Trump vetoes measure to end U.S. involvement in Yemen war
President Donald Trump has vetoed a bill Congress passed to end U.S. military assistance in the Saudi Arabia-led war in Yemen.
In a break with the president, Congress voted for the first time to invoke the War Powers Resolution to try and stop U.S. involvement in a foreign conflict.
Trump vetoed the measure April 17. Congress lacks the votes to override him.
Congress has grown uneasy with Trump’s close relationship with Saudi Arabia as he tries to further isolate Iran, a regional rival. Many lawmakers also criticized the president for not condemning Saudi Arabia for the killing of a Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi, who had been critical of the kingdom. AP
Damaged warship leaves dry dock after 15 months of repairs
A U.S. Navy destroyer is afloat again as an overhaul continues following a 2017 collision off Japan that killed seven sailors.
The U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command says the USS Fitzgerald launched out of a dry dock Tuesday at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss. The Fitzgerald moored alongside a pier for work that Rear Adm. Jim Downey says will now include testing and outfitting.
The Fitzgerald arrived in Pascagoula in January 2018 after a collision with a Philippine-flagged container ship caved in parts of the warship above and below the waterline.
Workers are repairing the ship and also doing modernization work previously scheduled for this year. The Navy has awarded Ingalls $120 million in contracts for work so far, a total expected to rise.
Repairs could be complete by midyear. AP
Israel military exports were $7.5 billion in 2018, down 18%
Israel’s Defense Ministry says the country’s military exports were $7.5 billion last year, down 18% from the previous year.
The ministry said on Wednesday that despite the drop, the 2018 figures were a “major success” and the second-highest level in the past decade.
It said the $9.2 billion of defense exports in 2017 were “out of the ordinary” but was unable to explain the drop in 2018, saying only that the global market is “dynamic.”
The largest share of Israel’s exports consisted of missiles and air defense systems. Unmanned aerial vehicles, radar systems and ammunition also represented crucial exports.
Nearly half of Israel’s sales went to the Asia and the Pacific region.
Israel is the world’s eighth-largest arms exporter, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. AP