Philippines vote lacks transparency: observers

Asian Defense News: MANILA (AFP) - – Western election observers on Saturday criticised the Philippine government for "insufficient" openness as the country prepares to choose its next president with a new automated voting system.

The US-based National Democratic Institute mission said at the end of a week-long visit that it recognised "substantial efforts" are being made to improve on previous elections, which it said had frequently been marked by "violence, intimidation and widespread fraud."

Philippines vote lacks transparency: observers

However, it urged the state poll watchdog Commission on Elections (Comelec) to do more to ensure the machines, which are to be used for the first time to count ballots and pool and transmit results from more than 350,000 precincts, are fraud-proof and have adequate backup.

"The perception, whether fair or not, is that the Comelec has not done so. When it concerns elections, perceptions can be as important as reality," it said.

This perception has "inhibited public confidence in the elections and generated anxiety about the automated election system."

Fifty million voters are set to go to the polls on May 10, when 17,000 posts from president down to municipal council seats will be contested.

The report said the Comelec has yet to reveal to candidates and voters what backup plan they have in place in the event the automated system fails.

"The biggest challenge and contribution that the Comelec can make is to communicate openly and frankly," Thomas Barry, NDI's deputy regional director for Asia, told a news conference.

Japan's Crown Prince visits rhinos in Kenya

Asian Defense News: OL PEJETA CONSERVANCY, Kenya (AFP) - – Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito Friday visited endangered rhinos at a game reserve in Kenya's Rift Valley before planting a tree here with Nobel Prize laureate Wangari Maathai.

Japan's Crown Prince visits rhinos in Kenya

The prince, dressed in casual clothes and walking shoes, started the second day of his Kenya visit with an early morning game drive at the Ol Pejeta reserve, where impala, lions and warthogs abound.

He visited rhino enclosures in the park, feeding a blind Black rhino called Baraka ("blessing" in the Swahili language) and interacting with two female Northern White rhinos, Fatu and Najin, that were donated by a Czech zoo in December.

The prince took numerous photographs of the animals and at one point walked up to a small crowd of local people who had gathered to welcome him waving flags and greeted them with a few words of Swahili.

Maathai helped the prince plant a tree at Sweetwaters camp inside the conservancy, adding to the some 30 million trees that her Green Belt Movement has planted on the African continent since its creation in 1977.

His convoy, made up of a large number of Japanese vehicles, then headed to Mwea in central Kenya to visit an irrigation and agricultural development centre.

The prince, 50, arrived in Nairobi late Wednesday for a three-day trip that follows a visit to Ghana.

On Thursday he met with Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki, who hailed Japan's "continued financial and technical support" notably in programmes to combat climate change.

The prince then visited a Japanese school in the outskirts of Nairobi.

Prince Naruhito said his country appreciated collaboration with Kenya and would continue to partner it in various areas of development.

On Saturday the prince will visit the national museum in Nairobi and meet with members of the Japanese community in Nairobi before flying out of Kenya.

Seven dead in Japanese nursing home fire

Asian Defense News: TOKYO (AFP) - – Seven residents of a private nursing home for the elderly were killed in a pre-dawn fire in northern Japan on Saturday, police said.

Seven dead in Japanese nursing home fire

The seven, four women and three men aged in their 60s to their 80s, died when the blaze swept through the two-storey wooden house in Sapporo, the main city on the northernmost island of Hokkaido, a police spokesman said.

A female night-duty staffer and another resident were injured and taken to hospital for treatment, the spokesman for the Sapporo North police station said. "They are not in a life-threatening situation."

The city's fire department said it had received a call from the 24-year-old staffer, who was the only worker on duty at the home, at about 2:30 am.

"She said that a fire had broken out from a stove in a lounge on the ground floor. But we have yet to determine the cause of the fire," Sapporo fire department spokesman Takashi Shida said.

The house was originally built for private use but was converted into a nursing home in 2005, he said, adding that all residents were believed to suffer from dementia.

It housed nine residents but one of them was away at the time of the blaze.

Indonesian security forces hold anti-terror drills

Asian Defense News: JAKARTA, Indonesia – Indonesian security forces are carrying out anti-terror drills at hotels in the capital, the stock exchange building and onboard a ship just offshore.

Saturday's exercises come around a week before President Barack Obama is scheduled to visit the country.

The army said the drills were not related to his visit.

Indonesia has been hit by a string of suicide bombings by Islamist militants targeting Westerners since Sept. 11, 2001.

Anti-terror exercises launched in Indonesia

Indonesian police and the military launched a series of anti-terror exercises on Saturday, a week ahead of a visit to the country by US President Barack Obama.

The exercises were expected to be held in several places, including the capital's main international airport, the stock market building, upmarket hotels, and an area of sea north of Jakarta.

"We hope that these exercises can make both the military and police more professional in handling cases related to terrorism," Indonesian military spokesman Sagom Tamboen told AFP.

Tamboen said the timing of the exercises, about a week before Obama's visit to the world's most populous Muslim majority country, was a "coincidence".

Obama, who was invited by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, lived in Jakarta as a boy between 1967 and 1971.

He is scheduled to leave the US on March 21 for the trip, which also includes stops in Guam and Australia.

In late February, Indonesian police began a series of raids on militant suspects in remote Aceh province. In the latest raids on Friday, two terror suspects were shot dead and eight arrested.

A senior leader of the Southeast Asian militant group Jemaah Islamiyah, Dulmatin, was gunned down by police on the outskirts of Jakarta on Tuesday.

Dulmatin, who was accused of masterminding the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, was buried Friday morning.

Putin to sign multi-billion dollar arms deals in India

Asian Defense News: NEW DELHI (AFP) - – Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was to seal a series of multi-billion dollar arms deals Friday during a visit to India aimed at boosting ties with Moscow's old Cold War ally

According to Russian officials, Putin will sign more than a dozen pacts amounting to 10 billion dollars, including an accord to resolve the troubled sale of a refitted Soviet-era aircraft carrier, the Admiral Gorshkov.

Putin to sign multi-billion dollar arms deals in India

Other deals include a contract to sell India 29 MiG fighter jets and an agreement to install additional nuclear power units in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, where it is already building two reactors.

The sale of the Admiral Gorshkov has been marred by a series of price disputes and delayed deliveries, fuelling concerns in Moscow that India could be tempted to end its dependence on Russian military equipment.

Putin's foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov said the new accord would "suit both sides" and help put the dispute behind them.

"We have an enormous interest in India," he told reporters ahead of Putin's arrival in New Delhi.

Russia supplies 70 percent of India's military hardware but in recent years New Delhi has looked to other military suppliers including Israel and the United States.

The strong ties between Moscow and New Delhi date back to the 1950s after the death of Stalin. But India has in recent years also taken care to balance this friendship by fostering closer relations with Washington.

India's foreign ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash described Russia as a "valued partner and time-tested friend."

"We have a similar outlook on a whole host of regional and international issues," Prakash said.

Together with Brazil and China, Russia and India are part of the so-called BRIC grouping of major developing economies seeking to promote a multipolar world economy not dominated by the United States.

At just over 7.5 billion dollars in 2009, trade turnover is minuscule and the two countries will aim to increase it to 20 billion dollars by 2015.

According to Indian officials, energy is emerging as a new focus of cooperation between oil and gas-rich Russia and energy-starved India, which is always on the lookout for new fuel sources to power its growing economy.

Indian foreign ministry official Ajay Bisaria noted that New Delhi had invested 2.8 billion dollars in an oil field on Sakhalin island off Russia's east coast and was in talks with energy firms Rosneft and Gazprom for more blocks in north Russia.

"India has had an energy strategy of investing in equity in that region and this continues," Bisaria said.

Russia is expected to begin construction soon of another nuclear power facility in the eastern India state of West Bengal.

Putin, who last visited India as Russian president in 2007, is scheduled to meet his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh and President Pratibha Patil.

India says Pakistan must 'reinvent' itself

Asian Defense News: NEW DELHI (AFP) - – Pakistan needs to "reinvent" itself as a genuine democracy and a responsible neighbour, India's Home Minister P. Chidambaram said Friday.

Addressing a seminar on South Asian security, Chidambaram urged Islamabad to do more to curb Islamist militancy and warned that India would respond "swiftly and decisively" in the event of any attack deemed to be from Pakistan.

ndia says Pakistan must 'reinvent' itself

Arguing that Pakistan had proved a "difficult neighbour" ever since partition and independence in 1947, Chidambaram said India's main hope was for a political transformation in Islamabad.

"It must reinvent itself ... to become a truly democratic country where real power lies in democratically elected leaders' hands," he said.

"The two countries are nuclear powers, so war is not an option," he said. "We must talk when we can, at other times we have to simply be vigilant and alert."

Top civil servants from the Indian and Pakistani foreign ministries met in New Delhi last month, for the first official talks since India suspended dialogue in the wake of the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

The meeting made no progress on core disputes and ended with little more than a vague promise that both sides would stay in touch.

Pakistan, which had wanted a resumption of full-fledged peace talks, complained that the Indian side was only interested in discussing the issue of terrorism.

India blamed Pakistan-based militants for the carnage in which 10 Islamist gunmen targeted the country's financial capital, killing 166 people.

Asked what would happen in the event of a similar attack in the future originating from Pakistani soil, the minister said India would "respond swiftly and decisively".

Asked whether that would involve a military response, he declined to elaborate.

Australia opens fresh probe into navy 'sex betting ring'

Asian Defense News: SYDNEY (AFP) - – Australia opened a fresh probe into an alleged navy sex betting ring on Friday after an initial investigation was scrapped because of bias.

Opening submissions told of a "predatory culture" on HMAS Success, where sailors are accused of maintaining a list -- known as The Ledger -- that put dollar values on sexual conquests with female colleagues.

Australia opens fresh probe into navy 'sex betting ring'

Douglas Campbell, senior counsel for the Australian Defence Force, said interviews with crew members had shown male sailors sought out susceptible female recruits for sex.

Women were coerced into sex using drugs and alcohol during shore leave, he said, adding that they were also threatened to stop them speaking out.

The new inquiry, led by retired judge Roger Gyles, was set up after the initial probe did not hand down any findings and was judged biased by legal experts.

The Channel Seven television station has reported that female officers and lesbians attracted higher values and premiums were paid for sex in unusual locations such as on top of a pool table.

The report was described as "disturbing" by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd when it aired in July. It said the alleged betting ring was discovered while HMAS Success was visiting Singapore last May.

Murdered Indian toddler loved Australia, says mother

Asian Defense News: MELBOURNE (AFP) - – A three-year-old Indian boy whose body was found dumped in Melbourne loved living in Australia, his grief-stricken mother said, admitting that she cannot come to terms with her child's death.

Gurshan Singh's lifeless body was found by the side of an isolated road in Melbourne's north on March 4, six hours after his mother reported him missing from home.

Murdered Indian toddler loved Australia, says mother

"Gurshan loved Melbourne," mother Harpreet Kaur Channa told a Punjabi programme on Australia's SBS Radio on Thursday.

"Whenever I asked him about India, he would say 'I want to stay here'. He got along so well with everyone at home (in Melbourne)."

Australian police have charged 23-year-old Indian national Gursewak Dhillon, one of six adults who shared a house with the Singh family, with manslaughter by criminal negligence over the death.

Authorities allege Dhillon put the boy unconscious into the boot of his car and drove around for three hours before leaving the body, without checking if the child was still alive. How the boy was knocked out is not known.

Channa said her husband was putting a brave face on his loss but was "completely shattered". She said she was struggling to cope with the tragedy.

"You can well imagine what's going through a mother's mind who has just lost a child. I don't know how I feel, I can't even think about myself," she said.

"We just celebrated his third birthday on 21st February. He was so happy that day, so happy. It's only now that he was more aware of things, he had a better understanding of what was happening, he really enjoyed his birthday.

"Our families are supporting us. They keep saying that we'll have another baby soon. Please pray for me, that I have another child so Gurshan comes back."

Gurshan went missing while his father was at a nearby library and his mother took a shower.

Talking about the day of his death, Channa said: "When I went into the shower, he was knocking on the door. Maybe he wanted to say, 'Mum don't go'," she said through sobs.

Australian authors condemn China snub of HIV-positive writer

Asian Defense News: SYDNEY (AFP) - – More than 90 authors, including Nobel winner JM Coetzee, have condemned China for refusing an HIV-positive Australian writer entry to the country for a government-sponsored tour.

Robert Dessaix revealed his health status in his application for a visa which was refused without explanation.

Australian authors condemn China snub of HIV-positive writer

The Australian Society of Authors condemned the decision, penning an open letter signed by more than 90 writers including "Schindler's Ark" author Thomas Keneally and 2004 Commonwealth Prize regional winner Michelle de Kretser.

"This was an act of discrimination that appears to be founded in fear or ignorance and is behaviour unworthy of any nation that desires to be seen as enlightened and civilised," the letter says.

"We ask the Chinese government to explain its decision as a matter of urgency and to offer Mr Dessaix the public apology to which he is entitled."

Dessaix, 65, had been due to speak at Shanghai's International Literary Festival which featured writers such as Su Tong, Scott Turow and Junot Diaz.

"It's medieval," the writer told The Sydney Morning Herald this month, adding that Australian officials had been given no reason for his rejection but believed his health status was the stumbling block.

"I feel snubbed and insulted, of course, and also humiliated. There had been interventions at the highest level on my behalf, but they were refused, so I see it as a snub to Australia, not just to me."

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs said the government did not comment on individual cases but was aware that Dessaix had been unable to secure a visa for China.

"The Australian government has, through diplomatic channels, spoken with Chinese authorities on a number of occasions over recent weeks in support of Mr Dessaix's visa application," a spokeswoman said.

"The Australian government is disappointed that Mr Dessaix was not able to take up his invitation to attend the event."

Dessaix is a novelist, essayist and travel writer whose books include "A Mother's Disgrace", "Night Letters" and "Corfu".

IGP denies he's quitting; China Press gets show cause letter

Asian Defense News: KUALA LUMPUR, March 13 (Bernama) -- The Home Ministry today issue a show cause letter to China Press over its exlusive news report which stated that Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan had handed in his resignation letter.

"The report has been verified to be not true," the ministry said in a statement here.

It added that China Press had been given seven days to give a written reply to the show cause letter which was issued under Section 8A of the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 (Act 301).

Under the act, action can be taken against those responsible for publishing false news including the printer, publisher, editor and the writer.

If convicted, offenders are liable to be jailed not more than three year or fined not exceeding RM20,000 or both.

-- MORE Musa (left) and Hishammuddin both denied the quit report. — file pic

PRESS-LETTER 2 (LAST) KUALA LUMPUR

The news report published today had said that Musa would retire on Police Day on March 25 and would be succeeded by his deputy, Tan Sri Ismail Omar. Quoting a source, the report further said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak and Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein had received the letter.

Musa and Hishammuddin today had denied any truth in the report