PANAMA CITY (Reuters) – Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth landed in Panama late on Monday for his first official visit to the country as questions persist about President Donald Trump’s repeated vows to take back the Panama Canal. During his trip this week, Hegseth will meet Panamanian officials as well as defense leaders from other Central American nations who are attending a security conference in Panama City.

 

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Shoshana Chatfield, who holds a senior position in NATO, has been fired as part of what appears to be an expanding national security purge of top officials by the Trump administration, three sources told Reuters. The information was not immediately confirmed by the Pentagon. However, the sources told Reuters that allies had been notified that Chatfield had been removed from her job. Chatfield, the U.S. military representative to the NATO Military Committee, is one of only a handful of female Navy three-star officers and was the first woman to lead the Naval War College, a job she held until 2023. The firing, which was first reported by Reuters, is the latest to rock the Pentagon after Thursday’s removal of General Timothy Haugh, the head of the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command. For the Navy, it follows the firing of its top officer, Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the first woman to become Chief of Naval Operations. President Donald Trump’s administration has taken a cool view of NATO, as well as European allies, since taking office in January.

 

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MANILA (AFP) -- The Philippines took possession of the first of two corvette-class warships with “advanced weapons and radar systems” on Tuesday as it faces Beijing in the disputed South China Sea. The arrival of the 3,200-ton BRP Miguel Malvar is part of a two-ship deal with South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries in 2021. Its sister ship, the BRP Diego Silang, was formally launched in Ulsan, South Korea, last month but has yet to begin the journey to the Philippines. It follows months of confrontations between Philippine and Chinese vessels in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost in its entirety despite an international ruling its assertion has no merit. In December, Manila said it planned to acquire the U.S. mid-range Typhon missile system in a push to secure its maritime interests. Beijing warned such a purchase could spark a regional “arms race”. Last week, the United States said it had approved the possible sale of $5.58 billion in F-16 fighter jets to the Philippines, though Manila said the deal was “still in the negotiation phase”.

 

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NEW DELHI (Reuters) -- India is preparing to roll out its first school curriculum for Buddhist monasteries this month, aiming to unify education programs and foster patriotism in Himalayan religious centers near its border with China. Home to many ancient monasteries as the birthplace of Buddhism, India received an influx of Tibetans in the 1950s that led to many new institutions being set up, but now it seeks to insulate religious learning from China’s influence. The border state is claimed by China, but New Delhi rejects this. About 600 monasteries scattered across the northern states of Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and the regions of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh offer training in four types of Tibetan and Indian Buddhist traditions. In its effort to unify school programs, a court essentially banned Islamic schools in India’s most populous state in March last year, saying they violated constitutional secularism and ordering students moved to conventional schools. Last year the Asian giants began unwinding a military standoff on their disputed border since clashes in 2020 killed two dozen troops, but India aims to spend more to develop border areas amid the slow thaw in ties.

 

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ALMATY, Kazakhstan (AFP) -- A Soyuz spacecraft carrying an American and two Russians on Tuesday launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to head to the International Space Station. The MS-27 craft, which was decorated to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, took off at 10:47 am (0547 GMT), according to televised images shown by the Russian Roscosmos space agency. Onboard were Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky, as well as NASA astronaut Jonny Kim. Space is one of the few remaining areas of cooperation between Russia and the United States, whose relationship deteriorated significantly after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. As part of the slew of sanctions imposed on Russia since its invasion, Western countries ceased partnerships with Roscosmos, but the Soyuz craft remain one of the few outlets to reach the ISS.

 

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SEOUL (AFP) -- South Korea will hold a presidential election on June 3, the country’s acting president said Tuesday, after former leader Yoon Suk Yeol was removed from office over a disastrous declaration of martial law. The country has been effectively leaderless since December, when ex-president Yoon attempted to subvert civilian rule but was quickly impeached by lawmakers and suspended from office. The country’s Constitutional Court last week upheld his impeachment, stripping him of the top job and triggering fresh elections, which must be held within 60 days. The government has set June 3 as polling day, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Tuesday, adding that it would be declared a temporary public holiday to facilitate voting.