US debt tops $38tn amid government shutdown and economic strain

Rare earths are minerals used to make magnets crucial to the auto, electronic and defence industries, as well as in renewable energy.

The recent truce and ceasefire in Gaza - while only the first phase - is nonetheless a significant and hopeful milestone after two years of brutality and ongoing suffering for the people of Palestine.

From railways and automobiles to metals, coal, diamonds and cement, some of Russia`s biggest industrial companies are putting employees on furlough or cutting staff as the war economy slows, domestic demand stalls and exports dry up.

To say that our expatriate workers around the world have been life savers for our economy would be doing them a disservice; over the past year, despite the numerous challenges we have faced as a nation, among the consistently bright spots for us has been our remittance earnings.

We are once again watching the opening act of America`s government shutdown drama – a political serial that has played out fewer than a couple of dozen times over the past five decades. The cast rarely changes: Democrats and Republicans trading accusations across the aisle. The storyline, too, is familiar: partisan brinkmanship played for political gain.