Obama budget meeting ends after about 1-1/2 hours

WASHINGTON: An emergency White House meeting convened late on Wednesday by President Barack Obama to avoid a damaging shutdown of the U.S. government ended after about 1-1/2 hours, a White House official said.

US: John Boehner elected Speaker in House of Representative

The 112th Congress of the United States was called and John Boehner was elected as Speaker in the House of Representatives.

In his first address as the House’s top member, Boehner focused on cutting the government’s record deficit and creating jobs. He replaced Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat whose party lost to the Republicans last year in the mid-term elections. Our spending has caught up with us, and our debt will soon eclipse the size of our entire economy. Hard work and tough decisions will be required, said Boehner. Before Boehner spoke, Pelosi addressed the lawmakers and introduced Boehner. In the House of Representatives, 87 new Republican members and nine new Democrats were sworn in at noon, shifting control of the chamber officially to the Republican party. Republicans now hold a 242-193 edge in the House.

Indian media say Obama visit hitting right notes

MUMBAI: Indian media on Sunday hailed U.S. President Barack Obama’s decision to ease export controls and support India’s membership of powerful nuclear groups, saying he had set the right tone on a visit aimed at winning U.S. jobs.

Obama’s Democrats lost control on the U.S. House of Representatives in congressional elections last Tuesday as voters punished the party for high U.S. unemployment after a campaign marked by criticism of China and outsourcing hubs like India.

But Indian newspapers noted Obama had rejected the view that Indian outsourcers poached American jobs, and that he had satisfied Indian demands for lifting of export controls imposed after India’s 1998 nuclear tests.

“Delhi feels Obama’s first words in India hit the right notes,” read a frontpage headline in The Hindu newspaper which said Indian officials were not perturbed at Obama not

Demi Lovato Rehab

Demi Lovato Rehab, Demi Lovato, one of Disney’s biggest names, checked herself into a treatment center to deal with “emotional and physical issues,” her representatives said in a statement Monday night.

The statement did not specify the 18-year-old’s problems, but said Lovato checked herself into a facility to address the concerns.

A person familiar with the situation previously told The Associated Press that Lovato entered treatment for problems including an eating disorder and cutting herself. The person, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly due to the sensitivity of the matter, later clarified the statement, saying Lovato had dealt with those issues in the past.

Lovato, who is star of Disney’s “Camp Rock” movies and the sitcom “Sonny With a Chance,” was on an international tour as a special guest of the Jonas Brothers, but left the tour over the weekend to enter an undisclosed facility, according to the statement.

“Demi has decided to take personal responsibility for her actions and seek help,” the statement said. “She is doing just that. Demi and her family ask that the media respect her privacy during this difficult time.”

In a 2009 interview with The Associated Press, Lovato, who has also released several records, said she had to leave middle school at one point because she was bullied so badly.

“It was more verbal harassment than physical abuse, but that’s actually more scarring than anything,” she said. “And I had to leave because I just couldn’t deal with it. And I’ve home-schooled ever since.”

Lovato was linked earlier this year to Joe Jonas, her “Camp Rock” co-star, but the two later broke up and said they remained friends.

Her rep said Lovato regretted not finishing the tour but “is looking forward to getting back to work in the near future.”

Republicans Set to win House, Gain in Senate

WASHINGTON: Americans unhappy with the economy are poised to hand control of the House of Representatives to Republicans in elections today, a Reuters/Ipsos poll said.

Fifty percent of likely voters said they will choose a Republican candidate when they vote while 44 percent said they will pick a Democrat, the national survey showed.

Republicans are likely to win some 231 seats in the House and take control of the chamber, the poll projected. Ipsos pollster Cliff Young predicted Democrats would hang on to control of the Senate with either a margin of 52 seats to 48 for Republicans or 53-47.

Obama has enjoyed one-party rule in Washington since taking power nearly two years ago. The election result, if it plays out the way the pollsters say it will, would mark a stark reversal of fortunes for him.

Tough political battles seemed to loom ahead over taxes, spending and deficits when a new Congress takes power in January. And Republicans might seek to repeal parts of Obama’s signature achievement, his healthcare overhaul.

There was some talk among Democrats of a mid-course correction by Obama.

“He has a good sense of perspective about the challenge of midterm elections and about the need going forward to make some adjustments and corrections. And you’ll see those play out over the course of the next few weeks,” Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine told ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

Whoever wins, Americans reeling from a 9.6 percent jobless rate want to see the economy on the mend. By a margin of 62 percent to 33 percent, they believe the country is on the wrong track and 47 percent cited the economy as the biggest problem facing the United States today.

The economic woes are taking their toll on Obama, who says his policies need more time to work and that Republicans would take America back to economic policies he believes are discredited.

The poll said 50 percent of those polls believed the Obama administration has made the economy worse than it was before, while 26 percent said Obama has made it better.

Obama’s own job approval ratings continue to lag. The poll found that 45 percent of Americans approved of the way Obama is doing his job, versus 51 percent who said they disapprove.

In a sign that Obama has some work to do to improve his fortunes ahead of his 2012 re-election campaign, 52 percent of those surveyed did not think Obama will win re-election in 2012, the poll found. This included 34 percent of Democrats and 75 percent of Republicans.

Americans to vote in mid-term elections today

Voters in the United States go to the polls today for the Congressional mid-term elections.
President Barack Obama’s Democratic Party is expected to lose its majority in the House of Representatives and is struggling to keep control of the Senate. There are over 500 individual contests taking place today ranging from all 435 seats in the House of Representatives to dozens of State Governors.The key battles will be over a series of constituencies in swing-states across the country. With the economy in the doldrums and unemployment stagnant at almost 10% of the working population, all the opinion polls point to a drubbing for the Democrats.President Obama has been criss-crossing the country in a last-ditch attempt to rally his supporters, but the polls show Democrats trailing badly.Most pundits are predicting the Democrats will lose the House of Representatives, some say even the Senate could go Republican, with many of those new politicians elected specifically to oppose President Obama’s policies on the economy, energy policy and regulation.If the predictions come true, it will be a difficult couple of years ahead with the White House and Congress at loggerheads on a vast range of key issues.

Americans to vote in mid-term elections today

Voters in the United States go to the polls today for the Congressional mid-term elections.
President Barack Obama’s Democratic Party is expected to lose its majority in the House of Representatives and is struggling to keep control of the Senate. There are over 500 individual contests taking place today ranging from all 435 seats in the House of Representatives to dozens of State Governors.The key battles will be over a series of constituencies in swing-states across the country. With the economy in the doldrums and unemployment stagnant at almost 10% of the working population, all the opinion polls point to a drubbing for the Democrats.President Obama has been criss-crossing the country in a last-ditch attempt to rally his supporters, but the polls show Democrats trailing badly.Most pundits are predicting the Democrats will lose the House of Representatives, some say even the Senate could go Republican, with many of those new politicians elected specifically to oppose President Obama’s policies on the economy, energy policy and regulation.If the predictions come true, it will be a difficult couple of years ahead with the White House and Congress at loggerheads on a vast range of key issues.

Democratic power at risk in U.S. vote

WASHINGTON: After a long and bitter campaign, Americans cast their votes on Tuesday in elections that could sweep Democrats from power in Congress and slam the brakes on President Barack Obama’s legislative agenda.

Anxiety over the stumbling economy and discontent with Obama and government in Washington have propelled Republicans to the threshold of huge gains that could give them a majority in the House of Representatives and perhaps even the Senate.

Opinion polls and independent analysts project Republican gains of at least 50 House seats, far more than the 39 they need to take control and topple Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from power.

Republicans are also expected to make big gains in the Senate, although it appears more difficult — but not impossible — for them to pick up the 10 seats they need for a majority.

Obama won office two

Karzai holds ‘secret talks’ with Taliban

Three Taliban figures met secretly with Afghanistan’s president two weeks ago in an effort by the Afghan government to weaken the US-led coalition’s most vicious enemy, a powerful al-Qaeda linked network that straddles the border region with Pakistan.
A former Afghan official said the meeting in Kabul included an ex-Taliban governor, Maulvi Abdul Kabir. He comes from the same Zadran tribe as the leaders of the Haqqani network, an autonomous wing of the Taliban responsible for many attacks against US and Afghan forces, the former official said over the weekend. US and Afghan officials hope that if Kabir agrees to quit the insurgency, it could split the Zadran tribe and undercut the pool of recruits from which the Haqqanis currently draw fighters. But it was unclear whether any progress toward that end was made during the talks.
Weakening the Haqqanis’ grip over the Zadran tribe could help shift the power balance in eastern provinces where the network poses a major threat. The Haqqani network, led by ailing Jalaluddin Haqqani and his son Sirajuddin, is believed to be sheltering top al-Qaida leaders across the border in Pakistan. Kabir served as governor of Nangarhar province and deputy prime minister during the Taliban rule, which ended with the U.S.-led invasion of 2001. He is believed to run the Taliban council in the Pakistani city of Peshawar but is not considered a powerhouse in the Taliban. The two other Taliban who took part in the talks were Mullah Sadre Azam and Anwar-ul-Haq Mujahed. Mujahed is credited with helping Osama bin Laden escape the US assault on Tora Bora in 2001, the former official said. He has been in Pakistani custody since June last year when he was picked up in a raid in Peshawar, where one of several Afghan Taliban shuras, or councils, is located. The men were brought by helicopter from Peshawar and spent two nights in a luxury Kabul hotel before returning to Pakistan. The US earlier this month acknowledged facilitating some Taliban trips to Kabul but provided no specifics. The Pakistani military has not commented on such reports. The former Afghan official, who asked not to be named because of his relationship with both the government and the Taliban, described Kabir and his associates as midlevel contacts because they have little, if any influence over more powerful Taliban factions. Karzai has formed a 70-member council to try to reconcile with the Taliban and find a political solution to the insurgency. The Taliban’s top leadership has denied that any of their representatives have been involved in talks. They claim their leaders will not discuss peace with the government unless foreign troops first leave Afghanistan.

Asma Jahangir elected as SCBA President

Asma Jahangir has won the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) election acquiring 834 votes in total whereas his opponent Ahmed Awais managed to get 796 votes. Ahmed Awais has accepted his defeat. The prime minister and the president have congratulated Asma Jahangir upon her victory. The newly elected President of the SCBA has vowed not to allow anybody in the bar to represent any political party or the judiciary, Dunya News reported on Wednesday.
The election of Asma Jahangir has brought about a big change in the SCBA after a lapse of at least four years. The representatives of the lawyers movement had to face defeat who were deemed as opponents of the administration and staunch supporters of independent judiciary. It was the 13th annual election of the SCBA in which Asma Jahangir has been elected as the first woman president of the SCBA.
After 9th March, 2007, when the lawyers movement got started, the election of the SCBA gained a lot of importance and attention. After the start of the movement, all the elections of the bar were dominantly won by the active members and leaders of the movement. Munir A. Malik, Aitzaz Ahsan, Ali Ahmed Kurd and Qazi Anwar were all the elected presidents who declared themselves as the representatives of independent judiciary. For almost four years their influence remained in the SCBA but now the recent elections have brought about a change. Asma Jahangir, Ahmed Awais and Ikram Chaudhry were all active members of the lawyers movement but this time the representatives of independent judiciary seemed divided. Ahmed Awais who was from the Hamid Khan group was considered a true representative of the independent judiciary but the results of the election have been disappointing for the members and the leaders of the lawyers movement.
On the other hand Asma Jahangir has said that after the independence of the judiciary, she would now strive for the independence of bars.

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