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The Senate voted Monday to approve a bill reopening the federal government, moving the nation closer to ending its longest-ever shutdown. The measure passed after a small group of Democrats joined Republicans in supporting the agreement, despite facing strong criticism from within their own ranks. The 41-day shutdown may continue for a few more days as House members, currently on recess since mid-September, return to Washington to vote. President Donald Trump signaled his backing for the bill, saying, “We’re going to be opening up our country very quickly.” The Senate passed the legislation 60–40, breaking a six-week impasse. Democrats had demanded negotiations on extending expiring health care tax credits, but Republicans refused. As the shutdown’s impact deepened — delaying food aid, grounding federal workers’ pay, and worsening airport backlogs — five moderate Democrats eventually voted with Republicans to end the stalemate. House Speaker Mike Johnson urged lawmakers to return immediately to Washington, citing travel delays caused by the shutdown. “We have to do this as quickly as possible,” he said. How the Deal Came TogetherAfter weeks of tense negotiations, Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and Independent Senator Angus King of Maine agreed to advance three bipartisan spending bills and temporarily extend government funding through late January. In return, Republicans pledged to hold a Senate vote on the health care tax credits by mid-December, though passage is uncertain. Shaheen said it was “the only viable option” after Republicans refused to compromise. “The shutdown brought attention to the health care issue,” she said, adding that the future vote offers “a path forward.” The bill reverses mass firings of federal employees initiated during the shutdown and ensures workers are paid once operations resume. It also shields them from further layoffs through January. Alongside Shaheen, King, and Hassan, Democratic Senators Tim Kaine, Dick Durbin, John Fetterman, Catherine Cortez Masto, and Jacky Rosen also voted in favor. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and most Democrats opposed the measure. Although more Democratic support had been expected, only five senators ultimately switched their votes — just enough for the bill to pass. Divided Democratic ResponseMany Democrats condemned the decision. Schumer said he could not “in good faith” support the measure after consulting with his caucus, promising that Democrats “will not give up the fight” for affordable health care. Independent Senator Bernie Sanders called the deal a “horrific mistake,” while Senator Chris Murphy warned that Democrats risked betraying voters who had urged them to stand firm. House Democrats also voiced frustration. Representative Greg Casar of Texas called the agreement a “betrayal” of Americans struggling with health care costs. Others, however, backed Schumer’s leadership. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries praised his handling of the shutdown, noting that “the American people know we are on the right side of this fight.” Health Care Fight Still AheadWhether the two parties can agree on the tax credits remains uncertain. Speaker Johnson has refused to commit to bringing the issue before the House, though some Republicans say they’re open to extending pandemic-era subsidies with new limits on eligibility. Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins expressed support for extending the credits but suggested adding income caps. Some Democrats have indicated they might consider such a compromise. “We must act by year’s end, and that’s exactly what’s been promised,” Collins said. However, many Republicans, including Trump, have renewed calls to repeal or overhaul the Affordable Care Act entirely. In a preview of the coming debate, the Senate voted 47–53 on Monday — along party lines — against extending the health care subsidies for another year. The vote was allowed as part of a broader deal to speed up final passage of the shutdown-ending legislation before sending it to the House.

A car explosion near New Delhi’s historic Red Fort on Monday killed at least eight people and injured 19 others, according to police. The blast, which sparked a fire that damaged several nearby vehicles, occurred close to one of the Red Fort metro station gates, fire officials said. Authorities are still determining the cause of the explosion. Following the incident, security was heightened across New Delhi, including at the international airport, metro stations, and government buildings. Om Prakash Gupta, a resident living near the site, said he heard a loud bang and ran outside with his children. “There were vehicles on fire and body parts scattered around,” he told the Associated Press, describing one body lying on a car windshield. Another witness, a cab driver named Shahrukh, said he too heard the explosion and ran from his car along with others. The Red Fort, a former Mughal palace and a major tourist destination in Old Delhi, was shown in local media footage surrounded by damaged cars and a police cordon. Police spokesperson Sanjay Tyagi confirmed that eight people were killed and several others injured, adding that investigations were underway. The city’s fire department reported 19 injured individuals, all receiving treatment at a government hospital. Images from the scene showed burning cars, twisted metal, and shattered glass. Home Minister Amit Shah told local media that the explosion occurred in a Hyundai i20 near a traffic light close to the fort. CCTV footage from surrounding cameras will be reviewed as part of the investigation. “We are considering every possible angle and will conduct a full investigation,” Shah said, promising transparency in the findings. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences on social media, writing: “Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones in the blast in Delhi earlier this evening. May the injured recover quickly.” The 17th-century Red Fort, about six kilometers (3.7 miles) from India’s Parliament, is one of the country’s most iconic landmarks and the site of the annual Independence Day address by the prime minister. The investigation is being led by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) along with other federal bodies.      

A car explosion near the historic Red Fort in India’s capital on Monday left at least eight people dead and several others injured, police said. The blast also sparked a fire that damaged multiple nearby vehicles. According to the city’s fire service, several fire engines were dispatched to the area after the explosion occurred close to one of the gates of the Red Fort metro station. The cause of the blast has yet to be determined. Delhi Police spokesperson Sanjay Tyagi told The Associated Press that investigations are underway to identify what triggered the explosion.

BBC Chair Samir Shah has apologised for what he described as an “error of judgement” in editing a documentary that misrepresented a speech by US President Donald Trump. The apology follows the resignation of BBC Director General Tim Davie and News CEO Deborah Turness on Sunday night, after a leaked internal memo criticised the editing of a 2024 Panorama programme about President Trump, reports BBC. The memo, written by former BBC adviser Michael Prescott, alleged that producers had spliced together two separate portions of Trump’s speech to make it appear as though he explicitly encouraged the January 2021 Capitol Hill riots. In a letter to MPs on the UK Parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Shah admitted that the editing “did give the impression of a direct call for violent action,” calling it a serious lapse in editorial judgement. President Trump has sent a letter to the BBC threatening legal action over the broadcast. Prescott’s memo also criticised broader areas of BBC News coverage, claiming he wrote it “in despair at inaction by the BBC Executive.” However, Shah defended the organisation in his letter to MPs, saying it was “simply not true” that the BBC had failed to address concerns raised in the memo. In a later interview, he insisted there was “no systemic bias” within the BBC.

Intense clashes between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have forced around 2,000 people to flee their homes in central Sudan over the past three days, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Monday. The displaced people fled several towns and villages in the Bara area of North Kordofan province between Friday and Sunday, according to the agency. North Kordofan and the western Darfur region have become the latest flashpoints in the country’s brutal conflict, which has raged for more than two years and killed tens of thousands. Recent RSF assaults in Darfur — including the capture of the key city of El-Fasher — have left hundreds dead and driven tens of thousands to overcrowded camps, amid reports of atrocities by the paramilitary group, aid agencies and U.N. officials said. The war erupted in 2023 after tensions between the army and the RSF — once partners in Sudan’s fragile political transition — exploded into open fighting. The conflict has killed at least 40,000 people and displaced 12 million, according to the World Health Organization, though aid groups believe the real toll is much higher. In late October, RSF fighters attacked the town of Bara, killing at least 47 people, including women and children, according to the Sudan Doctors Network. Between Oct. 26 and Nov. 9, nearly 39,000 people fled from several North Kordofan towns — including Bara, Sheikan, Ar Rahad, Um Rawaba, Um Siala and Sakra — the IOM reported. Many of them were moving north toward Khartoum, Omdurman, and Sheikan. The RSF also claimed on Monday that its fighters had entered the town of Babanusa in West Kordofan “in huge numbers” and were advancing toward the local army headquarters. Meanwhile, in Darfur, the Sudan Doctors Network said RSF fighters had collected hundreds of bodies from the streets of El-Fasher, burying some in mass graves and burning others — allegedly in an effort to destroy evidence of atrocities. Satellite images analyzed by the Colorado-based firm Vantor and the Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab appeared to confirm the disposal and burning of bodies near El-Fasher’s Saudi hospital last week. The U.N. and aid agencies continue to warn of worsening humanitarian conditions across Sudan, as violence spreads into new regions and civilian casualties rise.  

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday said he intends to order 25 Patriot air defense systems from the United States to help counter Russia’s ongoing aerial attacks, which have caused rolling blackouts across the country ahead of winter. Acknowledging the high cost and long production time of the systems, Zelenskyy suggested that European countries could temporarily provide their Patriots to Ukraine while awaiting replacements, stressing that “we would not like to wait.” Russia’s combined missile and drone strikes have targeted Ukraine’s power grid, coinciding with Moscow’s push to capture the eastern stronghold of Pokrovsk. Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine recently received additional Patriots from Germany, though the total number of systems in the country remains unclear. Air defenses are still stretched across Ukraine, leaving the nation vulnerable to winter energy disruptions. NATO allies continue to coordinate large weapons shipments to Ukraine, with European nations and Canada buying much of the equipment from the U.S. Unlike the previous Biden administration, the current Trump administration is not providing arms to Kyiv. Russia has increasingly refined its strikes on energy infrastructure, using hundreds of drones—some with cameras for precise targeting—to overwhelm Ukraine’s defenses, often attacking regional substations and switchyards instead of centralized grids. Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said Monday that the attacks have forced scheduled blackouts across most regions and urged citizens to conserve electricity, especially during morning and evening peak hours. Meanwhile, fighting continues around Pokrovsk in Donetsk region, where Zelenskyy said Russia has positioned 170,000 troops for a renewed offensive. Reports from the Institute for the Study of War indicate a recent relative lull but warn of intensified Russian attacks in the coming days.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday said he intends to order 25 Patriot air defense systems from the United States to help counter Russia’s ongoing aerial attacks, which have caused rolling blackouts across the country ahead of winter. Acknowledging the high cost and long production time of the systems, Zelenskyy suggested that European countries could temporarily provide their Patriots to Ukraine while awaiting replacements, stressing that “we would not like to wait.” Russia’s combined missile and drone strikes have targeted Ukraine’s power grid, coinciding with Moscow’s push to capture the eastern stronghold of Pokrovsk. Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine recently received additional Patriots from Germany, though the total number of systems in the country remains unclear. Air defenses are still stretched across Ukraine, leaving the nation vulnerable to winter energy disruptions. NATO allies continue to coordinate large weapons shipments to Ukraine, with European nations and Canada buying much of the equipment from the U.S. Unlike the previous Biden administration, the current Trump administration is not providing arms to Kyiv. Russia has increasingly refined its strikes on energy infrastructure, using hundreds of drones—some with cameras for precise targeting—to overwhelm Ukraine’s defenses, often attacking regional substations and switchyards instead of centralized grids. Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said Monday that the attacks have forced scheduled blackouts across most regions and urged citizens to conserve electricity, especially during morning and evening peak hours. Meanwhile, fighting continues around Pokrovsk in Donetsk region, where Zelenskyy said Russia has positioned 170,000 troops for a renewed offensive. Reports from the Institute for the Study of War indicate a recent relative lull but warn of intensified Russian attacks in the coming days.  

Israel on Monday returned the remains of 15 Palestinians to Gaza, marking a step forward in the U.S.-brokered ceasefire, as a top White House envoy met Israeli leaders to discuss the next phase of the fragile agreement. The return came after Palestinian militants handed over a hostage on Sunday. With the latest exchange, only four hostage remains remain in Gaza. Jared Kushner, son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump, met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem Monday, according to a photo released by Netanyahu’s office. The talks focused on advancing the next stage of the ceasefire, which involves establishing a governing body in Gaza and deploying an international stabilization force. The status of these plans remains unclear. The Gaza Health Ministry said the Red Cross facilitated the handover, bringing the total Palestinian remains returned to 315. Under the exchange agreement, Israel has been releasing 15 Palestinian bodies for each Israeli hostage returned. Only 91 of the bodies have been identified so far due to limited forensic resources in Gaza. The latest handover included the remains of Hadar Goldin, an Israeli soldier killed in Gaza in 2014, ending a long-standing campaign by his family to bring him home. Goldin was killed shortly after a ceasefire in that year’s conflict, and his remains were the only ones in Gaza predating the current war. The October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel left around 1,200 people dead, mostly civilians, and 251 kidnapped. Meanwhile, Gaza’s Health Ministry reported that Palestinian deaths in the conflict have risen to 69,176. Details of the ceasefire’s second phase—including disarming Hamas, postwar governance of Gaza, and deployment of an international security force—have yet to be finalized. Kushner is reportedly negotiating safe passage for 150-200 trapped Hamas fighters in exchange for surrendering their weapons following Goldin’s remains’ return. Hamas has not commented on these potential exchanges.    

Vaishnavi Srinivasagopalan, a skilled Indian IT professional who has worked in both India and the U.S., has been looking for work in China. Beijing's new K-visa program targeting science and technology workers could turn that dream into a reality. The K-visa rolled out by Beijing last month is part of China’s widening effort to catch up with the U.S. in the race for global talent and cutting edge technology. It coincides with uncertainties over the U.S.'s H-1B program under tightened immigrations policies implemented by President Donald Trump. “(The) K-visa for China (is) an equivalent to the H-1B for the U.S.,” said Srinivasagopalan, who is intrigued by China’s working environment and culture after her father worked at a Chinese university a few years back. “It is a good option for people like me to work abroad.” The K-visa supplements China's existing visa schemes including the R-visa for foreign professionals, but with loosened requirements, such as not requiring an applicant to have a job offer before applying. Stricter U.S. policies toward foreign students and scholars under Trump, including the raising of fees for the H-1B visa for foreign skilled workers to $100,000 for new applicants, are leading some non-American professionals and students to consider going elsewhere. “Students studying in the U.S. hoped for an (H-1B) visa, but currently this is an issue,” said Bikash Kali Das, an Indian masters student of international relations at Sichuan University in China. China wants more foreign tech professionals China is striking while the iron is hot. The ruling Communist Party has made global leadership in advanced technologies a top priority, paying massive government subsidies to support research and development of areas such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors and robotics. “Beijing perceives the tightening of immigration policies in the U.S. as an opportunity to position itself globally as welcoming foreign talent and investment more broadly,” said Barbara Kelemen, associate director and head of Asia at security intelligence firm Dragonfly. Unemployment among Chinese graduates remains high, and competition is intense for jobs in scientific and technical fields. But there is a skills gap China's leadership is eager to fill. For decades, China has been losing top talent to developed countries as many stayed and worked in the U.S. and Europe after they finished studies there. The brain drain has not fully reversed. Many Chinese parents still see Western education as advanced and are eager to send their children abroad, said Alfred Wu, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore. Still, in recent years, a growing number of professionals including AI experts, scientists and engineers have moved to China from the U.S., including Chinese-Americans. Fei Su, a chip architect at Intel, and Ming Zhou, a leading engineer at U.S.-based software firm Altair, were among those who have taken teaching jobs in China this year. Many skilled workers in India and Southeast Asia have already expressed interest about the K-visa, said Edward Hu, a Shanghai-based immigration director at the consultancy Newland Chase. Questions about extra competition from foreign workers With the jobless rate for Chinese aged 16-24 excluding students at nearly 18%, the campaign to attract more foreign professionals is raising questions. “The current job market is already under fierce competition,” said Zhou Xinying, a 24-year-old postgraduate student in behavioral science at eastern China's Zhejiang University. While foreign professionals could help “bring about new technologies” and different international perspectives, Zhou said, “some Chinese young job seekers may feel pressure due to the introduction of the K-visa policy.” Kyle Huang, a 26-year-old software engineer based in the southern city of Guangzhou, said his peers in the science and technology fields fear the new visa scheme “might threaten local job opportunities”. A recent commentary published by a state-backed news outlet, the Shanghai Observer, downplayed such concerns, saying that bringing in such foreign professionals will benefit the economy. As China advances in areas such as AI and cutting-edge semiconductors, there is a “gap and mismatch” between qualified jobseekers and the demand for skilled workers, it said. “The more complex the global environment, the more China will open its arms,” it said. “Beijing will need to emphasize how select foreign talent can create, not take, local jobs,” said Michael Feller, chief strategist at consultancy Geopolitical Strategy. “But even Washington has shown that this is politically a hard argument to make, despite decades of evidence.” China's disadvantages even with the new visas Recruitment and immigration specialists say foreign workers face various hurdles in China. One is the language barrier. The ruling Communist Party's internet censorship, known as the “Great Firewall,” is another drawback. A country of about 1.4 billion, China had only an estimated 711,000 foreign workers residing in the country as of 2023. The U.S. still leads in research and has the advantage of using English widely. There's also still a relatively clearer pathway to residency for many, said David Stepat, country director for Singapore at the consultancy Dezan Shira & Associates. Nikhil Swaminathan, an Indian H1-B visa holder working for a U.S. non-profit organization after finishing graduate school there, is interested in China’s K-visa but skeptical. “I would’ve considered it. China’s a great place to work in tech, if not for the difficult relationship between India and China,” he said. Given a choice, many jobseekers still are likely to aim for jobs in leading global companies outside China. “The U.S. is probably more at risk of losing would-be H-1B applicants to other Western economies, including the UK and European Union, than to China,” said Feller at Geopolitical Strategy. "The U.S. may be sabotaging itself, but it’s doing so from a far more competitive position in terms of its attractiveness to talent,” Feller said. “China will need to do far more than offer convenient visa pathways to attract the best.”  

The head of the BBC resigned Sunday after criticism of the broadcaster’s editing of a speech by U.S. President Donald Trump. The BBC said that Director-General Tim Davie and head of news Deborah Turness both announced their resignations on Sunday. Britain’s public broadcaster has been criticized for editing a speech Trump made on Jan. 6, 2021, before protesters attacked the Capitol in Washington. Critics said that the way the speech was edited for a BBC documentary was misleading and cut out a section where Trump said that he wanted supporters to demonstrate peacefully. In a letter to staff, Davie said quitting the job after five years “is entirely my decision.” “Overall the BBC is delivering well, but there have been some mistakes made and as director-general I have to take ultimate responsibility,” Davie said. He said that he was “working through exact timings with the Board to allow for an orderly transition to a successor over the coming months.” Turness said that the controversy about the Trump documentary “has reached a stage where it is causing damage to the BBC — an institution that I love. As the CEO of BBC News and Current Affairs, the buck stops with me.” Pressure on the broadcaster’s top executives has been growing since the Daily Telegraph newspaper published parts of a dossier complied by Michael Prescott, who had been hired to advise the BBC on standards and guidelines. As well as the Trump edit, it criticized the BBC’s coverage of transgender issues and raised concerns of anti-Israel bias in the BBC’s Arabic service.