Trump to make ‘major announcement’ on shutdown and border

US president Donald Trump said on Friday he will make a "major" announcement on Saturday afternoon regarding "the humanitarian crisis on our southern border" and the partial government shutdown, now in its 28th day.

The president is due to make the announcement from the White House.

Mr Trump and Democrats in Congress remain far apart over the president’s insistence on funding for a wall along the Mexican border as the price of reopening the government. The two sides have traded taunts and avoided talks so far this week.

The political stakes are high as the shutdown moves into a fifth week, with hundreds of thousands of federal workers going without pay and no outward signs of resolution. – Agencies.