The bipartisan measure, which passed 71 to 28 in the dead of night, was now headed to the House of Representatives for what is expected to be another pre-dawn Friday vote.

If it passes the House, and President Donald Trump signs the bill into law, it would restrict the nation’s second government shutdown in three weeks to just a matter of hours.

Federal operations were brought to a halt early Friday after Senator Rand Paul, a conservative in Trump’s own Republican Party, blocked a vote on a spending deal before a midnight deadline for extending government funding.

Trump’s administration was already preparing for a halt in operations.

The White House’s Office of Management and Budget “is currently preparing for a lapse in appropriations,” an OMB official said on condition of anonymity late Thursday, calling on lawmakers to get the measure to Trump’s desk “without delay.”

The bill, which includes a far-reaching deal that increases spending limits for the next two years and raises the federal debt ceiling until March 2019, would break the cycle of government funding crises in time for what is set to be a bruising campaign for November’s mid-term elections.

The rebellion that simmered among Republicans and Democrats over the budget agreement boiled over when a determined Paul brought the Senate’s work to a halt.

– ‘Definition of hypocrisy’ –

Moving legislation swiftly through the upper chamber of Congress requires consent by all 100 members, but Paul objected.

The Kentucky Republican took the floor to blast the increase in federal spending limits, and in particular the fiscal irresponsibility of his own party.

“I can’t in all good honesty and all good faith just look the other way because my party is now complicit in the deficits,” Paul said.

“If you’re against president (Barack) Obama’s deficits, but you’re for the Republican deficits, isn’t that the very definition of hypocrisy?” he boomed, adding that he wants his fellow lawmakers “to feel uncomfortable” over the impasse.

But top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer warned that the delay put lawmakers “in risky territory.”

A McConnell lieutenant, Senator John Cornyn, also fumed about Paul’s gambit.

“I don’t know why we are basically burning time here,” an exasperated Cornyn said. “We are in an emergency situation.”

But Paul refused to yield and allow an early vote, forcing a shutdown while highlighting his policy priorities about excessive government spending.

“I think this has been a very useful debate,” Paul said shortly before the vote.

The bill headed to the House, but its fate there is far from certain.

Fiscal conservatives in the lower chamber may join with Paul in balking at adding billions of dollars to the national debt two months after passing a $1.5 trillion tax cut package.

– $300 billion more –

And liberal stalwarts including top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi were also in revolt because the deal does nothing to protect young undocumented immigrants from deportation.

House Speaker Paul Ryan issued a statement welcoming the Senate’s passage of the measure.

“Now it’s time for the House to do its job,” Ryan said.

The temporary spending bill under consideration incorporates the major budget deal reached between Senate leaders on both sides of the political aisle.

That agreement includes a $300 billion increase to both military and non-military spending limits for this year and 2019, and raises the debt until March 1 next year.

It also provides a massive $90 billion disaster relief package and funding to address the nationwide opioid abuse crisis.

Democrats have sought to link the federal funding debate to a permanent solution for hundreds of thousands of “Dreamer” immigrants who were brought to the country illegally as children.

Dreamers were shielded from deportation under the Obama-era program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). But Trump ended the program last September, setting March 5 as a deadline for resolving the issue.

The White House’s current proposal — one that would put 1.8 million immigrants on a path to citizenship, but also boost border security, and dramatically curtail legal immigration — has been panned by Democrats.

Several bipartisan efforts have stalled.//AFP

“Malaysian authorities devoted considerable manpower and resources to the search-and-rescue (SAR) operations,” the Singaporean premier said in his Facebook post, according to Bernama news agency.

The two hikers, Dominick Tan and Clarice Lum Jie, were reported missing in the Gunung Pulai Forest Reserve, Kulai, since Monday (Feb 5). They were found safe at the Ulu Choh Dam in Pontian on Wednesday (Feb 7).

“My heartfelt thanks to Johor police chief Datuk Mohd Khalil, Kulai Fire Department Chief Mohd Khairi Zainudin, their teams, as well as the Singapore team on the ground, for their efforts in this operation.

Lee said he was “relieved” that the duo have been found.

“The pair were eventually spotted by a rescue helicopter this morning (Wednesday), picked up by a rescue boat, and are now on their way back home,” wrote Lee.

Dominick and Clarice, both 27, were found by the SAR team at 11.24am, about 50km from the last location they were detected following a distress call received via 999 on Monday.

The climbers had reportedly entered the Gunung Pulai area at 12.15pm on Monday and made a distress call to the authorities at 5.55pm on the same day. They were last contacted at about 10pm.

The pair were spotted at a lake near the dam via an aerial reconnaissance using a Royal Malaysia Police Force helicopter.

The upper chamber of Congress struggled to overcome roadblocks to passing a government funding bill and budget plan when a conservative senator objected to a swift vote, and leadership opted to close up shop and then reopen at 12:01 am (0501 GMT) Friday.

The closure could ultimately be shortlived, as the Senate was expected to schedule a vote on the measure at 1am and, if it passes, send it to the House of Representatives and then on to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature as early as Friday.

It is the first time Reuters has publicly confirmed what Myanmar nationals Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27, were working on when they were arrested on December 12 on the outskirts of Yangon.

Detained Myanmar journalist Kyaw Soe Oo (L) is escorted by police to a court in Yangon to face trial on February 6, 2018. // AFP PHOTO

The pair are now facing up to 14 years in prison on charges of possessing classified documents in violation of the colonial-era Official Secrets Act.

Their plight has sparked global alarm over withering press freedoms in Myanmar and government efforts to curb reporting in northern Rakhine state — a crisis-hit region where troops are accused of waging an ethnic cleansing campaign against Rohingya Muslims.

Nearly 700,000 Rohingya have fled the area since last August, carrying stories of atrocities at the hands of troops and vigilante groups in the Buddhist-majority country.

Myanmar authorities deny the allegations but have virtually cut off northern Rakhine, barring independent media from accessing the conflict-hit areas.

On Thursday Reuters published a report describing how Myanmar troops and Buddhist villagers executed 10 Rohingya men in Rakhine’s Inn Dinn village on September 2, 2017 before dumping their bodies into a mass grave.

“The Reuters investigation of the Inn Din massacre was what prompted Myanmar police authorities to arrest two of the news agency’s reporters,” the report said.

The account was based on testimony from Buddhist villagers, security officers and relatives of the slain men.

It included graphic photographs of the victims, hands bound kneeling on the floor before the killing — and of their bodies in a pit after.

A month after the journalists’ arrests, Myanmar’s army issued a rare statement admitting that security forces took part in extrajudicial killings of 10 Rohingya “terrorists” in Inn Din village.

The Reuters report said witnesses denied there had been any major attack from Rohingya militants before the alleged massacre.

A Myanmar government spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment.

But Myanmar vehemently denies systematic abuses by its security officers, despite a mounting volume of evidence pointing to atrocities.

Judges have denied bail to the two reporters during a pre-trial hearing period, despite calls for their release from human rights groups and diplomats around the globe.

The next hearing is scheduled for February 14.

Young sex workers were hired by senior staff in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake which devastated the island and left up to 300,000 people dead, The Times said.

Groups of young prostitutes were invited to homes and guesthouses paid for by the charity for sex parties, according to one source who claimed to have seen footage of an orgy with sex workers wearing Oxfam t-shirts.

The charity launched an internal investigation in 2011 which found a “culture of impunity” among some staff and was unable to rule out that some of the prostitutes were underage, according to the newspaper.

The Times said Oxfam’s country editor, Roland van Hauwermeiren, resigned without disciplinary action despite allegedly admitting hiring prostitutes.

Two other men reportedly resigned and a further four were sacked, while the Haitian authorities were not informed and no legal action was taken.

Responding to the report, Oxfam denied it was behind a “cover-up” to protect its reputation.

“Oxfam treats any allegations of misconduct extremely seriously,” a spokeswoman told AFP.

Oxfam admitted that allegations of underage girls being involved had been made, but said these “were not proven”.

“A number of staff were dismissed as a result of the investigation and others left the organisation before it was completed.

“The country director took full responsibility for events that took place under his management and was permitted to resign on the basis that he fully cooperated with and supported the investigation,” the spokeswoman said.

“The ministry’s ad hoc committee has called for the repatriation of 23 artefacts that originated in Thailand from leading US museums,” said Minister of Culture Veera Rojpojchanarat at a press conference yesterday at Bangkok’s National Museum.

“After a one-year investigation, the ministry’s urgent task aims to bring back five stone architectural artefacts, including two prominent 11th-century stone lintels from Prasat Nong Hong in Buri Ram and Prasat Khao Lon in Sa Kaew, which are currently in the permanent collections of the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco,” Fine Art Department director Anan Chuchote said.

The 8th-Century bronze preaching Buddha statue called Avalokitesvara from Prasat Hin Khao Bat II in Buri Ram. It is currently in a permanent collection at the Metropolitan Art Museum in New York. Photo courtesy of MET

There are also 18 Buddha statues and sculptures that are currently in permanent collections at leading museums, including New York’s Metropolitan Art Museum, the Asian Art Museum and Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, California.

“One of masterpieces includes an eighth-century bronze preaching Buddha statue called Avalokitesvara from Prasat Hin Khao Bat II in Buri Ram. It is currently in a permanent collection at the Metropolitan Art Museum in New York,” archaeologist Tanongsak Hanwong, a member of the ad hoc committee, told The Nation.

There are also 14 artefacts currently in the possession of the Honolulu Museum of Art in Hawaii. These items include a prehistoric bell made of bronze and Buddha statues from the Dvaravati and Ayutthaya eras.

The US Department of Homeland Security has called for cooperation with Thailand to verify 69 other artefacts, all from the prehistoric age and believed to originate from Thailand, which are currently stored in museums in the United States.

There are also 13 prehistoric artefacts, including Baan Chiang pottery, owned by American collector Katherine Ayers-Mannix, who intends to return her collection to the Thai government.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry is in the process of verifying 10 more artefacts currently in the possession of the Norton Simon Museum in California.

Thailand has successfully called for the repatriation of heritage from the US in past decades.

In 2014, the US government returned more than 500 artefacts looted from Ban Chiang, originating from the prehistoric period, which were in possession of the Bowers Museum in Santa Anna, California.

That was the most significant return of ancient treasures since the Art Institute of Chicago returned the Narai stone lintel in 1988.

Meanwhile, Thailand also returned cultural heritage to neighbouring counties. In 2015, Thailand repatriated 16 Cambodian artefacts recovered from smugglers in 1999. In 2009, Thailand repatriated seven other sculptures from the same 1999 seizure.

A Jaguar, a Lexus, a Corvette Stingray, and dozens of top-end German sedans and Japanese SUVs were crushed at a custom yard in the capital Manila. The vehicles were seized after they were smuggled in, authorities said.

A total of 30 vehicles worth a combined 61.6 million pesos ($1.2 million) were scrapped in Manila and two other cities on Duterte’s orders

The president has made fighting corruption and illegal drugs the cornerstones of his six-year term.

“Reduce them to scrap metal,” Duterte said in a speech to customs employees after the event.

Normally, seized smuggled vehicles are impounded and then auctioned with the government taking the proceeds.

“I will pay for them, no problem,” Duterte said.

The Bureau of Customs collects duties on imports and is one of the state’s key revenue-generating agencies. It consistently tops independent surveys as one of the country’s most corrupt government agencies.

Customs commissioner Isidro Lapena said in a speech at the ceremony that he has reassigned 691 of his some 7,000 employees since he took office in August last year.

Two other employees were dismissed and 16 others have been suspended over alleged illegal activity, he added.//AFP

He said the company forecast the market value of defence spending would reach US$180 billion (Bt5.7 trillion) in Asia-Pacific countries this year, up 5.2 per cent from $171 billion last year. Southeast Asia spent $30 billion, accounting for 16.67 per cent of the entire Asia-Pacific, excluding China and South Asia.

“Thailand is a potential market for our business, especially because the country has a policy to modernise its air force fleet. This is like other countries in Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines and Malaysia,” he said.

Thailand is currently ruled by a military junta after having experienced two coups in less than a decade and its defence budget has increased sharply since the 2006 coup from Bt86 billion in 2006 to Bt222 billion in 2018 fiscal year, or 7.7 per cent of the total national budget, according to government budget.

Hardware procurements were priority for governments over the past decade although country is relatively free from major conventional security threats, analysts said.

Submarines, missiles, tanks and jet fighters are favourite items for Thailand and the major suppliers include China, the United States, Ukraine and South Korea. The latest deal was a Bt8.8-billion purchase of eight T-50 Golden Eagle fighters from Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI).

The Royal Thai Air Force took delivery of the first two KAI T-50 Golden Eagles lead-in fighter trainers last month.

Honeywell Aerospace is a manufacturer of aircraft engines and avionics, with defence and space technology among its businesses.

According to an IHS Jane report, global defence spending will grow for the fifth consecutive year, reaching $1.67 trillion in 2018 and overtaking the previous post-Cold War record of $1.63 trillion seen in 2010.

“We cannot says why the defence budget spending in Asia-Pacific, especially Southeast Asia, is rising this year compared with last year, but we are seeing strong growth demand with the development and production of ground combat and support vehicles,” Van Luven said.

Thailand needs equipment to modernise F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft, C-130 Hercules Transport Aircraft and the T-50 Combat Trainer/FA-50 Lighting Attack Aircraft, while Singapore needs to focus on F-16s and F-15 Eagles and Indonesia has C-130s and F-16s.

The two governments announced the deal less than three months after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau clashed with host President Rodrigo Duterte over Philippine drug war killings, on the sidelines of a Manila summit.

The Philippine defence department signed the 12- billion-peso (US$234.8 million) Bell 412EPI deal with the state-run Canadian Commercial Corp, with deliveries set to start in nine months, ministry spokesman Arsenio Andolong told AFP.

“These are multi-purpose aircraft for anti-terrorism as well as HADR,” he said, using military lingo that refers to disaster response and humanitarian missions.

Philippine troops and police, beset by Islamist and communist insurgencies, fought a five-month battle last year against Islamic State group supporters in the southern city of Marawi.

It is also faced with rising tensions over rival territorial claims in the South China Sea and has been upgrading its navy and air force in recent years. The country is also regularly battered by typhoons.

“These (helicopters) are a real benefit to Filipinos,” Canadian ambassador John Holmes said on the mission’s Facebook page, adding it would boost Manila’s “search and rescue and disaster relief capabilities”.

The Philippine defence department acquired eight of the same Bell aircraft model in 2015, which it said went mostly to an air force unit assigned with providing air transport for the Philippine president.

The Filipino military also uses derivations of the Bell-UH-1H helicopter, which first saw service for the US military in the Vietnam War in the early 1960s.

The two governments announced the deal less than three months after Duterte and Trudeau clashed.

Trudeau said during the November summit that he called out Duterte over “human rights, the rule of law, and specifically extrajudicial killings”.

Duterte, who has overseen a crackdown that has left nearly 4,000 drug suspects dead at the hands of the police, later described Trudeau’s comments as “a personal and official insult”, adding he would only answer to his Filipino electorate.

The Philippine government says police only shot the suspects in self-defence and rejects human rights monitors’ description of the crackdown as a crime against humanity.//AFP