US Senate passes deal aimed at ending longest ever government shutdown

The measure signals a major breakthrough but the deal still needs to get over more hurdles in Congress.

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After a weekend of negotiations in Washington, a minority of Democrats joined with Republicans and voted in favour of an agreement.

The vote is a procedural first step towards passing a compromise to fund the government since it ran out of money 1 October.

It will need to clear several more hurdles - including a vote from the House of Representatives - before federal employees and services return, but it is the first serious sign of progress after 40 days of deadlock. The Senate is expected to return for further debate at 11:00 local time (16:00 GMT) on Monday.

The current shutdown is the longest on record in the US, and until this weekend it appeared that Republican and Democratic lawmakers were locked in a stalemate.