Regular joggers in Bangkok's Lumpini Park were surprised this morning to see a waving and smiling and vaguely familiar-looking foreigner running round the park with them.

The foreigner in fact was none other than Australian Prime Minister John Howard, who took his morning exercise accommpanied by only a small number of Thai and Australian security guards in Lumpini Park in Bangkok.

Although the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) had originally considered closing the Lumpine park to the public to ensure Mr. Howard's security, it eventually deicded on a 'natural' atmosphere, a testimony to Mr. Howard's confidence in Thai security arrangements for the Apec 2003 summit in Thailand.

Bangkok City Clerk Nathanon Thaweesin said that Mr. Howard had enjoyed his morning run in Lumpini park, and had expressed an intention to go jogging in Lumpini Park on two or three more occasions before the close of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Bangkok Thailand.