Trump signs $717bn annual defence policy bill into law
Washington, Aug 14: US President Donald Trump signed into law the $717 billion annual defence policy bill, the earliest in the year the bill has become law in more than four decades.
"The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is the most significant investment in our military and our warfighters in modern history, and I am very proud to be a big, big part of it," Trump said before signing the bill on Monday.
"It was not very hard. You know, I went to Congress, I said let's do it, we got to do it. We're going to strengthen our military like never, ever before, and that's what we did," he said.
Trump signed the bill during a visit to Fort Drum, New York, where he was joined by Vice President Mike Pence, Deputy Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan and the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford, reports The Hill.
This year's NDAA authorizes about $639 billion for the base budget of the Pentagon and defence programmes of the Energy Department.
It also allows for another $69 billion for a war fund known as the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) account.
It fulfils several of the administration's priorities to bulk up the military, including adding 15,600 troops across the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps.
The bill also follows the administration's request for 77 F-35 fighter jets and goes beyond the its request for Navy ships, authorizing a total of 13 new vessels.
"We will replace aging tanks, aging planes and ships with the most advanced and lethal technology ever developed, and hopefully we'll be so strong we'll never have to use them," Trump said.
The bill also gives troops a 2.6 per cent pay raise, the highest in nine years, The Hill reported.
On Monday, Trump made no mention of the bill's namesake.
With the NDAA signed into law, Congress now turns its attention to passing a defence spending bill to make the dollar amounts authorized by the NDAA a reality.
The House passed a Pentagon spending bill in June, while the Senate is expected to start considering its version as soon as this week.
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Need to be taught lesson: SC refuses to entertain bail plea of Mumbai BMW hit-and-run case accused
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court has refused to entertain the bail plea of Mihir Shah, the son of a former Shiv Sena leader, in the 2024 Mumbai BMW hit-and-run case, saying "these boys need to be taught a lesson".
A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and A G Masih took into account that the accused belonged to an affluent family and his father was associated with the Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led faction of the Shiv Sena.
"He parks his Mercedes in the shed, takes out his BMW and crashes it and goes absconding. Let him be inside for some time. These boys need to be taught a lesson," the bench observed on Friday while refusing to entertain the bail plea.
Senior advocate Rebecca John, appearing for Shah, said the high court allowed him to seek bail after the testimony of key witnesses was recorded in the case. However, sensing the mood of the court, she sought permission to withdraw the plea, which was allowed.
Shah (24) was arrested on July 9 last year, two days after he allegedly rammed his BMW car into a two-wheeler in Mumbai's Worli area, killing Kaveri Nakhwa (45) and leaving her husband, Pradeep Nakhwa, injured.
The accused allegedly sped off towards the Bandra-Worli Sea Link after the accident, even as the woman remained on the bonnet of the car and then got entangled in its wheels for a distance of more than 1.5 kilometres.
Shah's driver, Rajrishi Bidawat, who was also present in the car at the time of the accident, was arrested on the day of the alleged accident. Both are in judicial custody.
Shah has challenged the November 21 order of the Bombay High Court that denied him bail in the case after noting that he was heavily inebriated and failed to stop the car even after hitting a scooter and dragging the victim under his vehicle.
The high court had said in the order that the conduct of the accused at the time of the alleged offence and afterwards does not inspire confidence in the court to grant him bail. It had said that Shah had accidentally crashed into the scooter but sped away at high speed, dragging the victim underneath the car.
His further actions indicate a clear intent to escape the consequences and evade arrest, the high court had noted, adding that his exchanging seats with his driver, calling his father and leaving the scene of offence indicate the predilection to tamper with evidence and/or intimidate witnesses.
