These are the headlines we are tracking for you in this episode of On the News Line:
Daesh in Asia
Deadly clashes between Philippine government forces and Daesh-linked militants in the country’s southern regions have raised concerns among other Southeast Asian countries. The violence in the Philippines erupted last month when the militants seized the southern city of Marawi which lies near the border with Malaysia and Indonesia. Worried by the spillover of the violence in Marawi, Indonesian and Malaysian officials have stepped up security along their borders with the Philippines. However, that’s not the only cause for concern in the region. Governments in the Muslim-majority countries are fearful of Daesh’s growing influence in Southeast Asia through the spread of Wahhabism; A false interpretation of Islam which is widely believed to be the root cause of terrorists’ ideology.
US controversial arms sale
Sensitivities are growing in Washington toward a massive arms deal between the United States and Saudi Arabia. Republican Senator Rand Paul this week told the chamber the deal must be stopped because it is fueling Saudi militarism in the region. Senator Paul specifically brought the current situation in Yemen into the spotlight when he said the Saudis must be stopped from massacring their unarmed neighbors by using American weapons. Yemen is experiencing one of the worst humanitarian catastrophe's known to mankind. One person is admitted to the hospital every minute due to cholera, and a child dies every ten minutes in that country. And the US has just added fuel to that fire by a massive arms sale to Saudi Arabia.