Foreign News

US Senate passes funding bill as historic shutdown nears likely end

Published

2 months ago

2025/11/11

Priyan

The US Senate has passed a crucial funding bill that could bring the longest government shutdown in history to an end within days.

The bill passed in a 60-40 vote late on Monday, with nearly all Republicans joining eight Democrats who splintered from the party to approve it. The deal funds the government until the end of January.

The House of Representatives will now have to pass the bill before President Donald Trump can sign it into effect. Trump signalled he would be willing to do so earlier on Monday.

The deal came to fruition over the weekend, after some Democrats joined Republicans and negotiated an agreement to get federal employees back to work and essential services restarted.

Republicans – who hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate – needed the measure to clear the 60-vote minimum threshold.

Democratic Senators Dick Durbin, John Fetterman, Catherine Cortez Masto, Maggie Hassan, Tim Kaine, Jackie Rosen and Jeanne Shaheen broke from the rest of their party to vote in favour of the funding bill.

They were joined by Maine’s Angus King, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, who also voted to reopen the government.

Only one Senate Republican – Kentucky’s Rand Paul – voted with the majority of Democrats against it.

The announcement of the bill’s passage was made to a largely empty room, but the senators who stayed until the end cheered and applauded.

“We are going to reopen government, we are going to ensure that federal employees… will now receive compensation that they’re earned and deserve,” Senator Susan Collins, a Republican who played a key role in authoring the bill, said after it passed.

Many government services have been suspended since October, and around 1.4 million federal employees are on unpaid leave or working without pay.

The shutdown has had wide ranging impacts on a variety of services, including US air travel and food benefits for 41 million low-income Americans.

On Monday, more the 2,400 flights across the US were cancelled according to airline traffic tracker FlightAware. At least 9,000 were delayed.

The funding bill will now go to the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, where members have been out of session and away from Washington since mid-September.

On Monday, with the Senate deal seemingly in reach, House Speaker Mike Johnson called members of his chamber back to Washington.

The House will begin discussing the measure on Wednesday, although it is unclear exactly how much time that process may take.

Republicans have a two-seat majority in the House so every vote will count.

The deal negotiated over the weekend extends funding for the federal government until 30 January.

It also includes full-year funding for the Department of Agriculture, as well as funding for military construction and legislative agencies.

Guarantees that all federal workers will be paid for time during the shutdown, and funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) – which provides food aid to one in eight Americans – until next September are also included in the bill.

The package includes an agreement for a vote in December on extending healthcare subsidies that are due to expire this year, a key issue Democrats had been holding out for concessions on.

Democratic Party leaders had said that they would not lend their support to new funding for government operations until Congress addressed the subsidies that help tens of millions of Americans pay for health insurance purchased through government-run exchanges.

The agreement was negotiated between Senate Majority Leader John Thune and the White House, with Democratic Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, and Angus King of Maine, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats.

Some high-profile Democrats have been highly critical of colleagues who sided with Republicans to end the shutdown without concrete guarantees on healthcare, with California Governor Gavin Newsom earlier calling the decision “pathetic”.

Senator Chuck Schumer, the minority leader in the chamber, said the package “fails to do anything of substance to fix America’s healthcare crisis”.

Virginia Senator Tim Kaine was among the group of Democrats who voted in favour of the compromise. He pushed back on that criticism, and said the federal workers he represents were “saying thank you” for agreeing the deal.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune has promised to take up the healthcare subsidies measure by the second week of December, but in the House, Johnson has said he will not bring the measure for a vote.

Trump, meanwhile, signalled earlier on Monday that he would be willing to sign the funding bill into effect if it passes the House.

“We’ll be opening up our country very quickly,” he told reporters in the Oval Office, adding: “the deal is very good.”

[BBC]

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Foreign News

Naqvi casts uncertainty on Pakistan’s participation in T20 World Cup after Bangladesh ouster

Published

7 hours ago

2026/01/25

Priyan

Mohsin Naqvi said the decision to play in the T20 World Cup or not now rests with the Pakistan government [Cricinfo]

Pakistan’s participation at the upcoming Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 has been thrown into uncertainty after the PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi said a final decision would be made after talking to Pakistan’s government. Speaking shortly after the ICC officially removed Bangladesh from the T20 World Cup owing to their refusal to play in India, Naqvi accused the ICC of “double standards” favouring India, and termed what happened to Bangladesh “an injustice”.

“Our stance on World Cup participation will be what the government of Pakistan instructs me,” he said. “The Prime Minister is not in Pakistan right now. When he returns, I’ll be able to give you our final decision. It’s the government’s decision. We obey them, not the ICC.”

Over the past week or so, Pakistan has firmly thrown its support behind Bangladesh in their dispute with the ICC demanding a venue outside of India to play their T20 World Cup matches. At an ICC meeting last week, the PCB was understood to be the only board to back the BCB in their stance. The tournament is jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka, but Bangladesh’s games were all scheduled in India. Bangladesh, however, have said it is no longer safe for them to play in India after the BCCI, on January 3, instructed Kilkata Knight Riders to release Mustafizur Rahman rom their IPL 2026 squad.

Though no reason was stated for that directive, it came amid deteriorating relations between India and Bangladesh. On January 4, the BCB wrote to the ICC after consultation with the government that the Bangladesh team would not travel to India for its T20 World Cup matches due to security concerns, a stance it stuck to through several subsequent discussions with the ICC.

The ICC has repeatedly refused Bangladesh’s request, and earlier this week gave them an ultimatum demanding them to accept the schedule as it was, or face being removed from the tournament. On Saturday, with Bangladesh sticking to their position, the ICC formally announced Bangladesh would not be part of the T20 World Cup, and would be replaced instead by Scotland.

Naqvi was critical of the decision, calling it an injustice to Bangladesh. “I think Bangladesh has been hard done by,” he said. “You can’t have double standards. You can’t say for one country [India] they can do whatever they want and for the others to have to do the complete opposite. That’s why we’ve taken this stand, and made clear Bangladesh have had an injustice done to them. They should play in the World Cup, they are a major stakeholder in cricket.”

While there have been local, unverified reports that the PCB would refuse to participate in the World Cup in solidarity with Bangladesh should they be removed, the PCB has declined to confirm to ESPNcricinfo when approached. Naqvi’s comments to the media on Saturday was the first time anyone at the PCB has directly addressed the issue, where he repeatedly said the decision was no longer in the hands of the PCB.

“If the government of Pakistan says we mustn’t play, then maybe the ICC will bring in a 22nd team (after Scotland). It’s up to the government.”

No specific reason was given by Naqvi other than to support Bangladesh, as to why government permission would now be required for an event that starts in two weeks. Last year, both BCCI and PCB, with the approval of ICC, signed up to a hybrid model agreement by which both countries would play each other on neutral territory for all global events in the 2024-27 rights cycle.

Pakistan play all their games in Sri Lanka for this event (which already was a co-hosted event) and are scheduled to play the opening game of the tournament, against Netherlands on February 7. They are scheduled to play India on February 15 in Colombo in their group stage clash.

[Cricinfo]

Foreign News

Indonesia landslide kills 7, dozens more missing

Published

19 hours ago

2026/01/24

Priyan

At least seven people have died and more than 80 others are missing after a landslide hit Indonesia’s West Java province, officials said.

The landslide occurred in the West Bandung region, south-east of the capital Jakarta, following days of intense rainfall.

More than thirty homes were destroyed after “landslide material buried residential areas, causing fatalities and affecting local residents”, Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency said in a statement.

Flooding, landslide and extreme weather alerts have also been issued for the broader region.

The landslide hit the village of Pasirlangu around 02:30AM on Saturday [24] (19:30 GMT).

Two dozen people were evacuated safely from the affected region, according to Abdul Muhari, communication chief of the National Search Agency.

Images shared by local news outlets showed homes buried under mud and debris.

[BBC]

Foreign News

Alleged drug kingpin and ex-Olympian Ryan Wedding arrested after years on the run

Published

1 day ago

2026/01/24

Priyan

Wedding, seen in an undated photo released by the FBI

Former Canadian Olympic snowboarder and alleged drug kingpin Ryan Wedding has been arrested in Mexico and will be extradited to the US after years on the run, FBI Director Kash Patel has said.

Wedding, who had been on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, is accused of running a transnational drug trafficking operation that moved tonnes of cocaine across international borders.

Wedding, 44, was also wanted on murder charges. US officials had said they believed Wedding was living in Mexico under the Sinaloa drug cartel’s protection.

The head of Canada’s federal police force, which assisted in the investigation, spoke alongside Patel on Friday to praise the law enforcement operation.

Wedding is accused of running a vast drug trafficking operation responsible for importing some 60 metric tonnes of cocaine a year.

The organisation operated across North America, as well as several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, and was also the largest supplier of cocaine to Canada, bringing in an estimated $1bn a year.

Before he was arrested, Wedding was accused of killing a federal witness in a case against him. Officials say he has also ordered the murders of several others.

Wedding is now facing a slew of felony charges, including witness tampering and intimidation, murder, money laundering and drug trafficking.

The FBI had previously placed a $15m (£11m) reward for information leading to his arrest. Patel declined to comment on whether anyone would be claiming the reward money.

US officials have released limited details regarding how Wedding was captured, except to say that his arrest took place on Thursday night in Mexico City.

Mexico’s top security official, Omar García Harfuch, said in a post on X that Patel had visited Mexico City on Thursday, and departed with two fugitives on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list.

He did not name the men arrested, but said one was a “Canadian citizen who voluntarily surrendered” at the US embassy in Mexico.

The Associated Press, citing an unnamed Mexican Security Cabinet member, reported that Wedding is the Canadian who turned himself in at the US embassy.

In his remarks at a news conference, Patel described Wedding as a “modern-day Pablo Escobar”, referring to the Colombian cartel leader. US officials have also compared him to Mexican drug dealer Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

“When you go after a guy like Ryan Wedding, it takes a united front,” Patel said, thanking Canadian and Mexican authorities for their help in the investigation.

Patel also thanked the FBI Hostage Rescue Team, who participated in taking Wedding into custody.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, Patel praised the team, which had also been involved in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro weeks earlier.

“This was a complex, high-stakes operation with zero margin for error,” Patel told the magazine.

“I was on the ground with our team in Mexico and witnessed extraordinary teamwork, precision, and trust between our agents and partners in Mexico.”

Wedding’s aliases include “El Jefe,” “Giant,” “Public Enemy,” “James Conrad King,” and “Jesse King”, the FBI said. He has reportedly had plastic surgery to change his appearance while on the run.

Officials allege that he launched his criminal enterprise following his release from a US federal prison in 2011, where he was serving a sentence for cocaine distribution.

Authorities allege he has ordered dozens of murders across the globe, including in the US, Canada and Latin America.

Getty Images Sign showing $15m reward for Ryan James Wedding — *The FBI had offered a $15m reward for Ryan Wedding (BBC)*

It is unclear to whom the medals belong. Wedding competed for Canada in the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, but did not win any medals. He came in 24th place in the men’s giant parallel slalom ski event.

In November, the FBI seized his rare 2002 Mercedes CLK-GTR, which had been valued at $13m.

Patel also spoke about the recent arrest of another man in Mexico who had been on the FBI’s most wanted list.

American man Alejandro Castillo was wanted for the murder of his ex-girlfriend. According to the FBI, he has been in hiding in Mexico for nearly 10 years, and will now be extradited back to North Carolina for trial.

(BBC)