Advertisements promoting Japanese condoms have been removed from Korean underground trains amid a rekindled territorial dispute.

Dokdo is the Korean name for islets known as Takeshima in Japan. Both Korea and Japan say they have a historical claim to the islands, and the issue has been a persistent irritant in relations.This week Korea recalled its ambassador to Tokyo after new teachers' guidelines produced in Japan reaffirmed the claim to ownership.

Now it has emerged that about 200 ads for Japanese condoms - bearing the strapline "No. 1 in Japan" - have been taken down from Korean trains.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7511065.stm

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Mitt Romney, whose prospects of becoming John McCain's running mate appear on the rise, is preparing to formally declare he will not seek donations to repay $45 million in personal loans he made to his failed presidential bid - the biggest ever made by a candidate in a primary campaign.

The move could clear away the last remnants of a divisive primary race, ensuring that he and his financial supporters are focused on helping McCain, but it could also put him at odds with McCain's campaign reform message.

Source: http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/articles/2008/07/17/romney_not_getting_his_45m_back/

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FRANTIC police smashed a window to rescue a seemingly unconscious baby from a locked vehicle in Queensland last week only to find it was an extremely lifelike doll.

The embarrassing mistake, made in regional Gympie, is not an isolated incident and passionate creator of the "reborn" baby dolls Vynette Cernik knows just how easily they can be mistaken for the real thing.

Selling for up to $1000, the painstakingly hand-painted dolls were so lifelike with eyelashes, fingernails, milk spots and wispy hair that they were constantly fooling people, Ms Cernik said.

Source: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24019578-1248,00.html