Jammu-Srinagar National Highway shut due to a landslide at Dewal Bridge in Udhampur. Operation underway to clear the route.

Indonesia’s 2022 fiscal deficit seen at 2.49% of GDP

Indonesia’s fiscal deficit for the whole of 2022 will likely be 2.49% of gross domestic product, much smaller than deficits in 2021 and 2020, President Joko Widodo said on Wednesday. The president also said with COVID-19 cases declining, Indonesia may lift all remaining pandemic-related mobility restrictions by year-end.

Trump tax audits required by law were delayed, says panel

A report issued Tuesday by the Democratic-controlled House Ways and Means Committee found that required IRS audits of Donald Trump were delayed, and committee members voted along party lines to also release tax filings of the former president who broke political norms by refusing to release the information on his own. The full level of detail that will be revealed is uncertain, but lawmakers said they expect to release six years of tax returns for Trump and eight affiliated companies. Some sensitive personal information would be redacted. While the 29-page report summarizing the committee’s work was issued later Tuesday night, the tax returns themselves may not be released for several more days.The report indicates that the Trump administration may have disregarded an IRS requirement dating back to 1977 that mandates audits of a president’s tax filings. The IRS only began to audit his 2015 tax filings on April 3, 2019, a date more than two years into Trump’s presidency. That date also coincides with committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., making an “initial request to the IRS for the former President’s return information and related tax returns.”

Malaysia landslide death toll rises to 25

The death toll from a landslide at an unauthorised campsite in Malaysia rose to 25 as search and rescue teams continued to comb muddy terrain on Wednesday. Eight people are still missing after a predawn landslide on Friday hit the site located at an organic farm near the town of Batang Kali in Selangor state, just north of the capital Kuala Lumpur. About 680 personnel from various agencies led by the fire and rescue department and the police are involved in the rescue operations.

“When these people go out to spread hatred in India, people of our ideology go out to spread love and affection”

– Rahul Gandhi targeting BJP

‘Opening a shop of love in the market of hate’ through Bharat Jodo Yatra

– Rahul Gandhi as Yatra enters Haryana

“Fight between two ideologies, one which gives benefits to select few and the other raises people’s, farmers, labourers’ voice”

– Rahul Gandhi

Peru lawmakers move up general elections to April 2024

Peru’s Congress on Tuesday voted to move up general elections from 2026 to April 2024 in a bid to ease tensions and head off deadly protests sparked by the ouster and arrest of president Pedro Castillo. The political maelstrom has also touched off a diplomatic row with Mexico, which has voiced its support for Castillo, a leftist onetime schoolteacher. Lawmakers voted 93-30 with one abstention to approve the change in the electoral calendar. The measure also stipulated that current President Dina Boluarte hand power to the winner of those elections in July 2024.

Elon Musk says he will step down as Twitter CEO once successor found

Elon Musk late on Tuesday said he will resign as chief executive of Twitter once he finds a replacement, in apparent respect of a poll he himself launched that revealed users wanted him to step down. “I will resign as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job!” Musk tweeted, saying he will then run software and server teams at Twitter.

US to send USD 1.8 billion in aid, Patriot battery, to Ukraine

The US will send USD 1.8 billion in military aid to Ukraine in a massive package that will for the first time include a Patriot missile battery and precision guided bombs for their fighter jets, US officials have said, as the Biden administration prepares to welcome Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Washington. US officials on Tuesday described details of the aid on condition of anonymity because it has not yet been announced. The aid signals an expansion by the U.S. in the kinds of advanced weaponry it will send to Ukraine to bolster the country’s air defenses against what has been an increasing barrage of Russian missile strikes. The package, which was expected to be announced Wednesday, will include about $1 billion in weapons from Pentagon stocks and another USD 800 million in funding through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which funds weapons, ammunition, training and other assistance, officials said.

Morocco’s air traffic records 80% recovery from pre-pandemic 2019

The airports in Morocco hosted more than 18.46 million passengers from January to November, recording an 80-per cent recovery rate from the same period in pre-pandemic 2019, the Moroccan Airports Authority said. The Casablanca International Airport, the biggest airport in the North African country, received more than 6.84 million passengers in the first 11 months, representing a 72-per cent recovery rate from 2019, according to a report released by the airports authority on Tuesday. Morocco did not resume its international air travel until February 7 this year, according to the report as quoted by Xinhua news agency report.

US lawmakers vote to release Trump’s tax returns

US lawmakers voted Tuesday to make public Donald Trump’s tax returns, ending a years-long battle by the former president to keep the filings private as his cloudy financial past continues to stoke controversy. The Democratic-led House Ways and Means Committee voted along party lines, 24-16, to release six years of the billionaire’s filings — covering the period from 2015-20.

Boeing jetliner unit names new supply-chain, sales execs

Boeing Commercial Airplanes is tapping the sales chief who helped lead the U.S. planemaker through two major crises in recent years to oversee fractured global supply chains as the aerospace industry battles to meet resurgent jet demand. Ihssane Mounir has been named senior vice president of global supply chain, Boeing Commercial Airplanes Chief Executive Stan Deal said in an email to employees. Mounir was previously senior vice president of commercial sales and marketing. Deal told the company’s 1,200 direct suppliers in a separate memo that Mounir would lead internal and external supply chains and integrate strategy and requirements across all programs.

Japan warns of China’s COVID situation, cuts view on factory output

Japan will pay close attention to the COVID-19 situation in China, in addition to risks from a global economic slowdown, price hikes and supply constraints, according to its monthly report for December. The economic report from the Cabinet Office comes as Japan, the world’s third-largest economy, wrestles with sluggish global growth and high import costs that have weighed on its exports and manufacturing activity. The government cut its view on factory output for the first time in six months as global demand for semiconductors is pausing, but it kept its assessment on the overall economy unchanged by saying it was “improving moderately”.”If China’s infection situation impacts on supply chains or trades, it could also impact on Japan’s economy as we’ve seen earlier this year,” a Cabinet Office official said.

Ukraine’s Zelenskiy could visit Biden, U.S. Congress on Wednesday -sources

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy could travel to Washington, meet U.S. President Joe Biden and visit Congress on Wednesday, sources familiar with the situation said, in what would be Zelenskiy’s first known trip outside his country since Russia invaded in late February. Biden was expected to meet Zelenskiy at the White House, a source said. The visit by the Ukrainian leader would coincide with Biden’s intent to send the Kyiv government Patriot missiles, CNN reported, to protect it from heavy Russian bombardment. Zelenskiy’s spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Zelenskiy last left Ukraine for the Munich Security Conference on Feb. 19, according to his official schedule.

Magnitude 6.4 quake shakes northern California, leaves 2 dead, thousands without power

A powerful magnitude 6.4 earthquake jolted the extreme northern coast of California before dawn on Tuesday, damaging homes, roads and water systems and leaving tens of thousands of people without electricity. At least 11 people were reported injured, and two others died from “medical emergencies” that occurred during or just after the quake, according to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office. The tremor, which struck at 2:30 a.m. PST and was followed by about 80 aftershocks, was centered 215 miles (350 km) north of San Francisco offshore of Humboldt County, a largely rural area known for its redwood forests, local seafood, lumber industry and dairy farms.