Obama delays Asia trip to attend memorial
US: US President Barack Obama will delay the start of his visit to
Asia this week to attend a memorial service for soldiers killed in a
mass shooting at a US military base, an administration official said on
Sunday.
Obama was due to have left the United States on Wednesday, but will
now depart on Thursday, the official said. Obama's first stop in his
10-day Asia trip is Japan, before heading to Singapore, China and South
Korea.
Thirteen people were killed in a shooting spree at Fort Hood military
base in Texas last week, one of the worst such shootings in U.S.
history.
An army psychiatrist is being held in connection with the shootings.
The administration official said the memorial service, which will be
held at Fort Hood on Tuesday, had required the White House to juggle
Obama's schedule.
The White House has not released Obama's full schedule for this week
so it was not immediately clear what he would now be doing on Wednesday.
He had already been scheduled to lay a wreath at Arlington National
Cemetery on Nov. 11, Veterans Day, before flying off to Asia.
Washington, Monday, Reuters |