Congress: Deal Reached to Avoid Partial Government Shutdown Friday

US Congress general photo (File/AFP)
US Congress general photo (File/AFP)
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Congress: Deal Reached to Avoid Partial Government Shutdown Friday

US Congress general photo (File/AFP)
US Congress general photo (File/AFP)

Democrats and Republicans in the US Congress reached an agreement in principle on Wednesday to extend the federal budget by a few days and defer the threat of a government shutdown.

The agreement by Republican and Democratic leaders in the House and Senate would push back the start of a shutdown from Friday until March 8, giving policymakers some breathing room to try to reach a deal to fund the government.

"We are in agreement that Congress must work in a bipartisan manner to fund our government," they said in a statement, AFP reported.

They added that "a short-term continuing resolution to fund agencies through March 8 and the 22 will be necessary, and voted on by the House and Senate this week."

For several months, the United States has been deadlocked over the adoption of a finance bill for 2024.

The two parties have been entangled in partisan wrangling, and have only been able to pass a series of mini-bills to extend the US federal budget by a few days or months at a time.

The consequences of a government shutdown would be significant, and would include air traffic controllers going unpaid, some government agencies grinding to a halt, and the closure of America's much-beloved National Parks.

It must now be passed by the House of Representatives, the Senate, and then signed into law by President Joe Biden to postpone this threat.



Global Displacement to Rise by 6.7 Million People by End of Next Year, Aid Group Says 

Displaced Palestinians take shelter in a tent camp set up at Palestine Stadium, which was damaged during the Israeli offensive, in Gaza City, March 11, 2025. (Reuters)
Displaced Palestinians take shelter in a tent camp set up at Palestine Stadium, which was damaged during the Israeli offensive, in Gaza City, March 11, 2025. (Reuters)
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Global Displacement to Rise by 6.7 Million People by End of Next Year, Aid Group Says 

Displaced Palestinians take shelter in a tent camp set up at Palestine Stadium, which was damaged during the Israeli offensive, in Gaza City, March 11, 2025. (Reuters)
Displaced Palestinians take shelter in a tent camp set up at Palestine Stadium, which was damaged during the Israeli offensive, in Gaza City, March 11, 2025. (Reuters)

Some 6.7 million additional people are expected to be newly displaced around the world by the end of next year, the Danish Refugee Council said on Friday, just as aid cuts from key donors like the United States take effect.

The UN refugee agency said last year that the number of forcibly displaced people around the globe stood at over 117 million people and warned that number could rise.

"These are not cold statistics. These are families forced to flee their homes, carrying next to nothing, and searching for water, food, and shelter," said Charlotte Slente, secretary general of the Danish Refugee Council in a statement.

Twenty-seven countries account for nearly a third of all global displacements. The projection is based on an AI-driven model that predicts displacement trends by analyzing over 100 indicators, including factors such as security, politics and economics in those countries.

It forecasts that nearly a third of new displacements will be from Sudan, which is already the world's worst refugee crisis after nearly two years of war. Another 1.4 million people are expected to be forcibly displaced from Myanmar, the report said.

US President Donald Trump is cutting billions of dollars in foreign aid programs globally as part of a major spending overhaul by the world's biggest aid donor.

The Danish Refugee Council is one of the aid groups hit and has had more than 20 contract terminations.

Cuts from Washington and other key donors are already impacting refugees.

The UN refugee agency said that funding shortages had shuttered programs to protect adolescent girls from child marriage in South Sudan and a safe house for displaced women in danger of being killed in Ethiopia.

"Millions are facing starvation and displacement, and just as they need us most, wealthy nations are slashing aid. It's a betrayal of the most vulnerable," said Slente.