These are the headlines we are tracking for you in this episode of On the News Line:
Mattis: US's survival depends on military spending
The United States has by far the largest military budget in the world. It spends more than the next nine largest spenders combined together. But US president Donald Trump has been pushing to funnel more money to the military. A few days ago, the US Senate approved a 700 billion dollar military policy bill demanded by Trump. Since coming into office this year, Trump has developed close ties with the US military industrial complex. Trump’s U turn on the war in Afghanistan, intensified US airstrikes in Syria, Yemen, and Iraq, as well as America’s militarism on the Korean peninsula are being partly blamed on Trump’s links with weapons manufacturers. The United States massive arms deal with the autocratic regime of Saudi Arabia was another gift from Trump to major arms companies. The military industrial complex has been enjoying a booming business under Trump, but its insatiable appetite is hard to satisfy.
Signing of the UN nuke ban treaty
The signing ceremony of a nuclear weapons ban treaty at the United Nations headquarters in New York. Representatives of world nations take turns to sign the treaty. The United States, Britain, France and other nuclear armed states boycotted the event. The UN chief has underlined that the accord is the product of rising concern over the threat posed by the nuclear weapons. Many have found the low number of the signatories to the accord as disappointing.