Washington/New Delhi (Reuters) - Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Washington, the Biden administration is pushing New Delhi to cut through its own red tape and advance a deal for dozens of U.S.-made armed drones, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters. India has long expressed interest in buying large armed drones from the United States. But bureaucratic stumbling blocks have hampered a hoped-for deal for SeaGuardian drones that could be worth $2 billion to $3 billion for years. PM Modi and President Biden are also expected to discuss co-production of munitions and ground vehicles, like armored personnel carriers, while PM Modi is in Washington, the sources said.

 

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FRANKFURT (Reuters) - A massive NATO exercise that kicked off on Monday is set to cause major disruptions to passenger flights in Germany, raising concerns from air travelers and also protesters. Jens Bischof, chief of Lufthansa Group’s low-cost airline Eurowings, said he was concerned about the fallout of the exercise, which had led to the closure and heavy restriction of a large swath of German airspace. The military drill, known as “Air Defender 23”, is the biggest ever NATO air force deployment exercise involving 10,000 military personnel and 250 combat aircraft from 25 nations including the United States. It will last until June 23.

 

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ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that NATO should not bet on his country approving Sweden’s application to join the Western military alliance before a July summit because the Nordic nation has not fully addressed his security concerns. Sweden and Finland applied for membership together following Russia- Ukraine conflict last year. Finland became NATO’s 31st member in April after the Turkish parliament ratified its request, but Turkey has held off approving Sweden’s bid.

 

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TOKYO (AP) — An 18-year-old army trainee shot three fellow soldiers at a firing range on a Japanese army base Wednesday, killing two of them, officials said. The suspect was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder at the scene in Gifu prefecture in central Japan, police said. The suspect fired a rifle at the soldiers during a shooting exercise at the Hino Kihon firing range, police said. The Ground Self Defense Force, Japan’s army, confirmed that two of those wounded were later pronounced dead at a hospital.

 

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AHMEDABAD/MUMBAI (Reuters) - Roads will be flooded along parts of India’s western coast, crops could be damaged and some houses destroyed when a very severe cyclonic storm makes landfall late on Thursday, the country’s weather department said. On Wednesday, the storm Biparjoy was situated in the Arabian Sea about 280 km (174 miles) from Jakhau Port in the Indian state of Gujarat and 340 km from Pakistan’s largest city Karachi, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. As heavy rain already began pounding coastal regions, authorities evacuated thousands of people. The cyclone is likely to cross Saurashtra, Kutch, and neighboring Pakistan coasts on Thursday noon with winds of 125-135 kmph gusting to 150 kmph.

 

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 LEGAZPI, Philippines (AP) — A gentle eruption of the Philippines’ most active volcano that has forced nearly 18,000 people to flee to emergency shelters could last for months and create a protracted crisis, officials said Wednesday. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. flew to northeastern Albay province to reassure villagers who were forced to evacuate from mostly poor farming communities within a 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) radius of the Mayon volcano’s crater since volcanic activity spiked last week. Marcos distributed food packs and other aid to displaced villagers, and was expected to meet Albay town mayors later Wednesday to discuss the unfolding crisis.