Five months into the fiscal year, Congress has failed to approve any annual spending bills and the deadline for a budget is on March 1. Getty Images / AFP
Five months into the fiscal year, Congress has failed to approve any annual spending bills and the deadline for a budget is on March 1. Getty Images / AFP
Five months into the fiscal year, Congress has failed to approve any annual spending bills and the deadline for a budget is on March 1. Getty Images / AFP
Five months into the fiscal year, Congress has failed to approve any annual spending bills and the deadline for a budget is on March 1. Getty Images / AFP

No clear path to deal five days before partial US government shutdown


Ellie Sennett
  • English
  • Arabic

US politicians are returning to Capitol Hill this week with only five more days until a partial government shutdown, as partisanship again stalls the passing of a federal budget.

Five months into the fiscal year, Congress has failed to approve any annual spending bills and the deadline for a budget is March 1.

A partial government shutdown will occur at midnight on Friday if Congress fails to pass a budget this week, with a full shutdown possible on March 8.

Congressional leaders had hoped to release government funding legislation at the weekend, but negotiations appear to have reached an impasse.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer released a “Dear Colleagues” letter on Sunday, warning that Washington is once again facing “the spectre of a harmful and unnecessary government shutdown caused by an extreme wing within the Republican Party”.

Key leaders in the Democrat-controlled Senate are “having intense discussions” with Speaker Mike Johnson in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, Mr Schumer said.

The Democrat warned that even a partial shutdown would “disrupt supply chains, hamper small businesses, upend services for our military and veterans, jeopardise health care for children and families, and much, much more”.

Mr Johnson fired back, claiming Republicans in the House are “continuing to work in good faith” on achieving a deal.

“Our position is that of the American people and our mission is to take steps to rein in Democrats’ overspending and policies that are harming the economy, raising prices and making everyday life harder for our constituents,” he said.

Though senators returned to Washington on Monday, the House will not be in session until Wednesday, adding more heat to the political pressure cooker.

President Joe Biden will convene congressional leaders on Tuesday at the White House, where he will “discuss the urgency of passing the bipartisan national security supplemental and keeping the government open”, according to the White House schedule.

In addition to the urgency over passing a budget for the federal government, Washington has been entrenched in a partisan stalemate over passing a massive foreign aid and border security package that includes billions in funding for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan.

Hopes were raised earlier this month when the Senate passed a bipartisan $95 billion foreign aid bill, but the chaotic Republican-controlled House killed the legislation.

Mr Biden's State of the Union address is scheduled for the evening of March 7, one day before the government could completely shut down.

Specs

Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric

Range: Up to 610km

Power: 905hp

Torque: 985Nm

Price: From Dh439,000

Available: Now

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES

Saturday (UAE kick-off times)

Cologne v Union Berlin (5.30pm)

Fortuna Dusseldorf v Borussia Dortmund (5.30pm)

Hertha Berlin v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm)

Paderborn v Werder Bremen (5.30pm)

Wolfsburg v Freiburg (5.30pm)

Bayern Munich v Borussia Monchengladbach (8.30pm)

Sunday

Mainz v Augsburg (5.30pm)

Schalke v Bayer Leverkusen (8pm)

Recipe

Garlicky shrimp in olive oil
Gambas Al Ajillo

Preparation time: 5 to 10 minutes

Cooking time: 5 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients

180ml extra virgin olive oil; 4 to 5 large cloves of garlic, minced or pureed (or 3 to 4 garlic scapes, roughly chopped); 1 or 2 small hot red chillies, dried (or ¼ teaspoon dried red chilli flakes); 400g raw prawns, deveined, heads removed and tails left intact; a generous splash of sweet chilli vinegar; sea salt flakes for seasoning; a small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

Method

Heat the oil in a terracotta dish or frying pan. Once the oil is sizzling hot, add the garlic and chilli, stirring continuously for about 10 seconds until golden and aromatic.

Add a splash of sweet chilli vinegar and as it vigorously simmers, releasing perfumed aromas, add the prawns and cook, stirring a few times.

Once the prawns turn pink, after 1 or 2 minutes of cooking,  remove from the heat and season with sea salt flakes.

Once the prawns are cool enough to eat, scatter with parsley and serve with small forks or toothpicks as the perfect sharing starter. Finish off with crusty bread to soak up all that flavour-infused olive oil.

 

The specs

Engine: 4.0-litre V8

Power: 503hp at 6,000rpm

Torque: 685Nm at 2,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Price: from Dh850,000

On sale: now

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The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
ABU DHABI T10: DAY TWO

Bangla Tigers v Deccan Gladiators (3.30pm)

Delhi Bulls v Karnataka Tuskers (5.45pm)

Northern Warriors v Qalandars (8.00pm)

8 traditional Jamaican dishes to try at Kingston 21

  1. Trench Town Rock: Jamaican-style curry goat served in a pastry basket with a carrot and potato garnish
  2. Rock Steady Jerk Chicken: chicken marinated for 24 hours and slow-cooked on the grill
  3. Mento Oxtail: flavoured oxtail stewed for five hours with herbs
  4. Ackee and salt fish: the national dish of Jamaica makes for a hearty breakfast
  5. Jamaican porridge: another breakfast favourite, can be made with peanut, cornmeal, banana and plantain
  6. Jamaican beef patty: a pastry with ground beef filling
  7. Hellshire Pon di Beach: Fresh fish with pickles
  8. Out of Many: traditional sweet potato pudding
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA

Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi

Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser

Rating: 4.5/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Scoreline

Arsenal 0 Manchester City 3

  • Agüero 18'
  • Kompany 58'
  • Silva 65'
SERIE A FIXTURES

Saturday (All UAE kick-off times)

Lecce v SPAL (6pm)

Bologna v Genoa (9pm)

Atlanta v Roma (11.45pm)

Sunday

Udinese v Hellas Verona (3.30pm)

Juventus v Brescia (6pm)

Sampdoria v Fiorentina (6pm)

Sassuolo v Parma (6pm)

Cagliari v Napoli (9pm)

Lazio v Inter Milan (11.45pm)

Monday

AC Milan v Torino (11.45pm)

 

'The%20Alchemist's%20Euphoria'
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EArtist%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Kasabian%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELabel%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EColumbia%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The biog

First Job: Abu Dhabi Department of Petroleum in 1974  
Current role: Chairperson of Al Maskari Holding since 2008
Career high: Regularly cited on Forbes list of 100 most powerful Arab Businesswomen
Achievement: Helped establish Al Maskari Medical Centre in 1969 in Abu Dhabi’s Western Region
Future plan: Will now concentrate on her charitable work

Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20WonderTree%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20April%202016%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECo-founders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Muhammad%20Waqas%20and%20Muhammad%20Usman%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Karachi%2C%20Pakistan%2C%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20UAE%2C%20and%20Delaware%2C%20US%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Special%20education%2C%20education%20technology%2C%20assistive%20technology%2C%20augmented%20reality%3Cbr%3EN%3Cstrong%3Eumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E16%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EGrowth%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Grants%20from%20the%20Lego%20Foundation%2C%20UAE's%20Anjal%20Z%2C%20Unicef%2C%20Pakistan's%20Ignite%20National%20Technology%20Fund%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The National in Davos

We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.

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Updated: February 26, 2024, 5:22 PM`