Canada sends army to combat pandemic in Ontario, Quebec

OTTAWA, Canada — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday the army would be sent in to help Ontario and Quebec provinces combat coronavirus outbreaks at long-term care facilities hardest-hit by the pandemic.

"There have been requests for military assistance by both Ontario and Quebec which, of course, we will be answering," Trudeau told a daily briefing.


"Our women and men in uniform will step up with the valour and courage they've always shown."

Quebec asked for 1,000 troops in addition to 130 military doctors and medics previously requested, to help overwhelmed staff at elderly care homes.

Ontario has asked for an unspecified number of soldiers to be deployed at five of its most affected care homes.

Seventy to 80 percent of all COVID-19 deaths in the two provinces were at long-term care homes, with the number of fatalities at the homes surpassing 1,000 in Quebec and 500 in Ontario.

Trudeau said the Canadian military "will be there with support so that provinces can get control of the situation."

"But this is not a long-term solution," he added. "In Canada, we shouldn't have soldiers taking care of seniors."

"Going forward in the weeks and months to come, we will all have to ask tough questions about how it came to this," he commented.

"I think the system needs to be changed, and we are (going to be) changing the system," Ontario Premier Doug Ford told reporters.

"But right now, our main focus is to make sure we protect the people inside these long-term care homes," he said

Quebec had tried to recruit 2,000 new staff for its long-term care facilities in recent weeks to ease the workload for existing staff, but few applied.

Even with a salary top-up from the government, the jobs are relatively low-paying.

One of the worst cases in Montreal, where 31 elderly residents died after their caregivers fled the Herron nursing home, leaving them to fend for themselves, provoked a public outcry.

Another in Laval, north of Montreal, has recorded 69 COVID-19 deaths.

Quebec Premier Francois Legault lamented on Thursday that 9,500 healthcare and senior care workers in the province had not shown up for work this week; 4,000 are under quarantine or are being treated for the virus, while 5,500 feared exposure.

"This isn't a normal situation," he said. "This is a crisis and we need more hands."

As of 1800 GMT Thursday, there were 41,752 coronavirus cases in Canada, including 2,199 deaths.

Agence France-Presse

Poland marks Army Day with parade, call for US military base

WARSAW — Poland's president voiced hope for a permanent US military presence in his country, in a speech as the nation put on a large military parade on its Armed Forces Day holiday yesterday replete with tanks and people marching in historic uniforms.

Poland is fearful of Russia's renewed aggression, and President Andrzej Duda said that a permanent presence by the US Army would "scare away every potential attacker."

The US military, on its own and as part of a NATO effort, began rotating troops in and out of Poland and other nervous countries on NATO's eastern flank, including Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, after Russia's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014.

Poland has recently been lobbying for a permanent US base and more American forces. There hasn't yet been a response on whether Washington will agree to a move that would be expensive and sure to infuriate Moscow.

Some of the American troops currently in Poland also marched in the parade, US flags held high. Poland considers the US its key protector, with some doubts about whether Europe's NATO members really would ever come to its defense.


Duda said if the economy allows, he also wants Poland to increase its own defense spending to 2.5 percent of GDP, above the current 2 percent NATO target, which Poland already meets.

The parade is part of a national holiday observed every Aug. 15 that celebrates Poland's defeat of Russian Bolsheviks in 1920 near Warsaw — celebrated as a near-miraculous victory for a country that has seen more than its share of defeat and occupation in past centuries.

"We won. Yes, we won. We Poles won," Duda said. "Today we look with pride at those times."

This year's event was especially large and colorful to mark the centenary of Poland regaining its independence in 1918 after having been swallowed up for 123 years by Russia, Prussia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

There was a show of military might by the armed forces, while hundreds of members of historical reconstruction groups also paraded in historic uniforms, including from the Middle Ages, the Napoleonic era and the 20th century.

source: philstar.com

Surrounded by military leaders, Trump talks of ‘calm before the storm’

WASHINGTON — After discussing Iran and North Korea with U.S. military leaders on Thursday, President Donald Trump posed for a photo with them before dinner and declared the moment “the calm before the storm.”

“You guys know what this represents?” Trump said after journalists gathered in the White House state dining room to photograph him and first lady Melania Trump with the uniformed military leaders and their spouses. 




“Maybe it’s the calm before the storm,” he said.

What storm?

“You’ll find out,” Trump told questioning reporters.

Classical music played in the background and tables were set in the nearby Blue Room for a fancy meal.

The White House did not immediately reply to a request to clarify Trump’s remark.

Earlier in the evening, while seated with the top defense officials in the cabinet room, Trump talked about the threat from North Korea and preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.

“In North Korea, our goal is denuclearization,” he said. “We cannot allow this dictatorship to threaten our nation or our allies with unimaginable loss of life. We will do what we must do to prevent that from happening. And it will be done, if necessary, believe me.”

During his speech to the United Nations General Assembly last month, Trump said the United States would “totally destroy” North Korea if needed to defend itself or U.S. allies.

The president on Thursday also had tough words for Iran, saying the country had not lived up to the spirit of an agreement forged with world powers to curb its nuclear program.

A senior administration official said on Thursday

that Trump was expected to announce soon he would decertify the landmark agreement.

Trump has filled top posts within his administration with military generals, including his chief of staff, retired General John Kelly, and national security adviser, Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster. McMaster, who normally dresses in civilian clothes at the White House, wore his uniform for the meeting.

Without being specific, Trump pressed the leaders to be faster at providing him with “military options” when needed.

“Moving forward, I also expect you to provide me with a broad range of military options, when needed, at a much faster pace. I know that government bureaucracy is slow, but I am depending on you to overcome the obstacles of bureaucracy,” he said during their cabinet room meeting.

source: interaksyon.com

South Korea ‘will block war by all means’ – president

SEOUL — South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in said on Tuesday there will be no military action upon the Korean peninsula without Seoul’s consent and that the government would prevent war by all means.

“Military action on the Korean peninsula can only be decided by South Korea and no one else can decide to take military action without the consent of South Korea,” said Moon in televised comments.

The president was making an annual speech to commemorate the 72nd anniversary of the nation’s liberation from Japanese military rule that began in 1910 and ended in 1945.

“The government, putting everything on the line, will block war by all means,” Moon said.

Previous presidents before Moon, who took office in May, have traditionally made North Korea the core of their speeches, mainly focusing on policy to engage Pyongyang.

Moon also urged the North to come to the dialogue table, saying sanctions against Pyongyang aim only draw it out to talks.

“I call upon the North Korean government: without international cooperation and co-existence economic development is impossible,” said Moon. “If you continue on this path there will only be international isolation and a dark future.”

Tension on the Korean peninsula has increased in recent months over concern that North Korea is close to achieving its goal of putting the mainland United States within range of a nuclear weapon.

North Korea and the United States exchanged threats of military action last week, with Pyongyang saying it will develop a plan to fire missiles to land in waters near the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam.

Earlier on Tuesday, North Korea said it would keep fire-ready regarding its Guam plans while watching the actions of the United States for a while longer.

source: interaksyon.com

First woman tapped for dean at West Point

WASHINGTON DC - US President Barack Obama has nominated a woman to become the United States Military Academy's first female dean in its 216-year history.

He named Cindy Jebb, a graduate of the prestigious institution -- also known as West Point -- who currently heads its Social Sciences department, the school said in a statement Friday.

The nomination requires confirmation by the Senate.

"This is a historic time for our military and I'm excited for West Point to have its first woman has to hold this position," said Acting Secretary of the Army Patrick Murphy.

If approved, Jebb will be promoted to brigadier general.

"She's revered amongst the faculty and cadets and we're lucky to have her," said West Point's superintendent, Lieutenant General Robert Caslen.

In January, another woman, Brigadier General Diana Holland, became the first female commandant of West Point's Corps of Cadets.

Women play an increasingly important role in the US military, making up around 15 percent of personnel.

The Pentagon last year opened all combat positions to women, including elite special operations units.

In March, Obama nominated Air Force General Lori Robinson to be the first woman to head a major US combatant command as head of the US Northern Command (NORTHCOM), responsible for the defense of the US "homeland."

source: interaksyon.com

Spain searches for military helicopter crew after Atlantic crash

MADRID, Spain - Spain's defence ministry was Saturday searching for three crew members of a military helicopter that crashed in the Atlantic off the Canary Islands after initially reporting that they had been rescued by a Moroccan patrol boat.

"The people are missing, we do not know in what circumstances they disappeared. We have not been able to reach the cabin" of the helicopter, Defence Minister Pedro Morenes said late on Friday after meeting family members of the disappeared on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria.

"We can't lose hope but we are working on all possibilities," he added at a press conference at the Gando air base.

The governments of Spain and Morocco "were deploying all means" needed to help in the search, the defence ministry said in a Twitter message.

The helicopter went down Thursday, about 280 nautical miles (519 kilometres) from Gando, its destination on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria, the defence ministry said in a statement at the time.

It had set off from Mauritania after refuelling there following two weeks of military exercises in Senegal.

The defence ministry said on Twitter later Thursday that a Moroccan rescue helicopter sent to the scene spotted the aircraft floating and saw flares fired from a life raft before the patrol boat picked the crew up and took them to Dakhla, a town in Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara.

The minister said the defence ministry had originally been told by Moroccan authorities that the three crew members had been found but that the information turned out to be wrong.

"Yesterday we were officially informed that they were rescued by a fishing boat that would arrive at around 4 am at Dakhla but the boat did not appear," Francisco Ojeda, father of one of the missing crew members, told Spanish public radio.

"After we were told they might be on a kayack that was adrift," he added.

The defence ministry did not say what may have caused the helicopter to go down.

source: interaksyon.com

US Defense Secretary Hagel resigns

WASHINGTON DC - United States President Barack Obama on Monday announced the resignation of Chuck Hagel as the country's defense secretary, making the first change to his cabinet after the Democrats' heavy losses in both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections early this month.

During a statement delivered at the White House, Obama said Hagel concluded that now was an "appropriate time for him to complete his service."

The president also praised Hagel as an "exemplary defense secretary," commending Hagel for his "steady hand" through a period of transition for the US military.

Hagel, a 68-year-old Republican who took office in February 2013, said in a statement following Obama's announcement that he would stay on the job until his successor is nominated and confirmed by the Senate.

Analysts reckon that Obama's decision on Hagel's removal appears to be an effort by the White House to show that it is sensitive to critics who have pointed to stumbles in the government's response to several national security issues, including the Ebola crisis and the threat posed by the Islamic State.

source: interaksyon.com

Transgender troops seek end to US military taboo

WASHINGTON DC - For Donna Harding, joining the Australian army was a bid to try to suppress what she had known from an early age -- she was a girl trapped in a boy's body.



"It's quite a common pathway for people who are gender conflicted, trying to fix what we see is wrong with us, and see the military as the way of doing that," Major Harding said.

She was speaking at an unprecedented gathering of transgender troops from foreign armies in Washington, sharing their experiences in the hopes of persuading the Pentagon and the US administration to break perhaps the last taboo -- openly integrating members of their community into the military's ranks.

Eighteen countries around the world expressly allow transgender personnel to serve, including major US allies like Australia, Britain, Canada, Sweden, and New Zealand.

But in the United States, despite the 2011 repeal of the divisive "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law, which banned gays from serving openly, there is little talk of extending the same rights to transgender people.

There are an estimated 15,500 transgender people believed to be serving in the US armed forces, but, under the current rules, if they are discovered the military is required to dismiss them.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said earlier this year he was open to reconsidering the current ban. But as yet no review is underway, and any move to incorporate transgender people openly into the ranks is likely to stir controversy.

Harding joined the Australian reserve forces in 2000 before entering the regular army in 2004. She said she had "lived under the constant anxiety and fear that someone would find out my secret."

"I've lost count of the number of times it would have been so easy to drive into that oncoming truck," Harding told the audience at the event organized by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), noting that 80 percent of transgender people have contemplated suicide, and some 40 percent have tried it.

Now after transitioning to become a woman, Harding works with the Royal Australian Nursing Corps and says that being "open and authentic is the key to being able to perform your job."

Major Alexandra Larsson, an intelligence officer with the Swedish Air Force, insisted she had been very lucky to receive good support once she plucked up the courage to become a woman, saying she has "the best job in the world."

"The problem today is that it depends on who you are and where you are. And it shouldn't be like that. Everybody should have the same opportunity ... but hopefully people can look at me and say at least 'for her it was possible.'"

Being true to yourself

Key to ensuring that transgender people can be embraced by the army is education, and working so those who undertake the difficult decision can do so with dignity and security.

There is little to suggest that including them has any effect on a military's operational effectiveness.

"Without doubt, the more mature our inclusive policies become, the better our operational delivery becomes, because we have got people who are being themselves, they are being authentic in the workplace, without having to have personal challenges alongside that," said Squadron Leader Sarah Maskell, who promotes equality and diversity in the British Royal Air Force.

Issues such as sharing showers or medical costs and care should be relatively easy to deal with by applying some common sense, the panelists argued.

Sergeant Lucy Jordan, the first person in the New Zealand Defense Forces to become a woman while serving, praised the support she had been given by her commanding officers.

"What my organization gave me, and what we are doing here, is primarily about investing in the most important thing that an organization has: its people."

source: interaksyon.com

Obama sends 3,000 troops to W. Africa to 'turn tide' on Ebola

WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama will try to "turn the tide" on the Ebola epidemic Tuesday by ordering 3,000 US military personnel to west Africa to curtail its spread as China also dispatched more experts to the region.

The White House said Obama will travel to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta -- where US Ebola victims were treated -- to make the announcement, meant to spur a global effort to tackle the outbreak that has already killed 2,400 people.

It comes as alarm grows that the worst-ever Ebola epidemic which spread through Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea before reaching Nigeria, is out of control. A separate strain of the disease has appeared in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Most of the US effort, which will draw heavily on its military medical corps, will be concentrated in impoverished Liberia -- the worst hit nation -- with plans to build 17 Ebola treatment centres with 100 beds in each.

China is also sending more medics to neighbouring Sierra Leone to help boost laboratory testing for the virus, raising the total number of Chinese medical experts there to 174, the UN said Tuesday.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday it was reconvening its emergency committee in Geneva which declared the outbreak an international health emergency in August, to consider further measures to limit its spread.

Obama will announce that US Africa Command will set up a headquarters in the Sierra Leone capital Monrovia to act as a command and control centre for US military and international relief programmes.

But the main element of the push is a six-month training and hygiene drive to tackle the disease head-on.

US advisors will train up to 500 Liberian health care providers per week in how to safely handle and treat victims and their families in a bid to shore up the country's overwhelmed health infrastructure.

The intervention will involve an estimated 3,000 US military personnel, senior officials said, many working at a staging base for transit of equipment and personnel.

Washington will also send 65 experts from the public health service corps to Liberia to manage and staff a previously announced US military hospital to care for health workers who become sick with Ebola.

Ebola prevention kits, including disinfectant and advice, will also be supplied to 400,000 of the most vulnerable families in Liberia.

"What is clear is in order to combat and contain the outbreak at its source, we need to partner and lead an international response," said one senior US official, on condition of anonymity.

China said it is sending a mobile laboratory team to Sierra Leone, where more than 500 people have died so far from Ebola. The 59-person team from the Chinese Centre for Disease Control will include epidemiologists, clinicians and nurses, the WHO said.

"The newly announced team will join 115 Chinese medical staff on the ground in Sierra Leone virtually since the beginning," the agency's chief Margaret Chan said, hailing the new commitment as "a huge boost, morally and operationally".

Liberian Red Cross health workers wearing protective suits carry the body of a victim of the Ebola virus on September 12, 2014 in a district of Monrovia. AFP

source: interaksyon.com

US not seeking permanent bases in PH, says defense chief Hagel

The United States "does not seek permanent bases in the Philippines," visiting US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Friday, following a courtesy call on President Benigno Aquino III in Malacanang.

Permanent basing "represents a return to an outdated Cold War" mentality and is not suited to the new, and evolving challenges to security and cooperation in the region, explained Hagel, who is visiting Manila as part of a Southeast Asian swing after attending the ASEAN defense chiefs' meeting in Brunei.

Instead of permanent basing, "we are using a new model of military-to-military cooperation befitting great allies and friends, and looking to increase our rotational presence here, as we have done recently in Singapore and Australia," added Hagel.

He said such an arrangement "would benefit both our militaries by increasing our ability to train and operate together. Deepening engagement opportunities between our forces will further support President Aquino’s defense modernization agenda."

The US and the Philippines are confident of stronger military cooperation, said both sides in a joint press briefing by Hagel and Philippine Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin. "The deep and unbreakable alliance between the United States and Philippines is an anchor for peace and stability and prosperity in this region," said the US defense chief.

Hagel explained that "as the US re-balance to the Asia Pacific makes clear, this region is very important to America’s economic, strategic, and security interests both now and the years to come. So I look forward to continuing our engagement in the region."

"As much as I know, President Obama is looking forward to his upcoming visit" to the region, added Hagel.

They described their talks as "productive" as they tackled ongoing discussions on a framework agreement on increased US rotational presence in the Philippines.

Finally, Hagel said he discussed with President Aquino, and meant to discuss with the ministers, the situation in the South China Sea. He said the US and its allies, partners and friends in this part of the world hope this "will be resolved peacefully and without coercion."

He affirmed US support for ASEAN efforts to negotiate the South China Sea Code of Conduct, "which will help peacefully manage disagreements and tensions arising from competing territorial and maritime claims." He also praised the "Philippines’ efforts to solve its dispute through peaceful means."

For the full text of the opening statements of Secretaries Hagel and Gazmin, pls click here.

source: interaksyon.com

Pentagon creates new medal for cyber, drone warriors

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon unveiled a new medal on Wednesday to honor “extraordinary” troops who launch cyber attacks or drone strikes from their consoles, even if they do not risk their lives in combat.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, announcing the new “Distinguished Warfare Medal,” said it was time to recognize those who play a crucial role in modern warfare with hi-tech weapons far from the frontline.

“Our military reserves its highest decorations obviously for those who display gallantry and valor in actions where their lives are on the line, and we will continue to do so,” Panetta told a Pentagon news conference.

“But we should also have the ability to honor the extraordinary actions that make a true difference in combat operations.”

He said operators of unmanned, robotic aircraft and cyber weapons “contribute to the success of combat operations, particularly when they remove the enemy from the field of battle, even if those actions are physically removed from the fight.”

The medal reflects a new age of warfare that emerged over the past decade featuring robotic weapons and digital combat.

Predator and Reaper drones armed with Hellfire missiles and bombs have been used to kill insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan and by the CIA to go after suspected Al-Qaeda militants in Pakistan, Yemen and elsewhere. Other robotic aircraft, including the stealthy RQ-170 Sentinel and larger Global Hawks, are used to spy on adversaries from the sky without putting pilots in harm’s way.

The military also views cyberspace as a new battlefield and has created a new command dedicated to digital warfare, recruiting and training new “cyber warriors.”

The power of digital weapons was driven home by a cyber attack that reportedly disrupted Iran’s uranium facilities in 2009-2010, which the New York Times said was carried out by US and Israel spy agencies.

The medal is designed as a brass pendant medal, nearly two inches tall, that will carry a laurel wreath encircling a globe with a Defense Department eagle at its center, attached to a red, white and blue striped ribbon.

The medal will only be given to troops for their role in operations that took place after the attacks of September 11, 2001 but, unlike other military medals, will not require that the soldier performed a courageous physical act that put his or her life in danger.

The new medal will be ranked higher than the Bronze Star, the fourth highest combat decoration, but lower than the Silver Star, officials said.

source: interaksyon.com

How the US shapes its military’s big screen image

WASHINGTON – The CIA and the Pentagon pulled out all the stops for the creators of “Zero Dark Thirty,” staging interviews with officials and a Navy SEAL for an inside account of the hunt for Osama bin Laden.

Critics praised the movie’s gritty and gripping feel but, with the film due for release in major European markets this week, controversy has erupted over claims that it justifies US agents’ use of torture on detainees.

The access granted to director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal has turned the Oscar-nominated movie into the most detailed public account that exists of the May 2011 raid on a Pakistani compound to kill Bin Laden.

Nate Jones of the National Security Archives research institute dubbed it “the closest thing to the official story behind the pursuit of bin Laden.”

Bigelow has been forced to release a statement denying widespread allegations that the film set out to justify or sanitize the “enhanced interrogation techniques” employed during the so-called ‘war on terror’.

Although the assistance offered to the “Zero Dark Thirty” crew sparked accusations that the White House used the movie as a propaganda tool, cooperation between Hollywood and the Pentagon or CIA is nothing new.

The first film ever to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards, “Wings” in 1929, featured dogfight scenes with bi-planes thanks to help from the army.

It was the beginning of a relationship that has grown over decades.

The film industry covets access to hardware and expertise that only the armed forces can provide, while in return, defense officials want to burnish the military’s image on the big screen.

The Pentagon’s criteria for justifying cooperation on any film or television project is loosely defined, but until recently has never been seriously questioned by Congress.

“It just basically says: ‘Is it something that might be of benefit for recruiting and retention? And/or is it something that might tell the American public more about the US military?” explained Philip Strub, who leads the Pentagon’s liaison unit with the entertainment industry.

For the Pentagon, the decision whether to work on a film project all comes down to the script.

Characters in uniform need to reflect what officials consider to be an accurate picture of the practices and the ethos of the military.

If not, then the Defense Department refuses to grant permission to film at a base or to rent out US tanks or aircraft for a production.

To the Pentagon’s critics, the arrangement amounts to stealthy propaganda, with the military using its leverage to effectively censor screenplays.

“They make prostitutes of us all because they want us to sell out to their point of view,” director Oliver Stone told author David Robb in the book “Operation Hollywood,” which blasts the Pentagon’s role.

“Most films about the military are recruiting posters,” the director said.

It is out of the question for the Pentagon to assist movies with a sadistic drill sergeant, like a memorable character in “Full Metal Jacket,” or the reckless, rule-breaking soldier in “The Hurt Locker,” officials said.

“I wouldn’t claim pure innocence to the notion of trying to shape military portrayals so that they come a little closer to what we believe is the real military,” Strub told AFP.

Hollywood heavyweight Jerry Bruckheimer, producer of “Black Hawk Down,” “Top Gun” and “Pearl Harbor,” said the horse-trading with the Pentagon is about finding a practical compromise.

“If we feel it’s hurting the integrity of the film, then we won’t do it. And if they think it’s going to hurt their image, then they won’t do it,” he said in “Operation Hollywood.”

“So there are certain ways to change things, to change wording that they’ll feel comfortable with and you’ll get what you want.”

Sometimes attempts at compromise fail, and movie makers have to spend more cash tracking down old US-made military equipment in foreign countries.

Kevin Costner clashed with the Pentagon over the script of “Thirteen Days,” a film recounting the Cuban missile crisis.

Defense officials objected to the portrayal of Air Force chief General Curtis LeMay as a bellicose hawk, a description shared by most historians. But the Pentagon wanted his character depicted in a more positive light.

As a result, the production had to be moved to the Philippines at great cost.

Ties between the Pentagon and Hollywood frayed in the aftermath of the unpopular Vietnam War, and most movies about that conflict received no assistance from the military, including Stone’s “Platoon” and Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now.”

But the release of the gung-ho fighter pilot movie “Top Gun” in 1986 was a watershed, reflecting a shift in American attitudes and a resurgence of collaboration between the Pentagon and Hollywood.

Strub’s office receives dozens of proposals every year, and fewer than half get the green light.

He and his small team spend much of their time reading through scripts, looking for scenes or characters that are unrealistic, inaccurate or inappropriate.

But he dismissed the idea that the Pentagon coerces movie makers into sanitizing screenplays.

“The whole idea that we can force these creative people to do our bidding is quite hilarious,” he said. “There are people who won’t come to us just because they don’t want the perceived taint of having even talked to us.”

source: interaksyon.com

Obama, PNoy To Hold Talks

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will meet with Philippine President Benigno Aquino III on June 8 at the White House as the United States steps up support to the ally locked in disputes with China.

The White House said on Friday Obama looks forward to discussing the strategic, economic and "people to people" ties between the US and the Philippines and their cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.

Obama has said the US needs to deepen its engagement in the fast-growing Asia Pacific region, calling it critical to the nation's security and economic prosperity. The Philippines is a longtime ally of the United States.

The talks are the latest sign of a growing alliance after a rare joint visit to Washington by the Philippine foreign and defense ministers at the end of April.

"The Philippines is a long-standing friend and ally of the United States, and the president looks forward to discussing with President Aquino the close strategic, economic and people to people ties between our two countries, and our cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region," a White House statement said.

"The two leaders will also discuss ways to deepen bilateral cooperation."

The Obama administration has put a renewed focus on Southeast Asia, stepping up ties to the economically dynamic region where several countries are embroiled in territorial disputes with a growing China.

The Philippines has had particularly rocky relations with China. The two countries have both been posting non-military ships in disputed Scarborough Shoal to exert their claims.

The United States has been helping to upgrade the notoriously antiquated Philippine military and Aquino has agreed to let a greater number of US troops rotate through the country.

But both Aquino and the Obama administration have said that they do not plan a permanent military presence in the Philippines, which would be politically sensitive in the former US colony.

Malacañang on Saturday confirmed President Aquino’s visit to Washington.

"We are confirming the announcement of the US government that President Obama will be receiving President Aquino in June," Deputy Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said on government radio dzRB.

Valte said the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will conduct a briefing on the President's itinerary for his foreign trips this week.

The trip to the White House will follow Aquino's state visit to the United Kingdom from June 4 to 6.

He will be in Washington D.C. until June 10 before making a short visit to Los Angeles on his way home.

Vice President Jejomar C. Binay will also be in Washington D.C. early June to speak before the 5th Global Housing Finance Conference at the World Bank Headquarters.

Binay is expected to meet with World Bank Executive Director Rogerio Studart.

The Vice President is expected back in the Philippines to prepare for his visit to London. (JC Bello Ruiz, AP and AFP)

source: mb.com.ph

Army investigators: No foul play suspected in captain's death

(CNN) -- Military investigators said Monday that they do not suspect foul play in the death of an Army captain who collapsed during a video call with his wife.

Capt. Bruce Kevin Clark, 43, was using the video calling service Skype to speak with his wife, Susan Orellana-Clark, on April 30 when he slumped forward. He was dead when military personnel arrived two hours later.

Orellana-Clark said Sunday in a statement that she saw what appeared to be a bullet hole on the wall behind her husband after he collapsed, leading to speculation he had been shot.

While the cause of death is not known, investigators have ruled out a gunshot, Army Criminal Investigation Command spokesman Chris Grey said in a statement.

"Agents conducting the investigation, found no trauma to the body beyond minor abrasions and a possible broken nose most likely caused from Captain Clark striking his face on his desk when he collapsed," Grey said.

"Although we have not completely ruled it out to ensure a complete and thorough investigation is conducted, we do not suspect foul play in the death of Captain Clark at this point in our ongoing investigation," he said.

In a statement Sunday, Orellana-Clark said that her husband seemed to be in no distress when he was "knocked forward," revealing what she said appeared to be a bullet hole in the closet door behind him.

Orellana-Clark said she was releasing the details "to honor my husband and dispel the inaccurate information and supposition promulgated by other parties."

Two U.S. military officials with knowledge of the investigation conducted in Afghanistan confirmed that it took two hours from the time Clark collapsed while on Skype with his wife until military personnel arrived.

They said Orellana-Clark's request had been routed through several commands in the United States before it was relayed to Afghanistan.

No wounds were found on Clark's body, according to one of the officials, who said the death has been determined to be "noncombat" and suicide has been ruled out.

An official determination of cause of death is pending autopsy and toxicology results, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the case is still under investigation.

Clark, who was a chief nurse, was assigned to the William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso, Texas, but deployed with a medical unit from Fort Hood.

He was stationed at Tarin Kowt, about 85 miles (140 kilometers) north of Kandahar.

In addition to his wife, Clark is survived by two daughters.

source: CNN

US pulling out 9,000 Marines from southern Japan

TOKYO -- The United States is to shift 9,000 Marines out of Japan in a move Washington hopes will ease sometimes fractious relations with its ally over the huge American military presence.

The redeployment, which will see troops moved to Guam, Hawaii and Australia, will go ahead regardless of any progress on the moving of a busy airbase on Okinawa that had originally been a key plank of a deal with the US.

In a joint statement issued in Washington and Tokyo, the two sides said they remained committed to the relocation of the Futenma base from its present urban location to a coastal spot -- a move that is heavily resisted in Okinawa.

The two governments "reconfirmed their view that (this) remains the only viable solution that has been identified to date," the statement said.

The deal comes just ahead of a visit to Washington by Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, who will meet with President Barack Obama on Monday for what both sides hope will be a demonstration that the alliance is back on track.

Japan and the United States have long clashed over Okinawa, the site of sporadic tensions with US troops. Around half of the 47,000 US service personnel in Japan are based on the strategically located island, which is nearer to Taiwan than it is to Tokyo.

In 2006, the United States agreed to shift the Futenma air base -- a longtime source of grievance as it lies in a crowded urban area -- to a quiet stretch of seashore, with 8,000 Marines leaving Okinawa for Guam.

But some activists in Okinawa pressed for the base to be removed completely.

The controversy felled one Japanese prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama, who failed to fulfilL campaign pledges in 2009 to renegotiate the deal.

Speaking ahead of the official announcement, Kurt Campbell, the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said the deal would move relations forward.

"We think it breaks a very long stalemate that has plagued our politics, that has clogged both of our systems, that has made it difficult to deal with the critical and crucial issues that confront the United States and Japan," Campbell said.

The statement said the total cost of the relocation to Guam was expected to be $8.6 billion, with a US official saying more than a third would be paid by Tokyo.

"The $3.1 billion dollar Japanese cash commitment ... is significant and we particularly appreciate this commitment in the context of Japan's fiscal challenges, which we fully recognize," a senior official at the US defense department said.

source: interaksyon.com