Globe Trot: Shutdown reverberates around the world

AFGHANISTAN: Global fallout from the partial government shutdown may continue. But families of U.S. service members killed in Afghanistan—denied government payment of the $100,000 death benefit are getting recompense. Yesterday President Barack Obama signed a bill to allow the payments.

FOREIGN AID is continuing because it’s considered part of the national security apparatus. But aid groups using federal funds in crisis areas—work among Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon, for example—have told me they fear a slowdown in processing payments and essential supplies because so many relevant workers have been furloughed.

FRANCE: At Normandy and around the world, cemeteries dedicated to U.S. war dead remain closed, and other support services for military personnel serving overseas have been suspended.

RUSSIA: Though most U.S. embassies are issuing visas and U.S. passports, “The new reality for us during the government shutdown is that we are not conducting business as usual in our diplomacy,” said U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul.

NORWAY: The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has won the Nobel Peace Prize. According to a tweet from the UN this morning, the OPCW has inspected three sites in Syria (of a possible 50 or more) and destroyed some chemical weapons.

U.S. officials are asking Norway to take on the task no one wants, of disposing of Syria’s 1,000 metric tons or more of chemical weapons.

Note: Globe Trot will not be published on Monday and will return Wednesday, Oct. 16.