US To Assign 3000 From US Military To Fight Ebola

Washington — The Obama administration is
ramping up its response to West Africa's Ebola
crisis, preparing to assign 3 000 U.S. military
personnel to the afflicted region to supply medical
and logistical support to overwhelmed local
health care systems and to boost the number of
beds needed to isolate and treat victims of the
epidemic.
President Barack Obama planned to announce the
stepped up effort Tuesday during a visit to the
federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
in Atlanta amid alarm that the outbreak could
spread and that the deadly virus could mutate
into a more easily transmitted disease.
The new U.S. muscle comes after appeals from
the region and from aid organizations for a
heightened U.S. role in combatting the outbreak
blamed for more than 2 200 deaths.
Also Read: World lost 'precious time' in Ebola
fight: EU
Administration officials said Monday that the new
initiatives aim to:
— Train as many as 500 health care workers a
week.
— Erect 17 heath care facilities in the region of
100 beds each.
— Set up a joint command headquartered in
Monrovia, Liberia, to coordinate between U.S. and
international relief efforts.
— Provide home health care kits to hundreds of
thousands of households, including 50,000 that
the U.S. Agency for International Development will
deliver to Liberia this week.
— Carry out a home- and community-based
campaign to train local populations on how to
handle exposed patients.
The officials, speaking on the condition of
anonymity to discuss the plans ahead of Obama's
announcement, said the cost of the effort would
come from $500 million in overseas contingency
operations, such as the war in Afghanistan, that
the Pentagon already has asked Congress to
redirect to carry out humanitarian efforts in Iraq
and in West Africa.
The officials said it would take about two weeks
to get U.S. forces on the ground.
Sen. Chris Coons, the chairman of the Senate
Foreign Relations African affairs subcommittee,
applauded the new U.S. commitment. Coons
earlier had called for the Obama administration to
step up its role in West Africa.
"This humanitarian intervention should serve as a
firewall against a global security crisis that has
the potential to reach American soil," Coons said.
Hardest hit by the outbreak are Liberia, Sierra
Leone and Guinea. The virus also has reached
Nigeria and Senegal. Ebola is spread through
direct contact with the bodily fluids of sick
patients, making doctors and nurses especially
vulnerable to contracting the virus that has no
vaccine or approved treatment.
The U.S. effort will include medics and corpsmen
for treatment and training, engineers to help erect
the treatment facilities and specialists in logistics
to assist in patient transportation.
Also Read: Malaysia to send 20 mln medical
gloves to fight Ebola
Obama's trip to the CDC comes a day after the
United States also demanded a stepped-up
international response to the outbreak. The U.S.
ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha
Power, on Monday called for an emergency
meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Thursday,
warning that the potential risk of the virus could
"set the countries of West Africa back a
generation."
Power said the meeting Thursday would mark a
rare occasion when the Security Council, which is
responsible for threats to international peace and
security, addresses a public health crisis.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was
expected to brief the council along with World
Health Organization chief Dr. Margaret Chan and
Dr. David Nabarro, the recently named U.N.
coordinator to tackle the disease, as well as
representatives from the affected countries.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest,
responding to criticism that the U.S. needed a
more forceful response to the outbreak, said
Monday that Obama has identified the outbreak
"as a top national security priority," worried that
it could contribute to political instability in the
region and that left unchecked the virus could
transform and become more contagious.
Also Read: Obama to ask for $88 mn to boost
anti-Ebola effort
He said the administration responded "pretty
aggressively" when the outbreak was first
reported in March.
"Since that time our assistance has steadily been
ramping up," he said.
The Senate was also weighing in Tuesday with a
hearing to examine the U.S. response. An
American missionary doctor who survived the
disease was among those scheduled to testify.
Four Americans have been or are being treated for
Ebola in the U.S. after evacuation from Africa.
The U.S. has spent more than $100 million
responding to the outbreak and has offered to
operate treatment centers for patients.
While at the CDC, Obama also will be briefed
about cases of respiratory illness being reported in
the Midwest, the White House said. Public health
officials are monitoring a high number of reported
illnesses associated with human enterovirus 68 in
Iowa, Kansas, Ohio and elsewhere.
After leaving Atlanta, Obama planned to travel to
Florida to visit the headquarters of U.S. Central
Command in Tampa, where he'll meet with
military officials about the U.S. counterterrorism
campaign against the Islamic State group in Iraq
and Syria. Central Command overseas U.S.
military efforts in the Middle East.

12 Troops Sentenced To Death For Mutiny

Abuja - A court martial has sentenced 12 Nigerian
soldiers fighting Islamic extremists to death by
firing squad for mutiny and attempted murder of
their commanding officer.
In a decision announced early on Tuesday, a
military tribunal found 12 soldiers guilty and five
others innocent. All the accused denied the
charges.
Also Read: Air and ground attacks to reclaim
town from Boko Haram: witnesses
The soldiers accused their commanders of
conspiring to kill fellow troopers after a convoy
was ambushed on 13 May on a road frequently
attacked by the Islamic extremist group Boko
Haram.
They were driving from Chibok, the north-eastern
town from which more than 270 schoolgirls were
kidnapped a month earlier.
When the soldiers' bodies were brought to north-
eastern Maiduguri city, the surviving soldiers
revolted, throwing stones at their commanding
officer and then shooting at him. The officer took
refuge in an armoured vehicle and was unharmed.

Falcao relishes Man United debut

LONDON - Radamel Falcao thanked Manchester
United's fans after making his debut at the
"extraordinary" Old Trafford.
Falcao came off the bench in the 67th minute of
United's 4-0 win at home to QPR in the Premier
League on Sunday but was unable to find the
back of the net in a match where the goals were
shared between Angel di Maria, Ander Herrera,
Wayne Rooney and Juan Mata.
Now the Colombian striker, who made a transfer
deadline day loan move from Monaco for a
reported 10 million euros ($13.1 million), will look
to score his first goal for United against Leicester
this coming weekend.
"It felt good to make my debut at Old Trafford,"
he said.
Also read : Man United move 'a dream', says
Falcao
"It is an extraordinary stadium, a legendary
stadium and I am happy to get the win. I will
enjoy this moment."
Falcao almost got on the scoresheet when, 15
minutes after he had come on and with United
4-0 up, he saw QPR keeper Robert Green spill
Daley Blind's shot.
However, Green recovered to block Falcao's
follow-up.
"I want to say thank you to the fans. I enjoyed
the welcome a lot. It was fantastic," Falcao said.
"I almost scored. The goalkeeper was good. I
hope to score the next game."
"I hope everything continues for us like it did on
Sunday."

Emergency UN Security Council meeting on Ebola

New York - The United States called an
emergency meeting of the UN Security Council
Thursday on the Ebola crisis in West Africa,
saying the situation on the ground is "dire" and
getting worse every day.
US UN Ambassador Samantha Power said the
United States has asked the 193 UN member
states to come to the meeting with "concrete
commitments" to tackle the outbreak, especially
in hardest-hit Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
"The trendlines in this crisis are grave, and
without immediate international action we are
facing the potential for a public health crisis that
could claim lives on a scale far greater than
current estimates, and set the countries of West
Africa back a generation," Power told reporters on
Monday.
Also Read: World lost 'precious time' in Ebola
fight: EU
"This is a perilous crisis but one we can contain if
the international community comes together to
meet it head on."
The worst Ebola outbreak in history has hit
Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea hardest and also
reached Nigeria and Senegal. It has been blamed
for more than 2 200 deaths. Ebola is spread
through direct contact with the bodily fluids of
sick patients, making doctors and nurses
especially vulnerable to contracting the virus that
has no vaccine or approved treatment.
"We can contain this," Power said. "We know how
to do it and we must avoid panic and fear, but
our collective response to date has not been
sufficient. We must move forward aggressively in
a coordinated fashion."
Power said the meeting on Thursday afternoon
would mark a rare occasion when the Security
Council, which is responsible for threats to
international peace and security, addresses a
public health crisis.
Also Read: Malaysia to send 20 mln medical
gloves to fight Ebola
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is expected to
brief the council along with World Health
Organisation chief Dr Margaret Chan and Dr David
Nabarro, the recently named UN coordinator to
tackle the disease, as well as representatives
from the affected countries.
A diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity
because the official announcement has not yet
been made, said it would be only the second time
the council takes on a public health issue.
The late former US ambassador to the United
Nations, Richard Holbrooke, organised a council
meeting in January 2000 on the Aids pandemic,
which was addressed by then vice president Al
Gore.

Joshua suggests sabotage over deadly building collapse

Lagos - Preacher and televangelist TB Joshua on
Sunday linked a deadly building collapse at his
Lagos megachurch to a suspicious aircraft but
rescue workers ruled out the theory of foul play.
Joshua, dubbed "The Prophet" by fanatical
followers because of his purported predictions and
healing powers, showed footage of the moments
leading up to the collapse on his emmanuel.tv
network.
The National Emergency Management Agency
(NEMA) said 42 people were killed in Friday's
incident, while 130 escaped or were pulled out
alive from the rubble.
In the security camera footage, apparently from
opposite the vast church compound, what is
described as an aircraft is seen over the building
four times at 11:30 am (1030 GMT), 11:43 am,
11:45 and 11:54 am.
The uncompleted building, five floors of which are
visible above a high wall, is then seen to collapse
at 12:44 pm, throwing up huge clouds of dust
into the air.
"After the incident, the strange aircraft does not
return," a commentary accompanying the images
adds.
There was no independent verification of the
authenticity of the footage but Joshua has said
he would make it available to Nigeria's security
agencies.
His Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) is
located in Ikotun, near Lagos international airport.
Rescue work delayed
Joshua's theory about the low-flying plane
featured in a number of newspapers on Sunday.
But NEMA's southwest coordinator Ibrahim
Farinloye rejected claims of sabotage and said
extra floors were being added to the building
without changing the foundations.
"If it were an act of terrorism or sabotage, it
would have gone into rubble," he told AFP at the
scene.
Building collapses are common because of the
use of sub-standard material and flouting of
construction regulations.
NEMA rescue workers were only able to access
the site properly at 9:00 am on Sunday and the
emergency services and media had previously
complained of being attacked by church security.
The Lagos state building control agency also
complained that its officials were obstructed and
Farinloye indicated more lives could have been
saved had rescuers been able to get to the
building sooner.
Rescuers wearing protective facemasks and boots
used excavators to remove slabs of flattened
concrete and were hunting for anyone still trapped
under the wreckage of twisted metal and
masonry.
The building was believed to be a guesthouse for
foreign members of SCOAN and green mattresses
were clearly visible among the debris.
It was not known how many people were inside
the building when it collapsed.
But Joshua preaches to massive crowds at the
megachurch every week and, according to his
website, SCOAN "hosts thousands of national and
international visitors" each year.
"People travel from around the world to witness
and receive from the mighty work that God is
doing in the life of Prophet TB Joshua," it states.
Joshua said on his Facebook page TB Joshua
Ministries that reports that the church auditorium
had collapsed and that there had been heavy
casualties were not correct.
"The few people that were there are being
rescued," he said on Friday.