Trump lays out hike in military spending
President Donald Trump yesterday promised a "historic" increase in the US defense budget as he met with state governors at the White House.
"This budget follows through on my promise on keeping Americans safe," he said. "It will include a historic increase in defense spending."
His comments come a day before he addresses a joint session of Congress, an important agenda setting event for new presidents.
Trump will seek to boost Pentagon spending by $54 billion in his first budget proposal for 2018, which is about a 9% increase, a White House budget official said yesterday.
The New York Times reported that Trump will instruct the government agencies to put together the outlines of a budget that will include deep cuts in domestic spending.
Trump will need to make those cuts to pay for a military buildup and to preserve pensions and health insurance for the elderly as he promised during the campaign, reported AFP.
Meanwhile, the US claimed its seat yesterday on the Human Rights Council under the new presidency of Donald Trump, whose election has provoked deep concern over the body's future.
Over its 11-year history, the council has come in for criticism, including allegations that it has, at times, been co-opted by rights abusers who push resolutions attacking their geopolitical rivals, with genuine rights issues marginalised.
But the 47-member panel has had successes -- thanks to support from Barack Obama's administration which held a seat on the council for most of his eight-year term. Many of the issues prioritised by Obama's UN envoys -- including violations in North Korea, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and South Sudan -- remain on the agenda.
In a keynote address, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned that the world was facing "a time of urgency" and that the council was needed more than ever.
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