Blinken delays Asia tour

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is delaying his Asia trip this week to take part in a White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the State Department said Wednesday.

Due to the delay, the top US diplomat will no longer attend the funeral on Friday of Vietnam’s late leader Nguyen Phu Trong.

Blinken will first travel to Laos to take part in a ministerial meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), before heading to Hanoi to offer official condolences, according to a State Department statement. Due to the delay, his participation in the ministerial meeting will be cut short.