Obama eyes more deficit talks with no deal in sight
Washington, July 16
President Barack Obama is contemplating whether to summon lawmakers for a new round of debt and deficit talks, weighing the chances of progress as both sides stick to their positions on spending and taxes.

Ilyas Kashmiri is alive, says report 
Islamabad, July 16
Al-Qaida-linked militant commander Ilyas Kashmiri, who was reported to have been killed in a US drone attack in Pakistan’s tribal belt last month, is still alive, according to a media report today.

New York, July 16
Heads continued to roll in the News of the World phone-hacking scandal as Rupert Murdoch’s top executive and Dow Jones CEO Les Hinton has become the latest high-profile personality to resign from his post. Hinton was the chief executive of Dow Jones, publisher of the Wall Street Journal.

Hinton stepped down as the British phone hacking scandal surrounding News Corp began to spread to the United States. He is the highest ranking executive yet to resign over a crisis that closed down the News of the World tabloid and scotched News Corp’s $12 billion attempt to buy out BSkyB.

“I have watched with sorrow from New York as the News of the World story has unfolded,” Hinton wrote in a memo to staff after resigning as chief executive of Dow Jones and publisher of The Wall Street Journal.

“That I was ignorant of what apparently happened is irrelevant and in the circumstances I feel it is proper for me to resign from News Corp, and apologize to those hurt by the actions of the News of the World,” he added.

At the Wall Street Journal, news of Hinton’s departure was greeted by gasps and a stunned silence, despite much speculation in both London and New York that he could be toppled by transgressions that occurred on his watch.

Hinton’s resignation came on the same day that another top Murdoch confidante, Rebekah Brooks, stepped down as chief of News International, which is responsible for all Murdoch’s British papers. Brooks worked under Hinton when she was News of the World’s editor and he ran News International.

London, July 16
British Prime Minister David Cameron reportedly met Rupert Murdoch’s executives on more than 26 occasions in just over a year since he assumed office at Downing Street. Rebekah Brooks, who resigned as the head of News International was the only person Cameron had invited twice to Chequers, a privilege not extended even to the most senior members of his Cabinet, The Independent reports.

Rupert Murdoch’s son James Murdoch, who heads News Corporation’s operations in Europe, was a guest at the Prime Minister’s official country residence eight months ago. The former NotW editor Andy Coulson, who was arrested on suspicion of bribing police officers and of phone hacking, was invited by Cameron to spend a private weekend at Chequers in March.

Cameron has held more than twice the number of meetings with Murdoch’s executives as he has had with any other media organization.

It has also been revealed that Cameron had 15 private meetings with News International executives and editors since May this year.

In addition, he attended three parties held by News International in the past 14 months and attended five events organised by the company. — ANI 

Washington, July 16
President Barack Obama is contemplating whether to summon lawmakers for a new round of debt and deficit talks, weighing the chances of progress as both sides stick to their positions on spending and taxes.

The Congress must raise the $14.3 trillion limit on US borrowing by August 2 or the government will run out of money to pay its bills, causing turmoil in global financial markets and potentially forcing the United States into another recession.

Congressional leaders met with fellow lawmakers on Friday to gauge support for a deal, but movement appeared limited. Republicans want a deficit-cutting deal in order to raise the debt limit, but they disagree with Democrats on how to do it.

The White House wants some tax increases on wealthy Americans to be part of a package; Republicans reject that. “The truth is, you can’t solve our deficit without cutting spending,” Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address on Saturday.

“But you also can’t solve it without asking the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share, or without taking on loopholes that give special interests and big corporations tax breaks that middle-class Americans don’t get.”

Republicans in the House of Representatives said they would vote next Tuesday on a bill to raise the debt ceiling by the $2.4 trillion Obama has requested as long as Congress adopted a balanced budget amendment, an unlikely prospect.

Republican Senator Orrin Hatch, who has introduced such a measure in the Senate, said it would help rein in spending. “Only by restoring constitutional restraints on the ability of Congress to spend, can we constrain the growth of the federal government,” he said in the weekly Republican address. The solution to a spending crisis is not tax increases. Yet, Washington has consistently demonstrated that it cannot control its urge to spend.” — Reuters 

MONEY CRISIS

The Congress must raise the $14.3 trillion limit on US borrowing by August 2 or the government will run out of money to pay its bills, causing turmoil in global financial markets 

Islamabad, July 16
Al-Qaida-linked militant commander Ilyas Kashmiri, who was reported to have been killed in a US drone attack in Pakistan’s tribal belt last month, is still alive, according to a media report today.

Kashmiri, the chief of the HuJI is still alive and active in the border areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan, Dawn News channel quoted its sources as saying.

Security officials of the US and Pakistan have failed to confirm the death of Kashmiri, the sources said.

The dreaded commander, a key suspect in the Mumbai attacks and the alleged mastermind of the terrorist strike on a naval airbase in Karachi in May, was reported to have been killed a US drone strike in South Waziristan on June 3.

Several questions have been raised about a statement purportedly issued by HuJI about Kashmiri’s death.

A photograph said to be of Kashmiri’s corpse that was issued by HuJI was actually that of a member of the LeT team that attacked Mumbai in November 2008. — PTI