Obama to cut short Asia trip as shutdown continues
Thursday, 3 October 2013 00:00
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Reuters: President Barack Obama on Wednesday scaled down a long-planned trip to Asia, as a US Government shutdown entered a second day with no end in sight to the funding row in Congress that triggered it.
Obama is expected to leave on Saturday for summit meetings in Indonesia and Brunei. Malaysian media quoted Prime Minister Najib Razak as saying he would now skip a subsequent visit to Kuala Lumpur. His last stop, in the Philippines, also now looks in question.
The President would thus be able to return home just days before an even bigger crunch in Congress, which will put the United States at risk of defaulting on its debts if it does not raise the US public debt ceiling.
