North America

Washington, Jun 8; PTI/GANASHAKTI:  The Trump administration has approved the sale of armed drones to India and has offered integrated air and missile defence systems aimed at helping the country boost its military capabilities and protect shared security interests in the strategically important Indo-Pacific region.

The approval-cum-offer from the US came in the aftermath of the February 14 Pulwama terrorist attack in which 40 Indian soldiers were killed and the increasing militarisation and assertiveness of China in the Indo-Pacific ocean.

UNITED NATIONS, Jun 08 (APP): The Caribbean Island nation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines became the smallest nation ever to secure a seat on the United Nations Security Council when the UN General Assembly on Friday elected five countries to the powerful 15-member body.

The other countries elected were: Estonia, Niger, Tunisia and Vietnam.The five states will take up their seats as non-permanent members of the Security Council in January 2020, replacing Cote d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Kuwait, Peru and Poland.

NEW YORK, Jun 08 (APP): The Trump administration has permitted the construction of US high-tech bomb and missile parts in Saudi Arabia, giving Riyadh unprecedented access to a sensitive weapons technology, The New York Times reported Saturday.

The newspaper said in a dispatch that the White House allowed Raytheon, a US military defence contractor, to “team up” with the Saudis to build and assemble components of Paveway smart bombs in the kingdom.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump announced late Friday that he had suspended plans to impose tariffs on Mexico, tweeting that the country “has agreed to take strong measures” to stem the flow of Central American migrants into the United States. But the deal the two neighbors agreed to falls short of some of the dramatic overhauls the U.S. had pushed for.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The apportioning of credit and blame went awry in President Donald Trump’s remarks over the past week.

He hailed pristine air quality that isn’t, placed responsibility on Mexico for the entire U.S. drug problem and told Puerto Ricans they should love him because he got them hurricane aid that he’s actually been complaining about for months.

In the Democratic presidential campaign, meantime, Trump was accused of breaking a gun-control promise that in reality he kept.

A week in review:

DISASTER AID

ABOARD THE USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN (AP) — Under a starry sky, U.S. Navy fighter jets catapulted off the aircraft carrier’s deck and flew north over the darkened waters of the northern Arabian Sea, a unmistaken signal to Iran that the foremost symbol of the American military’s global reach is back in its neighborhood, perhaps to stay.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A northern Virginia man who says he fears torture at the hands of Israeli authorities is back in the U.S. after a judge’s order forced immigration authorities to reverse his deportation and bring him back from Israel before he ever got off the plane.

BALTIMORE (AP) — Doug Emhoff was on the stage seconds after an activist rushed his wife, Kamala Harris, and snatched the microphone from her hands. Shortly after he helped remove the activist, Emhoff tweeted that he and Harris were “good” and that he would “do anything for her.”

The incident quickly turned viral, bringing attention to someone who is often at Harris’ side but rarely front and center.

PHOENIX (AP) — Rising trade tensions between the U.S. and China have sparked worries about the 17 exotic-sounding rare earth minerals needed for high-tech products like robotics, drones and electric cars.

China recently raised tariffs to 25% on rare earth exports to the U.S. and has threatened to halt exports altogether after the Trump administration raised tariffs on Chinese products and blacklisted telecommunications giant Huawei.

WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Democrat Kamala Harris played up her experience as a prosecutor on Saturday, telling a mostly black crowd in South Carolina that her prosecutorial credentials have given her a window in to helping improve the criminal justice system and also make her uniquely qualified to take on President Donald Trump.