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ISLAMABAD: A White House meeting on Monday with top Republican and Democratic congressional leaders yielded no budget breakthrough, with both sides trading blame less than 36 hours before government funding runs out, AFP reported. After sitting down at the White House, the president and the four top congressional leaders failed to strike a deal.&nbsp; If funding expires at midnight on October 1 &ndash; which appeared likely absent any unexpected breakthrough &ndash; a shutdown will start at 12:01 a.m, USA Today reported. &quot;There was a frank and direct discussion with the president of the United States and Republican leaders,&quot; House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters after the meeting with the president. But he added that &quot;significant and meaningful differences remain.&quot; &quot;Large differences&quot; remained between the two sides, top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer told reporters after the last-gasp meeting hosted by President Donald Trump, AFP reported.<div class="fr-embed responsive-video"><div class="video-wrapper aspect-video"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-8" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-8&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1972797376449356026&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=afd23c9fa73d0b6fc1cfc140ce94704cdd1d8176&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="width: 550px; height: 648px; min-height: 0px; position: static; visibility: visible;">&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div></div>Schumer, whose party is in the minority, said &quot;it&#39;s up to the Republicans whether they want a shutdown or not,&quot; adding that he had made &quot;some proposals&quot; to Trump. &quot;A gun to the American people&#39;s head&quot;Vice President JD Vance meanwhile accused the Democrats of putting &quot;a gun to the American people&#39;s head&quot; with their funding demands. &quot;I think we&#39;re headed to a shutdown because the Democrats won&#39;t do the right thing,&quot; he said.<div class="fr-embed responsive-video"><div class="video-wrapper aspect-video"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-7" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-7&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1972786807592083582&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=afd23c9fa73d0b6fc1cfc140ce94704cdd1d8176&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="width: 100%; height: 100%; min-height: 0px;">&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div></div>Without Congress passing a bill to fund federal operations before midnight Tuesday night, the government will partially close up shop -- and plunge Washington into a new round of political crisis. A shutdown would see non-essential operations grind to a halt, hundreds of thousands of civil servants temporarily left without pay, and payment of many social safety net benefits disrupted. Such shutdowns are deeply unpopular in the United States, and Democrats and Republicans alike try to avoid the scenario -- while blaming the other camp should such a closure arise. Threat to fire workers&nbsp;But with barely 36 hours to go before the deadline, each side is digging in its heels and the threat of a shutdown has swelled. The White House is upping the ante by threatening to fire large numbers of civil service workers, rather than the usual practice of simply holding up their pay until a deal is reached. Republicans have proposed to extend current funding until late November, pending negotiations on a longer-term spending plan. But Democrats, largely powerless and reeling from Trump&#39;s dismantling of entire government departments, are seeking to make use of their rare leverage. Healthcare demand&nbsp;Republicans hold narrow majorities in both chambers of Congress, but Senate rules require budget bills to receive 60 votes out of 100 to proceed -- meaning they must sway at least seven Democrats. Democrats want to see hundreds of billions of dollars in healthcare spending restored, particularly in the Obamacare health insurance program for low-income households which the Trump administration plans to eliminate through its so-called &quot;Big, Beautiful&quot; budget bill passed in July. They also want to block Trump and Republicans from later cutting approved funds through the so-called &quot;recissions&quot; process -- which requires only a simple majority to pass -- as they did this summer. &lsquo;The decision maker&rsquo;&nbsp;&quot;Ultimately he&#39;s the decision maker,&quot; Schumer said of Trump. &quot;And if he will accept some of the things we asked -- which we think the American people are for, on health care and on rescissions -- he can avoid a shutdown, but there are still large differences between us.&quot; The House has already passed a short-term funding extension, and Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has sought to force Senate Democrats&#39; hands by not bringing his chamber back to Washington this week. Johnson, speaking alongside Vance and Senate Republican leader John Thune, accused Democrats on Monday of &quot;trying to bring in extraneous issues&quot; instead of accepting his chamber&#39;s &quot;clean&quot; proposal to extend funding. &quot;If the Democrats make the decision to shut the government down, the consequences are on them, and I think it&#39;s absolutely tragic,&quot; he said. Gridlocked CongressThe gridlocked Congress regularly runs into deadlines to agree on spending plans. In March, with the threat of a shutdown already looming, Republicans refused to engage in dialogue with Democrats over massive budget cuts and the layoff of thousands of federal employees. That time, 10 Senate Democrats, including Schumer, reluctantly voted for that Republican stop-gap measure to avoid a shutdown. But their decision angered the party base, which is calling on Democratic leaders to stand up to Trump.

Americas

With 36 hours until a government shutdown, a White House meeting between Trump and congressional leaders ended without agreement. Both parties blamed each other, with healthcare funding and spending cuts at the center.

Trump meets Democrats without breakthrough on imminent shutdown

ISLAMABAD : A huge communications blackout hit Afghanistan on Monday, weeks after Taliban authorities began severing fibre optic connections in multiple provinces to prevent &quot;vice&quot;. AFP lost mobile phone contact with its bureau in the capital Kabul around 5:45 pm (1315 GMT), as well as with journalists in the cities of Herat and Kandahar. &quot;A nation-wide telecoms blackout is now in effect,&quot; said Netblocks, a watchdog organisation that monitors cybersecurity and internet governance. &quot;We&#39;re now observing national connectivity at 14 percent of ordinary levels.&quot; The watchdog said the incident &quot;appears consistent with the intentional disconnection of service&quot;. Afghanistan&#39;s Taliban authorities began the crackdown on internet access earlier this month, effectively shutting down high-speed internet in several regions. Over the past several weeks, internet connections have been extremely slow or intermittent. Telephone services are often routed over the internet, sharing the same fibre lines, especially in countries with limited telecoms infrastructure. &quot;Physically pulling the plug on fibre internet would therefore also shut down mobile and fixed-line telephone services,&quot; Netblocks told AFP. &quot;It may turn out that disconnecting internet access while keeping phone service available will take some trial and error.&quot; On September 16, Balkh provincial spokesman Attaullah Zaid said fibre optic internet was completely banned in northern province on the leader&#39;s orders. &quot;This measure was taken to prevent vice, and alternative options will be put in place across the country to meet connectivity needs,&quot; he wrote on social media. At the time, AFP correspondents reported the same restrictions in the northern provinces of Badakhshan and Takhar, as well as in Kandahar, Helmand, Nangarhar and Uruzgan in the south. In 2024, Kabul had touted the 9,350-kilometre fibre optic network -- largely built by former US-backed governments -- as a &quot;priority&quot; to bring the country closer to the rest of the world and lift it out of poverty. Since regaining power in 2021, the Taliban have instituted numerous restrictions in accordance with their interpretation of Islamic law.

Afghanistan

A huge communications blackout hit Afghanistan , weeks after Taliban authorities began severing fibre optic connections in multiple provinces 

Articles tagged with "Shutdown"

Trump meets Democrats without breakthrough on imminent shutdown

Nationwide communications blackout hits Afghanistan: AFP journalists