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This month, many investors feel dazed and confused. No wonder: as the U.S. government flirts with another shutdown and U.S. President Donald Trump intensifies his trade war, indices of economic uncertainty have skyrocketed above even the 2020 pandemic or the global financial crisis of 2008.

Democrats are smarting over Trump's radical spending cuts which have shredded entire sections of government and seen Congress largely bypassed in what critics say is an unconstitutional exercise of power by the White House. Many in the party argue that refusing to back the Republican bill funding the US government for another six months would be a chance for Democrats to demonstrate opposition to the Trump project. Republicans have a slim majority with 53 of the 100 senators, but need some Democratic support to reach the necessary 60 votes for getting their bill through. Ahead of the Friday midnight deadline, top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer — who has long insisted that it is bad politics to shut down the government — said he would support the bill. A Democratic blockade of the bill and the ensuing chaos of the entire US government temporarily being out of funds would be «a gift» to Trump, he said.

Facing a Friday night deadline to fund the government or allow it to start winding down, the Senate is set to vote ahead of the midnight cut-off on a Trump-backed bill passed by the House of Representatives. The deal would keep federal operations going for another six months, but Democrats are under pressure from their grassroots activists to defy Trump and reject a text they say is full of harmful spending cuts. Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer — who has long insisted that it is bad politics to shut down the government — said he would support the bill, a move seen as improving its chances of success. «President Trump and Republicans leaders would like nothing more than to pull us into the mud of a protracted government shutdown. For Donald Trump, a shutdown would be a gift,» Schumer said on the Senate floor.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The same cast of characters features in most wildlife conservation campaigns: majestic tigers, adorable pandas or other creatures that tug human heartstrings. Images of the blood-splattered bills of endangered vultures tend to evoke less sympathy, but a new study provides a reason to be concerned for their survival.

US equity-index futures climbed Friday as signs the US will avoid a government shutdown injected a boost to sentiment. Shares in Japan retraced early losses while those in Australia also climbed higher along with indexes in Hong Kong. Futures contracts for US equities advanced early Friday as a stopgap funding bill looked set to pass and avoid a US government shutdown. The S&P 500 dropped 1.4% on Thursday to a six-month low, bringing its three-week rout past 10% — a correction in trader parlance. The Nasdaq 100, also in a correction, fell 1.9%.

New York Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday announced a bill to protect the state's consumers and small businesses from scams and deceptive practices from lenders, debt collectors and health care firms.

Vanessa Low of Australia lived up to her top billing as she easily clinched gold in T61-64 class while India's Paris Games medallist Preethi Pal bagged a bronze in T35-38 class 200m race on the concluding day of the World Para Athletics Grand Prix here on Thursday. India finished on top of the medal tally with a total haul of 134 — 45 gold, 40 silver, and 49 bronze. Around 150 Indians had competed in the Grand Prix while around 100 were from other 19 countries. Vanessa, one of the few top stars taking part in the three-day event, cleared a distance of 4.96m in her third attempt, to stand on the top of the podium. Zhanna Fekolina, a Neutral Paralympic Athlete, and India's Bhavani Munniyandi took home the silver and bronze respectively with efforts of 4.13m and 3.51m at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here. T61-64 classification is for those athletes who are competing with prosthesis affected by limb deficiency and leg length difference. «I am happy with my performance. It's fun moments here in India. I will be coming back here for the World Para Athletics Championships (in September),» Vanessa said after the event.

Sarnaik's statement triggered an uproar in the legislative council, leading to calls for action against MSRTC's managing director. The controversy unfolded during a discussion initiated by BJP MLC Parinay Fukey, who raised concerns over the mismanagement of PF and gratuity funds. Fukey pointed out that the PF and gratuity payments of MSRTC employees had not been deposited for the past 10 months, and demanded an explanation regarding the use of Rs 2,214 crore from the fund. Fukey questioned, “What has happened to the Rs 2,214 crore? If this had been an industrialist or a private company, a cognizable offence would have been filed.” He emphasized that the state government, as the principal employer, was responsible for ensuring these funds were properly managed and deposited.

Edtech unicorn Physicswallah, which is preparing to file draft papers for its initial public offering, has appointed three independent directors to its board, regulatory filings made with the Registrar of Companies show. The Noida-based company has appointed former Zomato deputy CFO Nitin Savara, former RBI regional director Rachna Dikshit, and ex-bureaucrat Deepak Amitabh, who is currently engaged with the Adani Group, as independent directors. Queries sent to Physicswallah on the development did not elicit any response.

Cybercriminals have registered more than 10,000 malicious domains to fuel these scams, which impersonate unpaid toll bills or missed delivery notifications. Victims receive urgent texts claiming they owe payments, complete with links to fake websites designed to steal credit card details, bank information, and personal data for identity theft.

New Govt, New School Dress: N Chandrababu Naidu dispensation has changed the colour of uniforms in Andhra Pradesh government-run schools. On the face of it, it seems like any administrative decision, but the reason is purely political. Under the previous YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led YSRCP government, uniforms were blue and purple — colours associated with the party.

Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Bill, 2024, aimed at boosting the country's exploration sector by ensuring policy stability, scope for international arbitration and longer lease for oil and gas companies. The bill, which has already been passed by Rajya Sabha, «will further strengthen and propel India's energy sector,» said oil minister Hardeep Puri. «By virtue of the fact that we are going to rely on conventional energy for some time, we need to step up our exploration and production activities.» The Centre hopes the proposed law will perk up India's exploration sector, which has been dull for more than a decade despite various policy reforms.

Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) to set a deadline for completing the process and introducing the Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill in Parliament at the earliest opportunity. The committee made this recommendation in a draft action-taken report on its observations and recommendations from the 56th report on the regulation of cable television in India, which was tabled in Parliament on Tuesday. The second draft of the Broadcast Bill, introduced in July, was withdrawn in August last year following backlash from media industry stakeholders over the lack of transparency in consultations, which were held with only a select group. Another major concern of the industry was that the Bill contained vague terms that could potentially grant arbitrary powers to government officials. In its response to the committee on 17 January, the MIB stated that a fresh draft of the Bill would be published after detailed consultations.

Sarah McBride, D-Del, the first openly transgender person elected to Congress was misgendered by Republican colleagues during a House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee hearing on Tuesday. The incident later escalated into a heated exchange and drew further attention to the challenges McBride faces in Congress.

Union Bank of India. However, the report also noted that the geopolitical risks, especially concerns over tariffs, will continue to influence trade dynamics. It said "Merchandise trade deficit likely narrowed in Feb'25 to USD 21.5 bln vis-a-vis USD 23.0 bln a month ago". The report suggested that the reduction in the merchandise trade deficit was mainly driven by a moderation in the Non-Oil-Non-Gold (NONG) segment, supported by seasonal factors during the quarter. Despite this improvement, the report added that the extent of recovery in trade balance may be limited due to growing concerns over new trade restrictions and tariff increases following the change in the U.S. administration.

When Calls the Heart Season 12 continues its run, bringing new developments in Hope Valley. Episode 11 is set to premiere soon.

Foreigners Act, 1946, the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920, the Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939, and the Immigration (Carriers’ Liability) Act, 2000. The objective is to enhance national security, control immigration procedures, and introduce stricter penalties on foreigners who violate entry and stay conditions.

Vaishnaw moved The Railways (Amendment) Bill, 2024 that seeks to amend the Railways Act, 1989 in the Rajya Sabha on Monday. The Bill, already passed by the Lok Sabha, was approved by the Upper House after a debate. The minister assured the House that reports of CCTV cameras being shut down after the February 15, 2025 stampede at the New Delhi station are false.

Sridhar Vembu, the chief scientist and founder of Zoho, believes that the current challenges in the software job market stem not from artificial intelligence replacing jobs—at least not yet—but from a deeper systemic issue. In a lengthy post on X, Vembu, who has been associated with the software industry for 30 years, said over the past few decades, enterprise software has accumulated massive inefficiencies due to an influx of venture capital, private equity, and IPO-driven funding. This overcapitalization led to an artificial expansion of the software industry, creating a market bloated with duplicated IT systems, excessive hiring, and misplaced incentives, he said. One of the primary drivers of this inefficiency, Vembu said, has been aggressive marketing by software vendors, adding that cCompanies have long relied on tactics that instill fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) in corporate customers, pushing enterprises to increase their IT spending without necessarily improving efficiency. «Software vendors applied liberal doses of marketing spending to spread Fear (of missing out) and Uncertainty (»tech is changing, you need us") and Doubt («are you confused? trust us») among corporate customers and the result was ever growing IT spending," he said.

government shutdown now seems likely and that could initiate a disaser-like scenario, including halted services, delays in programs like veterans’ benefits, food assistance, and healthcare. National parks, passport processing, and IRS operations might also grind to a temporary stop, as per reports.