiwat and neighboring Yala.
■ Japan
Protester rams consulate
A member of a Japanese right-wing group rammed a bus into the Chinese consulate in Osaka yesterday, protesting China's claims to an island chain at the heart of a territorial row between Beijing and Tokyo. Television footage showed that a white bus with the Japanese flag painted on its side -- a type of vehicle typically used by right-wingers to stage demonstrations -- had crashed into the gates of the consulate. Police said a fire had broken out near the driver's seat but was put out shortly.
■ Haiti
Rebel leader surrenders
Rebel commander Louis-Jodel Chamblain surrendered on Thursday in expectation of a new trial on several murder charges, calling himself a hero for liberating Haitians and denying he was pressed by a US-backed interim government criticized for forming alliances with known criminals. His surrender occurred as an international donor conference opened and interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue made overtures to the 15-nation Caribbean Community, which has refused to recognize his government.
■ Nigeria
Ethnic violence threatened
Rival militias threatened Thursday to escalate a simmering ethnic conflict in Nigeria's oil delta, where 10 adults and children were shot dead in an attack on a boatload of market traders. A Nigerian military spokesman said Itsekiri militants were believed responsible for the Tuesday evening attack on a boat traveling from the oil city of Warri to the village of Burutu. Passengers were mainly ethnic Ijaw and Urhobo market vendors. Ten civilians were killed and four were hospitalized with gunshot wounds. Itsekiri National Youth Council spokesman Matthew Tsekure denied his supporters were responsible.
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