Briefly

UNITED STATES

Talks with Cuba to address migration

US and Cuban officials are due to meet in Washington on Thursday to discuss migration concerns, people familiar with the matter said, in the highest-level formal US talks with Havana since US President Joe Biden took office last year. The meeting comes at a time when Biden's administration is grappling with rising numbers of migrants, with Cubans making up a growing portion of them. The delegation is expected to meet with senior officials of the US State Department.

Moon rocket launch hit by more delays

The flight debut of NASA's mega moon rocket faces additional delays following a string of failed fueling tests. Officials said on Monday it will be challenging to meet a launch window in early to mid-June. The next opportunity to send an empty capsule to the moon on a test flight would be at the end of June or July. The 30-story Space Launch System rocket has been on the pad at the Kennedy Space Center for the past month. It will return to the hangar next week for valve and fuel leak repairs. The problems prevented NASA from filling the rocket's fuel tanks for a critical dress rehearsal.

ARGENTINA

Anger over UK drills in South Atlantic

Argentina condemned on Monday Britain's military exercises in the area of the Malvinas Islands, a territory in the South Atlantic that the South American country claims as its own but is now controlled by Britain. Britain is carrying out "military maneuvers" in the area of what it calls the Falkland Islands until April 29. The exercises involve "British forces stationed in the Malvinas Islands from the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment and the illegitimate defense forces of the islands, along with Royal Navy and Royal Air Force troops, as part of the illegal UK occupation of the Malvinas Islands," the Argentine Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Argentina reiterated its willingness to resume negotiations with the UK to resolve the dispute.

Xinhua - Agencies