11.   It launched a series of threatening military exercises near the island over the past year intended to deflate sentiment for Taiwan independence.

12.   Joy and bewilderment filled Escobar and six other Puerto Rican nationalists who came home to this Caribbean island over the weekend.

13.   Puerto Rican coffee, while not a big export, is widely favored on the island over foreign brands.

14.   Some of these showers moved on shore over the islands mainly over St. Thomas, St. John and the north and east coastal plains of Puerto Rico.

15.   Strong high pressure north of the islands will continue to produce strong east winds over the islands especially over the coastal waters.

16.   The reported collisions occurred near a chain of uninhabited islands over which China, Taiwan and Japan claim sovereignty.

17.   The showdown occurred near a chain of uninhabited islands over which China, Taiwan and Japan claim sovereignty.

18.   The showers were associated with a tropical wave and most remained south of islands over the Caribbean waters.

19.   There has been strong local resentment on the Japanese island over the American military presence, partly because of past misbehavior, including rapes, by American military personnel.

20.   The United Nations appealed for dialogue Wednesday to ease tensions that have risen sharply on the divided island over the past six months.