YANGON - U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell concluded a rare two-day "exploratory" visit to Myanmar on Wednesday and said the U.S. government is willing to improve ties with Myanmar junta.

Campbell said in a statement that in meetings with the government, including Prime Minister Gen. Thein Sein, "we stated clearly that the United States is prepared to take steps to improve the relationship."

---------- Telephone subscribers in India exceed half a billion

NEW DELHI - The number of telephone subscribers in India has crossed the 500 million mark, the Telephone Regulatory Authority of India, which controls all telecommunications-related activities in India, said Wednesday.

TRAI said it had set a target to achieve 500 million subscribers by the end of 2010, but it crossed the target at the end of September, 15 months ahead of target.

---------- Suspect in murder of British woman had face-lift in Nagoya

CHIBA, Japan - A fugitive suspect in the 2007 murder of a British woman had cosmetic surgery at a clinic in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture last month, investigative sources said Wednesday.

The Oct. 24 surgery is the first solid information in the ongoing hunt for Tatsuya Ichihashi, 30, who is wanted in connection with the murder of Lindsay Hawker, 22, a language teacher whose body was found at his apartment in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, since March 2007.

---------- 16-yr-old boy in grave condition after being hit by arrow between eyes

TOKYO - A 16-year-old boy practicing archery at a public hall in Tokyo's Meguro Ward was struck between the eyebrows Wednesday by an arrow shot by a 17-year-old boy from the same high school archery club, and is in serious condition, police said.

The accident occurred around 4:45 p.m. when the two students at the private high school were practicing archery alone. The student who shot the 70-centimeter carbon arrow made an emergency call for an ambulance, the Metropolitan Police Department's Meguro police station said.

---------- Australia, NZ expel Fijian diplomats in tit-for-tat

SYDNEY - Australia and New Zealand both expelled Fiji's top diplomats from their capitals Wednesday in retaliation for Fiji military ruler Frank Bainimarama's expulsion of the two countries' top representatives in his Pacific island nation.

Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said Fiji's acting high commissioner in Canberra was declared persona non grata and was told to leave Australia within 24 hours.