USA

WASHINGTON, June 13 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Joe Biden on Sunday offered congratulations to Naftali Bennett as Israel's new prime minister.

In a phone call with Bennett, Biden highlighted his decades of support for the bilateral relations and his unwavering commitment to Israel's security, according to a White House statement.

The two leaders agreed to consult closely on regional security issues, including Iran, said the statement.

UNITED NATIONS, June 13 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated his solidarity with persons with albinism on Sunday, which is the International Albinism Awareness Day.

Albinism, a rare, non-contagious, genetically inherited condition found in both men and women, presents as a lack of melanin pigmentation in hair, skin and eyes, causing vulnerability to the sun and bright light.

As a result, almost all people with albinism are visually impaired and are prone to developing skin cancer.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Marty Walsh remembers what it was like when a Cabinet secretary would come to town.

“It really is a big deal. They give you the dates, and you just clear your schedule,” said Walsh, a former mayor of Boston.

He recalls 300 people packing into a room to hear Julián Castro, then Housing and Urban Development secretary. “He was speaking on behalf of President Obama and Vice President Biden, and people hung on every word.”

13 June 2021; MEMO: Iran regained its vote in the UN General Assembly on Friday after the United States enabled Tehran to use funds frozen in South Korea to pay some $16 million it owed to the world body, reports Reuters.

Iran lost its vote in the 193-member General Assembly in January because it was more than two years in arrears. It owed a total of more than $65 million, but paid the minimum amount needed to regain its vote.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Kip Kinkel, who killed his parents before going on a shooting rampage at his Oregon high school in 1998, killing two classmates and injuring 25 more, has given his first news interview, telling HuffPost he feels “tremendous, tremendous shame and guilt.”

Kinkel, now 38, is serving a de facto life sentence at the Oregon State Correctional Institution. He spoke with the news site by phone for about 20 hours over 10 months.

CHICAGO (AP) — Two people were killed and at least 30 others wounded in mass shootings overnight in three states, authorities said Saturday, stoking concerns that a spike in U.S. gun violence could continue into summer as coronavirus restrictions ease and more people are free to socialize.

The attacks took place late Friday or early Saturday in the Texas capital of Austin, Chicago and Savannah, Georgia.

JEKYLL ISLAND, Ga. (AP) — Republican governors running for reelection have begun trumpeting the party’s more hands-off approach to the coronavirus pandemic, trying to flip the script on an issue that helped Democrats win the White House and control of Capitol Hill in 2020.

UNITED NATIONS, Jun 12 (APP): Pakistani and Indian delegates engaged in a fresh verbal duel in the United Nations General Assembly Friday, after Pakistani Ambassador Munir Akram drew world community’s attention to New Delhi’s grave human rights violations in occupied Kashmir and called for resolving the UN-recognized dispute in accordance with Security Council resolutions.

WASHINGTON, June 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Pentagon announced a new $150 million package of military assistance for Ukraine on Friday, just days before the Geneva summit between US President Joe Biden and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

The military aid, which includes radar systems, drones and secure communications equipment, is in addition to $125 million in assistance announced in March, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said.

(Reuters) --- Want to bid for a seat on a spaceship ride with Jeff Bezos? You’ll need to be quick - and you’ll probably need more than $4 million.

Blue Origin is planning a live auction on Saturday to conclude the month-long bidding process for a seat on the sightseeing trip to space next month with the company's founder, billionaire Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) executive Bezos.

The identity of the winner - presumably an ultra-wealthy space aficionado - will not be immediately disclosed.