WASHINGTON DC

President Barack Obama demanded an end to a three-day government shutdown he decried as a reckless "farce," piling pressure on Republicans to climb down first on a budget impasse.

The US Treasury meanwhile warned of "catastrophic" consequences if there is no deal within weeks to raise the country's debt ceiling, and the IMF chief said navigating a way out of that next crisis was "mission critical."

Obama traveled to the Washington suburbs to lambast Republican House Speaker John Boehner, who emerged from a White House meeting late on Wednesday complaining that the president would not negotiate with him.

MWANA HARAKATI