American Center library in Nepal to remain closed

Kathmandu, January 22

The US Embassy in Kathmandu today announced that the American Center library would be closed ‘due to lapse in appropriations’ after the US government shutdown.

The embassy and Ambassador Alaina B Teplitz also announced that their twitter feeds would not be updated regularly for the same reason. “Due to the lapse in appropriations, the Embassy’s American Center library will be closed. Thanks for your understanding,” tweeted the embassy. Teplitz tweeted: “Due to the lapse in appropriations this twitter feed will not be updated regularly. Please visit @StateDept for updates.”

However, the embassy stated that its consular services would continue to function. “US Embassy consular services will continue to function. If you have a scheduled visa interview or American Citizen Services appointment, please arrive at the Embassy at your designated time,” the embassy stated in another tweet.

The US government shut down at midnight on Friday after Democrats and Republicans, locked in a bitter dispute over immigration and border security, failed to agree on a last-minute deal to fund its operations, according to Reuters.

In a late-night session, senators blocked a bill to extend government funding through February 16. The bill needed 60 votes in the 100-member Senate but only 50 supported it.

Most Democrats opposed the bill because their efforts to include protection for hundreds of thousands of mostly young immigrants were rejected by President Donald Trump and Republican leaders.

Reuters adds that hundreds of thousands of federal workers began shutting down operations today with the US government closed, as a bipartisan group of senators tried to negotiate a deal just hours before the full Senate planned another vote to restore funding.

As government employees prepared for the first weekday since the shutdown began, US senators were to vote at midday on a funding bill. Support for the bill was uncertain after Republicans and Democrats spent the weekend trying to strike a deal, only to go home for the night short of an agreement.