IN BRIEF (Page 12)

China Daily | Updated: 2019-07-19 07:59

United States

House votes to reject Saudi weapons sales

House of Representatives backed resolutions on Wednesday to block the sale of precision-guided munitions to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, sending them to the White House, where President Donald Trump has promised a veto. Nearly a month after the Senate supported 22 resolutions disapproving of Trump's plan for billions of dollars in weapons sales despite Congress' objections, the House passed three of the 22. The move further demonstrated lawmakers' discontent with the Trump administration's decision to complete arms sales to its Arab partners without congressional review.

Boeing to make $50m payment to 737 victims

Boeing said on Wednesday it will give $50 million in near-term financial relief to the families of passengers and crew members who died in two deadly air crashes. The money "represents the initial expenditure of a 100 million dollar pledge by Boeing to address family and community needs of those affected by the accidents", said the company in a statement. The company also said it has hired veteran compensation expert Ken Feinberg to help oversee the distribution of the money to the families of the air crash victims.

Turkey

15 migrants die after van crashes

An official said at least 15 migrants have died and around 20 others injured after a van carrying migrants crashed in eastern Turkey. The van rolled into a roadside ditch on a highway near the town of Ozalp, close to Turkey's border with Iran, after the driver lost control of the vehicle. Over the past few years, migrants have crossed in large numbers into Turkey, from where they try and reach European-Union member Greece. Last month, a van carrying dozens of migrants ignored orders to stop and crashed into a wall in a town in northwest Turkey and killed ten migrants.

Russia

Govt offers to sell fighter jets to Turkey

Sergei Chemezov, head of Russia's Rostech corporation, said on Thursday that Moscow would be willing to sell its Su-35 fighter jets to Turkey if Ankara "expresses interest". The US government announced on Wednesday that Turkey was being kicked out of the F-35 program because it was buying the Russian S-400 air defense systems. The US said the Russian system would compromise the F-35 program. Turkey began taking delivery of components of the S-400 last week.

Agencies - Xinhua

(China Daily 07/19/2019 page12)