Operations at the US Navy Fifth Fleet in Bahrain will continue as normal despite a partial government shutdown in the US, said an official.

The US government went into partial shutdown yesterday, the first day of their fiscal year, after Congress refused to fund the federal government, reported the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

However, due to US House of Representatives and Senate finalising legislation on Monday, soldiers will continue to be paid despite the shutdown.

"It's business as usual here," a US Navy Fifth Fleet official told the GDN.

"We'll be getting paid because the bill was passed."

Many functions of the US government, ranging from funding agencies and processing passport requests, have ceased.

Others, which are deemed essential, such as air traffic control and social security, will continue to be funded. The last time the federal government went into partial shutdown was in 1995, under the Clinton administration. – TradeArabia News Service