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NEW YORK: The fifth day of the 2025 government shutdown dawned over a Washington gridlock in politics, drained of patience, and anxious about the future. What began as a routine budget standoff has now turned into a full-blown ideological battle between President Donald Trump’s populist right and Democrats defending the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) subsidies. The casualties, as always, are ordinary Americans—millions of furloughed workers, jittery investors, and an economy teetering on the edge of slowdown.

NEW YORK: In recent months, the prospect of a big trade agreement between India and the United States has been bumped, frozen, tested—and in danger of unravelling entirely. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s public insistence that any deal must respect India’s “red lines” reflects the tension at the heart of these talks: each side stakes out non-negotiables even as both acknowledge that a deal is ultimately in their mutual interest.

President Donald Trump has set a Sunday 6pm deadline for Hamas to come to its knees after nearly two years of intense warfare, mostly Israeli bombing of the Gaza strip, which has been reduced to several thousand hills of rubble and dust and debris, and buried under them the long dead citizens of Gaza. Does President Trump care? Trump has wanted a Riviera in place of Gaza. Now, says Trump, his peace accord will deliver peace to Gaza or "all Hell will break loose on Hamas".

In his maiden speech in the United Nations General Assembly, Syria's interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, called for lifting of international sanctions on Syria, becoming the first head of state from Syria to address the gathering in nearly 60 years. This signifies the first appearance of a Syrian president since Nureddin al-Atassi took office in 1967. Syrian President Sharaa engaged in a series of bilateral discussions with global leaders during the General Assembly sessions, framing it as Syria's revitalized diplomatic drive.

MEXICO CITY: On September 15, Claudia Sheinbaum — the first woman president in Mexico’s history — stepped onto the balcony of the National Palace to perform the ritual grito, or cry of independence.

NEW YORK: The U.S. federal government shut down is effective from October 1, as the Congress did not approve a funding measure before midnight. The standoff pitted House Republicans, who passed a “clean” continuing resolution, against Senate Democrats who insist on tying healthcare protections to any funding fix.

For decades, the Muslim Brotherhood has loomed large in the Western imagination, often described as the ideological mothership of global Islamism. To many policymakers in Washington, London, or Brussels, the name alone has become shorthand for a wide spectrum of Islamist activity. Yet, this perception is increasingly divorced from reality. The Brotherhood, fractured and in disarray since its downfall in Egypt, no longer commands the sweeping influence it once aspired to. At the same time, treating the movement as irrelevant risks ignoring its enduring ideological legacy and the dangers posed by its offshoots and imitators.

NEW YORK: The US Department of State published a tweet on Friday night stating its plans to revoke the visa of Colombian president Gustavo Petro due to his “reckless and incendiary actions” on his visit to New York City during the United Nations General Assembly. The actions in question were accompanying Pink Floyd singer Roger Waters to a protest in solidarity with Palestine outside the UN and speaking at the rally.

Donald Trump’s high fees for H-1B visas are a serious headache for India, not just for the sake of its impact on India’s IT sector and services exports to USA. This is a huge worry for the overall security environment and strategic- diplomatic scenario for India.

President Donald Trump's 20-point proposal for peace in Gaza has been accepted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump's let it be known to the shady Hamas leadership, whatever is left of it, to agree to the plan or perish. Israel will have "our full backing to do what you have to do" if Hamas doesn't agree to the proposal, Trump said in the ultimatum. The plan includes a "peace board" with President Trump as chair. Another member is former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.