US Government Orders Partial Shutdown.

The US government has partially shut down for the first time in 17 years, after Congress failed to agree measures to continue funding basic services.
Federal agencies were ordered to begin closing at midnight on Tuesday (04:00 GMT), meaning 800,000 "non-essential" workers would be forced to stay at home...

The shutdown began after the law to fund government ran out, as the Republican-led House of Representatives attempted to draw up a replacement that blocks parts of President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law.
The House has passed two spending bills in recent days, both of which have been rejected by the Democratic-led Senate.
The House asked for a conference on the budget with the Senate. However, the Senate's Democratic majority leader, Harry Reid, said it would reject the proposal, and called on the House to pass a budget law not linked to healthcare.
The Senate was due to meet again on Tuesday, when it is almost certain to block a third bill from the House.
Shutdown effects
Some critical parts of the government, including the military and air traffic control, will remain open. The shutdown will, however, keep hundreds of thousands of federal workers at home and unpaid.
It could affect government services including park management, food assistance for children and pregnant women and federal home loan programmes.  Federal agencies, such as NASA, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and others, were also affected.



Aljazeera.