Reuters, Hanoi
U.S. President Donald Trump has invited Vietnam’s prime minister to visit the United States, the Southeast Asian nation’s government said on its website on Friday. Vietnam took ties with the United States to a new level under former U.S. President Barack Obama, keen for the United States to maintain its security presence in Asia in the face of territorial claims by giant neighbour China.
US weighs giving Saudis more military aid
AP, Riyadh
The United States is considering ways to boost military support for the Saudi-led fight against Iran-backed rebels in Yemen, believing military pressure is needed to prod the militants into a negotiated end to the conflict, U.S. officials said Wednesday. The U.S. already is helping the Saudis by providing intelligence and aerial refueling of their combat aircraft.
Israel boosting border defences: Hezbollah
AFP, Naqura
Lebanon’s Hezbollah sought Thursday to show that Israel is building up defences in anticipation of another conflict, after a string of statements from Israeli officials warning of a potential confrontation.
The powerful Shiite group, which fought a devastating war with the Jewish state in 2006, brought dozens of journalists on a rare and highly-choreographed trip to the demarcation line between Lebanon and Israel.
Filipino officials visit disputed isle
AP, Pag-Asa Island
The Philippine defense and military chiefs visited a Philippine-occupied island in the disputed South China Sea on Friday and announced that the construction of facilities will start soon there, a move likely to infuriate rival claimant China, which is believed to have put missiles on its man-made islands nearby.
