PHILIPPINES: The US sealed a 10-year deal yesterday to allow a larger US military presence.
The Enhanced Defence Co-operation Agreement will give US forces temporary access to military camps and allow them to position fighter jets and ships. It is due to be signed today at the main military camp in the capital Manila.
Left-wing activists have protested against the pact, saying that the agreement reverses democratic gains achieved when huge US military bases were shut down in the early 1990s.

YEMEN: Human Rights Watch said yesterday that a law setting 18 as the minimum age to get married should be supported.
The group said that a draft law was presented to the government yesterday by Legal Affairs Minister Mohammed al-Mekhlafi.
In a December 2011 report, the group said about 14 per cent of girls in Yemen were married before age 15 and 52 per cent were wed before they turned 18.
Human Rights Watch spokesman Nadim Houry said the draft Bill is “a real beacon of hope for the thousands of girls vulnerable to being married off while still children.”

SYRIA: The country’s parliament heard yesterday that four more candidates, including one woman, have announced their candidacy in the June 3 presidential election.
The new hopefuls bring the total number of candidates to six, though President Bashar al-Assad has not yet announced his candidacy.
Sawsan Haddad, Samir Maala, Mohammed Firas Rajjuh and Abdel-Salam Salameh have put their names forward to join businessman Hassan Abdullah al-Nuri and former communist Maher al-Hajjar as candidates.