U.S. Senate passes 901 bln USD defense authorization bill for fiscal 2026

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday approved a 901-billion-dollar defense policy bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026, sending it to U.S. President Donald Trump's desk for his signature.

The vote was 77 to 20 with broad bipartisan support.

The over-3,000-page bill includes a nearly 4 percent military pay raise, an overhaul that will speed up Pentagon arms purchases, as well as measures for supporting the deployment of National Guard and active-duty troops at the southwest border to intercept illegal immigrants and drugs, developing the U.S. Golden Dome missile defense system, and promoting military readiness.

Under the bill, the Trump administration allots 400 million dollars annually for two years to produce weapons for Ukraine and puts limits on reducing U.S. troop levels in Europe and South Korea without allied consultations.

The measure authorizes 26 billion dollars in shipbuilding funding, 38 billion dollars for aircraft and 25 billion dollars to ramp up production of munitions.

The legislation eliminates Pentagon DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) offices, cuts 1.6 billion dollars in climate-related spending, repeals the 1991 and 2002 Iraq War authorizations and permanently lifts U.S. sanctions on Syria.

The bill stipulates that a quarter of U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's travel budget will be withheld until the Pentagon provides Congress with unedited footage of the strikes targeting alleged drug boats near Venezuela.

Hegseth said Tuesday that only House and Senate armed services panels, instead of the public, will view the full, unedited video of the highly controversial Sept 2 air raid by the U.S. military on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean, which killed two survivors in a follow-up strike.

Democrats faulted the bill for removing expanded coverage of in vitro fertilization for active duty troops. Meanwhile, some hardline Republicans were frustrated that the bill did not go further in scaling back U.S. commitments overseas.

Trump is expected to sign the legislation into law in the coming days.

U.S. Senate passes 901 bln USD defense authorization bill for fiscal 2026

China's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fu Cong on Wednesday called for joint efforts to foster an inclusive, open and green information society at the High-level Meeting of the General Assembly on the overall review of the implementation of the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) at the UN Headquarters in New York City.

The high-level meeting, held on Tuesday and Wednesday, provides an opportunity for in-depth discussions on important issues in the implementation of the outcomes of the WSIS, which was held in two phases, in Geneva in 2003 and Tunis in 2005.

"Twenty years ago, the World Summit on the Information Society mapped out a vision for an information society that is people-centered, inclusive and development oriented. Thanks to the concerted efforts of all countries, this vision is gradually coming to fruition. Over the past two decades, China has actually implemented the outcomes, promoted digital innovation, access and application, and shared digital dividends with the international community through open-source cooperation. China has also proposed the Belt and Road Initiative and the Global Development Initiative to help countries in the Global South to implement the 2030 agenda for sustainable development," Fu said at the meeting.

As the digital and smart transformations sweep across the world today, it is necessary for the international community to enhance coordination and cooperation, he said.

China is willing to work together with all parties to build an inclusive information society that delivers benefits to all, an open information society that is shared by all, and an information society that is green and environment friendly, to turn the WSIS vision into reality, Fu said.

China calls for joint efforts to build inclusive, open, green information society