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US Government shutdown looms as Trump-backed bill fails to pass House
The United States government is a day away from running out of money as Congress scrambles to come up with a short-term funding plan.
On Thursday night, a revised spending plan by Republicans that would have averted a government shutdown failed to clear the House.
It needed a two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives to pass and failed to reach that requirement. Thirty-eight Republicans broke ranks and voted against the bill, alongside most Democrats.
President-elect Donald Trump had thwarted a previous funding deal that Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson had struck with Democrats.
Trump’s denouncement of that bipartisan deal followed heavy criticism of the measure by tech billionaire Elon Musk.
The Trump-approved replacement bill would have tied government funding to a two-year suspension of the federal debt limit, which determines how much the government can borrow to pay its bills. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the top Democrat in the chamber, called the proposal “laughable”.
Speaker Johnson must now head back to the drawing board, with just hours left on the clock.
[BBC]
On a record-breaking day in Kingstown, Bangladesh completed a 3-0 sweep of the hosts West Indies with a massive 80-run win powered by Jaker Ali’s sensational 72* and a clinical bowling effort. Jaker’s 41-ball essay was built on the rapid start provided by the top-order, to help Bangladesh to their highest ever T20I total in West Indies – 189/7.The bowlers then combined to shoot down the hosts for just 109 inside 17overs to script the visitors’ biggest win in terms of runs.
Leading 2-0 in the series, Bangladesh opted to bat first and were served well by a brisk 44-run opening stand where Parvez Hossain Emon (39 off 21) did the bulk of the damage. Bangladesh lost both the openers in quick succession by the end of PowerPlay, but had a solid base of 54/2 to work with. Tanzid Hasan couldn’t capitalise, but Jaker led the charge well thereafter.
Joining hands with Mehidy Hasan Miraz at 65/3, the Bangladesh No. 5 helped stabalise with a 37-run stand. Roston Chase got his team a timely breakthrough that triggered a mini collapse as both Shamim Hossain and Mahedi Hasan were run out in the space of three balls. In a moment of confusion, it was indeed Jaker who walked back to the pavilion after the first run-out but was recalled promptly after the replays.
With Bangladesh having slipped to 114/6 in the 15th over, Jaker switched gears and combined with Tanzin Hasan Sakib for a fifty partnership to help his side finish strong. He was himself on 17 off 16 at the time of the callback, and went on to punish the West Indies attack as he fetched 55 runs in 25 balls from thereon. Alzarri Joseph particularly came in the firing line and leaked 12 and 25 runs in his final two overs with Jaker hitting four sixes and two boundaries off the pacer.
Having defended 147 and 129 previously, Bangladesh bowlers had plenty to work with in their bid for maiden T20I series sweep against the West Indies. Taskin Ahmed took just two balls to make an impact when he trapped Brandon King LBW in the opening over of the chase. Despite some fireworks from Nicholas Pooran, the hosts managed only 45 from their powerplay and lost two more wickets in the phase. That included Mahedi Hasan completed a series-wide hat-trick of Pooran’s wicket.
Only Romario Shepherd put up a brief fight, but none of the other West Indies batters showed any application in the big chase. The asking rate mounted the pressure, and Bangladesh bowlers sustained their dominance. All five bowlers deployed bagged at least a wicket each, while Rishad Hossain was the pick of the lot with figures of 3 for 21 from his four overs.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 189/7 in 20 overs (Jaker Ali 72*, Parvez Hossain Emon 39; Romario Shepherd 2-30) beat West Indies 109 in 16.4 overs (Romario Shepherd 33; Rishad hossain 3-21, Mahedi Hasan 2-13) by 80 runs
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has announced that at an Extraordinary General Meeting held today (20), its membership has approved significant amendments to the SLC constitution, reaffirming its commitment to fostering good governance, transparency, inclusivity and efficiency in its management structure.
Among the notable changes is a reduction in the number of voting members from 147 to 60. The new voting structure ensures that voting rights are determined solely based on the level of cricket played by each member club, with all qualified clubs and associations being entitled to only one vote.
The media release by Sri Lanka Cricket:
French rape survivor Gisèle Pelicot’s ex-husband has been jailed for 20 years after drugging and raping her, and inviting dozens of strangers to also abuse her over nearly a decade.
Dominique Pelicot, 72, was found guilty of all charges by a judge in Avignon, southern France, and cried in court as he was sentenced to the maximum term.
He was on trial with 50 other men, all of whom were found guilty of at least one charge, although their jail terms were less than what prosecutors had demanded.
Ms Pelicot and her children looked emotionless as the verdicts were read out, occasionally glancing at the defendants and resting their heads against the wall.
The convictions brought an end to France’s largest ever rape trial, which over the course of three months has shocked the country and the world.
On Thursday morning, police shut the road opposite the courthouse to accommodate hundreds of people who turned up to offer their support to Ms Pelicot.
A large banner reading “Thank you Gisèle” was spread across a wall facing the entrance.
Underneath it, several members of the public chanted “rapist, we see you” as defendants trickled in ahead of the trial.
Speaking outside of the court following the verdicts, Ms Pelicot said the trial had been a “very difficult ordeal”.
Her grandson, who is in his late teens, was standing next to her for the first time, his arm over her shoulder as she addressed the media. Her voice faltered only once as said she “never regretted” her decision to make the trial public “so society could see what was happening”.
The 72-year-old’s decision to waive her automatic right to anonymity was highly unusual. She attended almost every day of the trial, appearing in the same courtroom as her husband of 50 years, who she has now divorced.
French and global media followed the case with growing interest and hundreds of journalists were present in court on Thursday.
As Ms Pelicot spoke, hundreds of people chanted her name and sang feminist songs.
She gave her “profound” thanks to her supporters and said she had “confidence” in there being a “better future” where men and women can live in “mutual respect”.
Ms Pelicot’s ex-husband Dominique Pelicot – who had already confessed to his crimes – was found guilty of aggravated rape.
He was also found guilty of the attempted aggravated rape of the wife of one of his co-accused, Jean-Pierre Maréchal.
Maréchal – who was described as Dominique’s “disciple” as he drugged and raped his own wife for years and invited Dominque to do the same – was jailed for 12 years.
Dominique Pelicot was also found guilty of taking indecent images of his daughter, Caroline Darian, and his daughters-in-law, Aurore and Celine.
Caroline – who was in court on Thursday – previously told the trial she felt she was the “forgotten victim” as, unlike in her mother’s case, there was no record of the abuse she is convinced was inflicted on her.
Dominique denied drugging and abusing his daughter.
“I will never come see you and you will die alone like a dog,” she shouted at him in court in November.
After the verdict were delivered, Dominique Pelicot’s lawyer said her client was “somewhat dazed” by his sentence and would consider whether to appeal. He has 10 days to decide whether to do so.
Dominique Pelicot stood accused alongside 50 other men, 46 of whom were found guilty of rape, two of attempted rape and two of sexual assault.
Several of them have already spent years in jail as they were arrested when police conducted their initial investigation in 2021, and will therefore be free relatively soon.
Most of the men on trial had denied that what they did was rape.
They argued they did not realise Ms Pelicot was unconscious and therefore did not “know” they were raping her. It is an argument that sparked a nationwide discussion about France’s legal definition of rape.
The defendants’ jail terms range from between three and 15 years.
In a statement to AFP news agency, the Pelicot children said they were “disappointed” by the “low sentences”.
For almost a decade from 2011, Dominique Pelicot drugged his now ex-wife and raped her, and recruited dozens of men online to have sex with her while she was unconscious.
His crimes were discovered in 2020, when police arrested him over a separate charge of filming up the skirts of women in a supermarket.
Police seized his devices and found thousands of videos on his laptop, with evidence of around 200 rapes.
Investigators used the videos to track down his co-accused, although they were unable to identify an additional 21 men.
Dominique Pelicot admitted the charges in 2020.
The trial sparked a discussion about whether the issue of consent should be added to France’s legal definition of rape, as it has been in other European countries.
Rape in France is currently defined as “any act of sexual penetration committed against another person by violence, constraint, threat or surprise”, meaning prosecutors must prove intent to rape.
Many of the defendants argued they did not realise Ms Pelicot had not consented, claiming they were “tricked” by Dominique Pelicot, and believed they were going to the couple’s house for a threesome involving a fantasy that the woman would be asleep.
The trial also shone a light on the issue of chemical submission, or drug-induced sexual assault.
Most of the 50 men came from towns and villages in a 50km (30 mile) radius of the Pelicots’ home village of Mazan.
They included firefighters, lorry drivers, soldiers, a journalist and a DJ and were been described by defence lawyers as being “ordinary people”, earning them the nickname Monsieur-Tout-Le-Monde (Mr Everyman).
The trial also brought sexual violence against women into the spotlight in France, with many praising Ms Pelicot for her bravery in opening up the case to the public.
She previously said she was determined to make “shame change sides” from the victim to the rapist. It is a phrase that has been repeated by her supporters.
But Ms Pelicot has been clear that behind her facade of strength “lies a field of ruins” and despite the widespread acclaim for what she has done, she is a reluctant hero.
“She keeps repeating, ‘I am normal’ – she does not want to be considered as an icon,” her lawyer Stéphane Babonneau told the BBC.
“Women generally have a strength in them that they can’t even imagine and that they have to trust themselves. That’s her message.”
[BBC]
Bangladesh pull off maiden T20I series sweep vs West Indies
Sri Lanka Cricket implements historic amendment to constitution
US Government shutdown looms as Trump-backed bill fails to pass House
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