Headline

US On Brink Of Govt Shutdown With Funding Talks Stalled

Published

8 months ago

October 1, 2025

The United States government was barreling towards its first shutdown in six years Tuesday, with funding expiring at midnight barring a breakthrough on deadlocked negotiations between Democrats and Republicans.

A last-gasp meeting at the White House on Monday yielded no progress, with top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer saying afterward that “large differences” remained between both sides.

His party, in the minority in both chambers of Congress, is seeking to flex its rare leverage over the federal government, eight months into Donald Trump’s barnstorming second presidency that has seen entire government agencies dismantled.

The 100-member Senate requires government funding bills to receive 60 votes — seven more than the Republicans control.

With no sign of compromise, an afternoon Senate vote was expected on a short-term funding extension already passed by the House of Representatives, although there was little hope it would succeed.

Unless Congress passes a bill before midnight to fund federal operations, the government will partially close up shop — and plunge Washington into a fresh political crisis.

A shutdown would see nonessential operations grind to a halt, leaving hundreds of thousands of civil servants temporarily without pay, and payment of many social safety-net benefits potentially disrupted.

Trump upped the ante Tuesday when he told reporters his administration may go beyond the usual practice of temporary furloughs and fire “a lot” of federal workers — but he blamed Democratic demands for the looming crisis.

“It’s like they don’t change. They lost an election in a landslide, and they don’t change,” he said.

‘On vacation’ –

US government shutdowns are deeply unpopular, and Democrats and Republicans alike try to avoid the scenario — while blaming the other camp in the event of a closure.

Republicans have proposed to extend current funding until late November, pending negotiations on a longer-term spending plan.

Democrats want to see hundreds of billions of dollars in healthcare spending restored, particularly in the Obamacare health insurance program for low-income households, which the Trump administration is likely to eliminate.

They also want to block Trump and Republicans from cutting approved funds later through the so-called “rescissions” process, as they did this summer. The process requires only a simple majority to pass.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson kicked off a pressure-cooker final day of brinkmanship ahead of the midnight deadline by accusing Democrats of weaponizing health care funding “to shut down the government and protect themselves from their radical base.”

The House has already passed a seven-week stop-gap funding measure, and Johnson has sought to force Senate Democrats’ hands by not bringing his chamber back to Washington this week.

But many Democrats have shown up and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries assembled dozens of his members in front of the US Capitol to berate Republicans for being “on vacation” as the shutdown looms.

“We’re ready, we’re willing and able to find a bipartisan path forward to fund the government in a way that actually meets the needs of the American people in terms of their health, their safety and their economic wellbeing,” he told reporters.

“But here’s what we’re not going to do: We’re not going to support a partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the health care of the American people — not now, not ever.”

The gridlocked Congress regularly runs into deadlines to agree on spending plans.
In March of this year, with the threat of another shutdown already looming, Republicans refused to engage in dialogue with Democrats over massive budget cuts and the layoffs of thousands of federal employees.

Senate Democrats reluctantly provided the votes to end the stand-off but the decision angered the party base, which is calling on Democratic leaders to stand up to Trump.

Headline

Woman Passes Out After Receiving 100 Strokes Of Cane

Published

4 days ago

May 24, 2026

Editor

A woman has passed out after she and her partner were each flogged 100 times in public for engaging in sex outside marriage under strict Sharia laws in Indonesia’s Aceh province.

The woman, whose identity was not disclosed, was later carried away after the punishment was carried out in Banda Aceh, located at the northern tip of Sumatra island on Thursday.

A masked official dressed in brown robes administered the caning before members of the public who gathered to witness the punishment.

Her partner was also seen wincing in pain while receiving the lashes.

The pair were among several individuals punished for violating Sharia regulations in the province.

Authorities from the Banda Aceh Sharia Court and the Prosecutor’s Office handed down punishments ranging from 25 to 100 lashes for offences including extramarital sex allegedly arranged through online applications.

Aceh remains the only province in Muslim-majority Indonesia operating under Sharia law, where unmarried couples are prohibited from having sexual relations.

Caning is commonly used in the province as punishment for offences such as gambling, alcohol consumption, same-sex relations and sex outside marriage.

Under Aceh’s Sharia regulations, child rape offenders face some of the harshest penalties, including up to 200 strokes of the cane, a prison sentence of as long as 200 months or fines equivalent to two kilograms of gold.

The punishments are usually carried out publicly as a way of shaming offenders in addition to inflicting physical pain.

Such canings are often conducted outside mosques or in open public spaces, with residents watching and taking photographs during the exercise.

Human rights organisations have continued to condemn the practice, arguing that it causes emotional trauma and violates international human rights standards.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have repeatedly criticised the punishments, saying they conflict with Indonesia’s constitution and global legal obligations.

Amnesty said in a statement: “Caning contravenes Indonesia’s constitution and is in clear violation of international human rights law and standards.

‘It constitutes a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and can amount to torture in violation of the UN Convention against Torture and other international covenants, to which Indonesia is a State Party.’”

Despite the criticism, local authorities have defended the punishments as part of Aceh’s religious and cultural identity, insisting they serve as a deterrent against immoral behaviour.

Earlier in January, another couple in the province reportedly received 140 lashes each after being found guilty of drinking alcohol and engaging in sex outside marriage.

(Daily Mail)

Headline

Senegal’s President Sacks Prime Minister After Months-long Feud

Published

4 days ago

May 24, 2026

Editor

Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has sacked Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and dissolved the government following months of rising political tension between the two former allies.

The decision was announced in a surprise decree read on national television by a presidential aide, stating that Faye had “ended the duties” of Sonko and “consequently those of the ministers and secretaries of state who are members of the government”.

Sonko, who remains a highly influential figure among Senegal’s youth, responded on social media, saying he would “sleep with a light heart”.

The political fallout comes at a time of growing economic strain in the country, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) putting Senegal’s public debt at 132% of its GDP.

His removal followed a tense parliamentary session on Tuesday, where Sonko openly criticised President Faye’s handling of the debt situation.

The development is striking given that Faye’s rise to power was largely tied to Sonko’s popularity and political backing.

Sonko would almost certainly have contested the presidency himself in 2024, but was barred from the race due to a defamation conviction. Instead, he threw his support behind Faye, rallying voters with the slogan “Diomaye is Sonko, Sonko is Diomaye”.

The alliance helped unseat former President Macky Sall in a dramatic electoral victory, despite both men having been released from prison only days before the vote.

Tensions between the two leaders had been building for months, with Faye reportedly accusing Sonko of excessive dominance within the ruling Pastef party, while Sonko accused the president of weak leadership and failing to defend him against critics.

(BBC News)

Headline

Six Nigerians Arrested In Thailand Over AI-Powered Romance Scam

Published

4 days ago

May 24, 2026

Editor

Six Nigerian nationals have been arrested by the Thailand Police Force for allegedly operating an AI-powered deepfake romance scam syndicate from a luxury condominium along the Chao Phraya River in Nonthaburi Province, following a cocaine trafficking investigation that exposed their activities.

Thai authorities said the operation began after police arrested a Nigerian suspect identified as Patrick and three associates in April over alleged drug trafficking offences. During the raid, officers reportedly seized assets valued at about 2.5 million baht.

Investigators said financial transactions linked to the suspects led them to several foreign nationals living in a high-end riverside condominium near Phra Nangklao Bridge in Nonthaburi. Police discovered that many of the occupants were staying in groups of five or six per apartment under student visas despite not being enrolled in any educational institution or engaged in lawful employment.

According to Thai police, officers executed search warrants on three condominium units on May 22. The suspects allegedly refused to open their doors, forcing authorities to break into the apartments.

Videos circulating on X captured the moment police officers forcefully gained entry into one of the apartments before arresting the suspects.

During the operation, one suspect reportedly attempted to escape by climbing over a balcony, while another was found hiding on the bathroom floor while allegedly sending warning messages to occupants in neighbouring units.

Police recovered 18 mobile phones, three laptop computers and three bank passbooks from the apartments. Authorities said some of the phones were still logged into active conversations with victims at the time of the raid.

Investigators alleged that the syndicate specialised in romance scams targeting older Thai women by using AI-generated faces and manipulated video calls to create fake online identities.

The suspects allegedly posed as pilots, United States military officers, doctors and engineers to gain the trust of victims before requesting money under false pretences.

Police said the fraudsters typically claimed that valuable packages or gifts sent to victims had been withheld by customs officials and required payment of clearance fees before release.

Authorities also said they recovered scripts for sexually explicit conversations allegedly used to emotionally manipulate victims into transferring funds. Investigators claimed the group relied heavily on artificial intelligence technology to generate realistic Western faces for fake video interactions.

Thai police said all six suspects are currently facing preliminary charges bordering on illegal association and immigration overstay, while additional fraud and romance scam charges are expected to follow as investigations continue.