International News Roundup: Government Shutdown Looms in US, Cuba Engages with US Amid Tensions, and More
Washington D.C. - The United States faced a potential government shutdown as President Donald Trump urged the House of Representatives on Monday to approve a federal funding package, according to Euronews. The shutdown threat emerged as Democratic lawmakers demanded changes to immigration operations following the fatal shooting of two US citizens in Minneapolis in January, Euronews reported. Trump promised to work in good faith on raised issues and concerns, but neither Republican nor Democrat lawmakers appeared ready to quickly approve the package without debating their own demands over immigration enforcement operations, according to Euronews.
Meanwhile, Cuba and the United States were in communication, though these exchanges had not yet evolved into a formal dialogue, Al Jazeera reported. Carlos Fernandez de Cossio, Cuba's deputy foreign minister, told Reuters that the US government was aware that Cuba was ready for a serious, meaningful, and responsible dialogue, according to Al Jazeera. This comes as Cuba faces a crippling economic crisis and increased pressure from the Trump administration, with the US president threatening to block oil to the island, Al Jazeera noted.
In other news, a special court in Bangladesh sentenced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to 10 years in prison, and her UK lawmaker niece, Tulip Siddiq, to four years, over corruption charges, Euronews reported. Judge Mohammed Rabiul Alam of the Special Judges Court-4 also handed down seven-year prison sentences to others, according to Euronews. Hasina was accused of misusing power to illegally secure plots of land in a government project to distribute to her family, Euronews stated.
Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, apologized to British football fans after making a comment that was criticized as a "cheap joke" by the Football Supporters' Association, Sky News reported. Infantino suffered a backlash after joking that: "For the first time in history... no Brit was arrested during a World Cup. Imagine! This is something really really special," according to Sky News.
Finally, the reopening of the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt proved to be more complicated than initially anticipated, Sky News reported. Despite Israeli authorities announcing the crossing was open for civilians, only a limited number of people were able to cross, according to Sky News. Adam Parsons, Middle East correspondent for Sky News, noted that of the many thousands of people in Gaza who require urgent medical attention, just five had managed to make it to Egypt to get help.
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