By Jeff Mason WASHINGTON, July 30 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama and Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo showed solidarity over Myanmar on Thursday before an expected verdict in the widely condemned trial of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Arroyo, who Obama at the White House, said her country backed Washington's strong condemnation of the human rights situation in the former Burma and in North Korea. "We stand ... behind the United States on the position that it has taken with regard to Burma and with regard to North Korea's nuclear adventurism," Arroyo told reporters with Obama in the Oval Office. Obama, who this week renewed sanctions on Myanmar's ruling junta, thanked Arroyo for her support on U.S. policies in the region. "We are very grateful (for) the strong voice that the Philippines has provided in dealing with issues in Asia ranging from the human rights violations that have for too long existed in Burma to the problems that we're seeing with respect to nuclear proliferation in North Korea," he said. "Although the Philippines is not the largest of countries, it, using a phrase from boxing, punches above its weight in the international arena." A verdict in the trial of Suu Kyi is expected on Friday, a court official said, after her lawyers wrapped up their final arguments in the case against her on security charges. A guilty verdict is widely expected. The courts have in the past been known to favor the junta. Suu Kyi, 64, is on trial for allowing American intruder John Yettaw to stay at her Yangon home in May, when she was under house arrest. He had evaded security to swim across a lake to the house. Suu Kyi faces five years in prison if convicted. Neither Obama nor Arroyo specifically mentioned the imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner in their remarks. (Additional reporting by Aung Hla Tun; Editing by John O'Callaghan)
Protesters chant anti-North Korea slogans as they burn a North Korean flag at a rally in Seoul July 30, 2009. North Korea towed a South Korean fishing boat to one of ...
