Travelers wait in a TSA line at a US airport

The ongoing funding deadlock in the US Congress is beginning to strain aviation security operations, with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) warning of potential airport shutdowns and a sharp rise in workplace challenges including dealing with assault incidents amid stressful situation.Testifying before the House Homeland Security Committee, acting TSA administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill described the situation as increasingly untenable, citing staffing shortages, financial distress among workers, and operational risks at major airports.“This is a dire situation,” she testified, warning of potential airport closures. “At this point, we have to look at all options on the table. And that does require us to, at some point, make very difficult choices as to which airports we might try to keep open and which ones we might have to shut down as our callout rates increase.”She also flagged a significant spike in violence against personnel, noting that TSA officers have faced a more than 500 per cent increase in assaults since the shutdown began. “This is unacceptable and it will not be tolerated,” McNeill said.The agency is also grappling with high absenteeism, with some locations reporting callout rates exceeding 40 per cent. More than 480 TSA officers have resigned during the prolonged shutdown, further straining operations.McNeill highlighted the personal toll on employees, many of whom have gone without pay for weeks. “Some are sleeping in their cars, selling their blood and plasma, and taking on second jobs to make ends meet, all while being expected to perform at the highest level when in uniform to protect the traveling public,” she said.At airports, the impact is already visible. Long security queues have stretched for hours in some locations, with officials warning that delays could worsen if the impasse continues. In Houston, reduced staffing has forced checkpoints to operate at a fraction of normal capacity, leading to wait times of up to four hours.ICE agents have been deployed at several US airports to assist with ID checks and crowd management amid a shortage of TSA staff during the DHS shutdown. While trained to use TSA equipment, their expanded role has raised concerns among passengers over authority and potential targeting.While Republican leaders have proposed partial funding measures, Democrats are pushing for changes to enforcement practices, including greater oversight and restrictions on operations. Both sides have accused the other of prolonging the crisis, with no immediate resolution in sight.Beyond aviation security, officials warned that other agencies are also under pressure. The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief fund is nearing depletion, raising concerns about its ability to sustain long-term response efforts if the shutdown continues.With negotiations deadlocked, officials say the risks to critical services—from airport security to disaster response—are mounting by the day.

India on Thursday urged members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to restore a fully functional dispute settlement system, saying the current mechanism has deprived countries of effective redressal, PTI reported.Speaking on the opening day of the WTO’s 14th ministerial conference (MC14) in Yaounde, Cameroon, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal stressed the need to revive the automatic and binding nature of dispute resolution within the global trade body.“A dysfunctional Dispute Settlement System has deprived Members from effective redressal. We must restore the automatic and binding dispute settlement system,” he said.The WTO’s dispute settlement mechanism has faced prolonged disruption since 2009 after the US blocked appointments to the Appellate Body.Goyal also called for a reassessment of the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions, which WTO members have periodically extended since 1998. India has repeatedly raised concerns over the potential revenue implications of the arrangement.“In the absence of a common understanding among Members on the scope of the moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions and given its potentially significant implications, the continued extension of this moratorium warrants careful reconsideration,” he said.The four-day MC14 is scheduled to conclude on March 29.On broader WTO reforms, Goyal emphasised that any restructuring should be transparent, inclusive and member-driven, with development concerns at the centre. He underlined that core principles such as non-discrimination, consensus-based decision-making and equity must be upheld. The minister added that the principle of special and differential treatment (S&DT) should be made precise, effective and operational.On agriculture negotiations, he said a permanent solution on public stockholding for food security purposes, the special safeguard mechanism and cotton are long-pending mandated issues that member countries “must deliver on them on priority”.“India remains committed to negotiating a comprehensive Fisheries Subsidies Agreement that balances current and future fishing needs, protects the livelihoods of poor fishers, with appropriate and effective S&DT,” Goyal said.He also stated that incorporating plurilateral outcomes into the WTO framework should be based on consensus and should not undermine the rights of non-participants or impose additional obligations on them.“We will engage constructively to show that WTO remains central to global trade and strive to Reform it to remain responsive, Perform in delivering on development, equity, and inclusiveness, and Transform to better serve the interests of the poor, vulnerable, and marginalized people, anchored in consensus and multilateralism,” he said.Other WTO members also highlighted the need for reforms. According to a statement from US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, the organisation has struggled to address systemic issues such as persistent trade imbalances, structural excess capacity, economic security and supply chain resilience.“As ministers, our focus should be on reforms that would make the WTO more responsive to Members and improve our ability to achieve outcomes that optimize our trading relationships,” Greer said, adding that countries should consider making the e-commerce duty moratorium permanent.Separately, a ministerial statement by the G-33 grouping of developing countries reiterated that public stockholding for food security remains a crucial policy tool for developing and least developed nations.“We urge all WTO Members to work together in reaching a permanent solution on this issue as per the Ministerial mandates,” the statement said.China also called for restoring a fully functioning dispute settlement mechanism at the earliest to strengthen the WTO’s role in global economic governance. The UK said it wanted to “improve accountability by reinstating a functioning dispute settlement system”.EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic warned that inaction could weaken the rules-based trading system. “Maintaining the status quo is not an option — we cannot go on as we are. If we do, we risk erosion of the rules-based system and the WTO sliding into irrelevance. Therefore, I strongly believe we must act urgently to reform the WTO,” he said

Borrowing costs for homebuyers in the US rose further this week, with the average long-term mortgage rate reaching its highest level in more than six months and adding pressure during the peak spring housing season.Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said the benchmark 30-year fixed mortgage rate increased to 6.38% from 6.22% a week earlier. The rate was 6.65% at the same time last year. The latest level is the highest since September 4, when the average stood at 6.5%, AP reported.Rising mortgage rates typically translate into higher monthly repayments, reducing the purchasing power of prospective buyers. The increase follows a brief easing phase –just four weeks ago the average rate had dipped below 6% for the first time since late 2022 — before climbing again amid concerns that surging oil prices linked to the Iran war could keep inflation elevated.Rates on shorter-term home loans also moved higher. The average 15-year fixed mortgage, widely used by borrowers refinancing their loans, rose to 5.75% from 5.54% in the previous week. A year ago, the rate was 5.89%, Freddie Mac said.Mortgage pricing is shaped by several factors, including the Federal Reserve’s policy stance and investor expectations in the bond market regarding inflation and economic growth. Lenders generally track movements in the 10-year US Treasury yield while setting home loan rates.The yield on the 10-year Treasury note climbed to 4.39% at midday Thursday, compared with around 4.26% a week earlier. Bond yields have been rising as higher energy prices increase expectations of persistent inflation, pushing up long-term borrowing costs across the economy.Inflation concerns may also delay interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. Although the central bank does not directly determine mortgage rates, its decisions on short-term rates influence bond markets. At its most recent policy meeting, the Fed chose to keep rates unchanged, with Chair Jerome Powell pointing to heightened uncertainty surrounding the economic outlook following the Iran war.The US housing market has been struggling since mortgage rates began climbing sharply in 2022 from pandemic-era lows. Sales of previously owned homes remained largely flat last year, hovering near a three-decade low, and have continued to show weakness this year, declining in both January and February compared with year-earlier levels.Affordability pressures remain a major challenge for buyers, even though price growth has moderated or fallen in several metropolitan areas. Wage gains have not kept pace with property values, limiting access to homeownership for many households.While the current mortgage rate is still lower than a year ago — potentially benefiting buyers who can manage higher borrowing costs — the recent uptrend has made many prospective purchasers cautious just as seasonal demand typically strengthens.Reflecting this hesitation, mortgage applications dropped 10.5% last week from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Applications for both home purchases and refinancing declined.“Higher borrowing costs, affordability pressures and economic uncertainty are likely prompting some prospective buyers to delay purchase decisions,” MBA chief executive Bob Broeksmit said.

NEW DELHI: With the big Gulf carriers operating a fraction of their schedules, foreign airlines are expanding their India flights to meet the increased demand for options to the likes of Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad. SWISS will operate a second daily light between between Delhi and Zurich from April 1 to May 31, 2026. British Airways will have a third daily service from Delhi starting April 7, followed by a third daily service from Mumbai from May 15. Air India has been adding flights to the west whenever possible during the Iran war.In a statement Thursday, Lufthansa group carrier SWISS said it is increasing its flight offering between Switzerland and India. “From April 1 to May 31, 2026, in addition to its regular service from Zurich to Delhi, SWISS will operate a second daily connection using an Airbus A330. Numerous passengers of other airlines are currently unable to take their originally booked flights via the Gulf region. As a result, many are switching to direct connections to and from Asia. SWISS is seeing a corresponding rise in demand for such nonstop services. We are pleased to offer our customers this additional flight to Delhi over the next two months. The flights are available for booking with immediate effect,” SWISS said in a statement.“Depending on further developments in the Middle East, SWISS continuously assesses how aircraft and capacities that become available can be deployed where demand is particularly strong. In addition to demand, key factors include operational constraints such as available airport slots, traffic rights and fleet deployment capabilities,” SWISS statement added.British Airways also announced additional flights from Delhi and Mumbai “to meet strong travel demand”. “In response to the ongoing situation in the Middle East, the airline is adding short-term capacity from Delhi and Mumbai to meet customer demand. A third daily service from Delhi will launch on April 7, followed by a third daily service from Mumbai from May 15. With this additional capacity, British Airways will operate up to 63 weekly flights with more than 1,000 additional seats per week between India and the UK, offering more options for customers travelling to the UK or connecting onwards across the airline’s global network,” BA said in a statement.Neil Chernoff, British Airways’ chief planning and strategy officer, said: “As we continue to respond to the evolving situation in the Middle East, we’ve been able to reallocate additional capacity to meet strong demand to other destinations across our route network. India remains one of our most important global markets, and these additional services from Delhi and Mumbai respond to customer demand and provide greater choice and flexibility for our customers when travelling to the UK and beyond. We will continue to review our network and make adjustments based on where our customers want to fly this summer.”

Mumbai: Bombay high court on Thursday sought a status update and probable timeline in two weeks from Maharashtra govt over its March 18 decision to expand a district hospital from 100 to 300 beds in the tribal belt of Dharni in Melghat region of Amravati district.“We find the vexed question dealt with by this court for the last two decades is over extending medical facilities in Melghat region,” said a division bench of Justices R V Ghuge and Abhay Mantri. Expressing anguish at the unabated death of tribal children in Melghat and Dharni, the bench added: “Babies are dying. They are dying for want of food and crucial medical attention… their ribs and bones can be seen.”Jugalkishor Gilda, counsel for the petitioners, said the state is spending thousands of crores for the Laadki Bahin scheme for those ‘sitting at home’, while babies and adults are dying due to malnutrition. He informed the HC that “not one brick has yet been laid for the 300-bed hospital”.The bench said the fact that child and maternal deaths continue even 25 years after HC orders “speaks louder than words”. “It is a tragedy that this court has to hear submissions on deaths occurring due to malnutrition, lack of medication and nutrition, lack of appropriate medical support to malnourished patients, pregnant women and lactating mothers,” said Justice Ghuge, while dictating the order in the second round of the public interest litigation (PIL) that began in 2007 to tackle the malnutrition death crisis in Melghat and other tribal areas of Amravati. The HC said the PIL has highlighted Melghat in the first batch of petitions too since 1993.Gilda said the state earlier too, decades ago, made declarations to expand its hospitals in tribal areas. The HC said, “Files moved slowly from department to department, approvals sought were stuck, lack of funds is a major issue with govt.”The HC also recorded Gilda’s submission that the gram panchayat has no funds to pay around Rs 30 crore of electricity dues for Melghat and Rs 148 crore across Amravati tribal regions, which would lead to water supply being cut off on March 31 as pumps will no longer function.On advocate Uday Warunjikar’s request, the HC heard at length submissions and suggestions from Dr Ashish Satav of Mahan Trust, who works extensively in remote interiors of Melghat to treat malnourished infants. Dr Satav said local youth should be trained as counsellors and therapeutic nutritional needs should be met by the state.State additional government pleader Bhupesh Samant said 121 blood bags since November 2024 were sent to the Mahan trust hospital for the trial area as per the GR requirement and availability with cost of testing taken from private hospital, while it was free for govt hospitals. But Dr Satav said the trust had to pay for the blood bags while treating children for free.

Yudhisthira, the eldest of the Pandavas in the Indian epic The Mahabharata, lived an almost sin-free life. After the battle, with old age approaching, he, along with his brothers, set off for heaven. En route, all others shuffled off their mortal coil except the eldest brother and one dog who accompanied him on the journey. At the gates of swarga, Indra, the king of gods, told him he could enter, but he would have to leave his stray companion behind. Yudhisthira, also called Dharmaputra, refused to abandon his canine companion. It turned out to be a test. The dog was Dharma (Yama), testing Yudhisthira’s moral resolve.The dog story is fascinating because it recalls the only time in life when the eldest Pandava prince was found morally wanting. That was on the battlefield, when he told a white lie by omission to Dronacharya: “Ashwatthama hata iti… narova kunjarova.” (Ashwatthama is dead… whether man or elephant, I do not know.) The smallest of lies changed the tide of battle and, as Dronacharya laid down his arms, Dhrishtadyumna, son of Drupad and brother of Draupadi, slew the warrior teacher. Much like Yudhisthira’s white lie, the tale of the seven dogs returning home — a viral video the internet fell in love with — is only partially true. The video is not AI; it is not fake, but the narrative is.The original video had millions of views at the time of writing. For those living under a rock, the clip shows a band of canine misfits — a golden retriever, an injured German shepherd, and a tiny corgi leading the line.According to a report in CNN, the original clip is authentic. There really are seven dogs wandering down the side of a highway in northeastern Jilin province. But they are not ‘homeward bound’.What the internet saw was a story. What the camera captured was behaviour.The dogs were not escaping anything. They were not marching towards anything. They belonged to nearby villagers. The German shepherd was in heat, which is why the others had gathered and followed. In villages, dogs wander. They drift. They return.There is no screenplay in that.Which is precisely why one was written.The moment the video left its original context, it entered a different economy. Not of facts, but of feeling. A corgi walking slightly ahead becomes leadership. A dog looking back becomes care. A cluster becomes loyalty. Meaning is not derived. It is assigned.And once assigned, it spreads.The first caption does not need to be entirely wrong. It only needs to be evocative. From there, the internet does the rest. Someone adds detail. Someone else adds motive. Soon there is a beginning, a middle, and an end. The dogs have escaped danger. They are protecting each other. They are on a journey home.The video has not changed, but the story has.This is how misinformation now travels. It does not arrive as a finished lie. It accumulates as a preferred interpretation. Each retelling smooths out ambiguity, sharpens intent, and removes the parts that feel inconveniently ordinary. By the time the story stabilises, it no longer feels like an embellishment. It feels like memory.And then comes the second wave. AI posters. Trailers. Imagined reunions. The internet does not just tell the story. It begins to produce it. A few seconds of footage become a universe that never existed.At that point, correction becomes irrelevant. Truth isn’t competing with a lie, just a version of it that sounds better.And perhaps that’s the irony, as Yudhisthira understood: a statement can be true and still mislead. Truth does not reside only in words. Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder and, in our age of super-fast information, truth rests on the availability heuristic of the viewer.

The wait is almost over. IPL 2026 is set to get underway on March 28, and the excitement building around this edition is hard to miss. With ten teams, 84 matches, and a packed schedule spread across two phases, it promises to be the biggest IPL yet. Among the ten franchises gearing up for another shot at glory, Mumbai Indians (MI) always attract a special kind of attention. The five-time champions have not lifted the trophy since 2020, and with a squad packed full of stars, there is widespread belief that this could finally be their year again.

MI will kick off their IPL 2026 campaign at home against Kolkata Knight Riders on March 29 at the Wankhede Stadium, and the buzz around their preparations has been impossible to ignore. However, not everyone is ready to give them a clean bill of health just yet. One legendary voice from the world of cricket has flagged a concern and it is one that MI fans would do well to pay attention to.

AB de Villiers names the weak link in MI bowling lineup

Speaking on his YouTube channel ahead of IPL 2026, former South African batting great AB de Villiers pointed to left-arm pacer Trent Boult as his biggest worry for Mumbai Indians. De Villiers drew a comparison with Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s decline in pace, saying Boult has lost a yard and is not as threatening as he was during his peak years between 2018 and 2020. He also noted that Boult has been leaking more runs of late, and warned that MI could be carrying a false sense of security when it comes to their bowling depth, adding that opposition batters may well identify this as an area to target.

It is a pointed observation from someone who understands the game at the highest level. The concern is not without merit either. While Boult was MI’s leading wicket-taker last season with 22 wickets, he conceded runs at an economy rate of almost nine, which in T20 cricket is a number that can hurt a team badly, especially in the middle overs and death.

Boult holds the record for the most wickets in the opening over of an IPL innings with 31, and his left-arm angle and ability to swing the new ball have long made him one of the most dangerous powerplay bowlers in the competition. But de Villiers’ point is that the version of Boult who was truly unplayable at the top of the innings is no longer quite the same threat he once was. If batters walk in with a game plan against him, that partnership with Jasprit Bumrah could look more vulnerable than it appears on paper.

“The one worry for me is Trent Boult. It’s similar to a Bhuvi situation, where he has lost a yard. He is not as spicy as he was from 2018 to 2020. He seems to be more expensive over the last while. MI probably feel they have a lot of insurance there, but maybe it’s a false sense of security. It could be an area some of the opposition batters will target,” said De Villiers.

Also READ: Wasim Jaffer outlines his Mumbai Indians playing XII prediction for IPL 2026

Expectations high from the five-time champions

Despite the concern over Boult, Mumbai Indians on the whole look formidable heading into IPL 2026. Former India opener Abhinav Mukund described MI as a dominant force on paper, highlighting the number of in-form players in the squad and pointing to the addition of Quinton de Kock as a particularly strong move. He noted that the squad is so packed that even a player of Shardul Thakur’s quality may struggle to find a place in the playing eleven, which tells you everything about the depth available.

The batting lineup featuring Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, and de Kock is among the most star-studded in the competition. If Bumrah is fully fit and fires alongside Boult and Deepak Chahar, MI have the firepower to go all the way. But de Villiers’ warning serves as a timely reminder on paper is one thing, and what actually happens out in the middle is another.

For a team that has not won the title in five years, the hunger is clearly there. Whether the bowling holds up over a long tournament will be one of the most interesting subplots of IPL 2026.

Also READ: Former CSK star picks his ideal playing XI of Mumbai Indians for IPL 2026

A view of the Olympic rings (AP Photo/Jennifer McDermott)

NEW DELHI: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has decided that transgender women will no longer be allowed to compete in women’s events at the Olympics, starting from the 2028 Los Angeles Games. The move brings in a stricter eligibility rule, stating that only biological females can take part, with a one-time mandatory gene test to confirm this.The IOC said the change is meant to ensure fair competition. “Eligibility for any female category event at the Olympic Games or any other IOC event… is now limited to biological females,” the body stated. The policy, which is not retroactive and won’t affect grassroots sports, aims to “protect fairness, safety and integrity in the female category”.IOC president Kirsty Coventry backed the decision, saying, “At the Olympic Games, even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat… it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category.”The IOC also pointed to research suggesting that being born male can give lasting physical advantages, especially in strength, endurance and power-based sports. A gene test checking for the SRY gene has been described as “the most accurate and least intrusive method currently available”.The new rules will also affect some athletes with differences in sex development (DSD), such as runner Caster Semenya. The IOC wants a clear, unified policy instead of leaving decisions to individual sports bodies, many of which had already imposed similar restrictions.The decision comes amid growing global debate and follows a US executive order pushing for stricter rules in women’s sports. While the IOC says the policy ensures fairness, it is expected to face criticism from human rights groups and activists.