Economy is center-stage in Washington
WASHINGTON, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- A sense of urgency Thursday surrounded a tentative bipartisan economic recovery package reached between the White House and U.S. congressional leaders.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., worked separately Wednesday night toward promoting the plan, the Washington Post said. Paulson explained it to Bush administration officials while Pelosi talked it up with committee chairmen.
Among the package's stimuli are Republican-favored tax rebates for individuals to boost consumer spending and tax breaks for businesses. Democrats favor the plan's extension of social welfare benefits such as unemployment aid and food stamps.
White House spokesman Tony Fratto said the administration wanted to move quickly.
"It's pretty clear that everyone is trying to talk these things through in good faith, and there's a sense of urgency," he said.
Another senior Bush official who asked not to be identified said the current bipartisan efforts could dissipate over time.
"The longer something sits out there, the more additional things get on the table," the source said.
Democrats uneasy with Clintons' aggression
WASHINGTON, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- A growing number of U.S. Democrats are expressing concern over the aggressiveness in Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign.
With the New York senator's husband, former President Bill Clinton, taking a more active role in her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, much of recent attack advertising has been focused on her chief rival, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., , the Washington Post reported.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who endorsed Obama last week, criticized Bill Clinton for what he called his "glib cheap shots" at Obama.
"That's beneath the dignity of a former president," Leahy told reporters. "He is not helping anyone, and certainly not helping the Democratic Party."
Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., who is not aligned with any of the contenders, said party unity was being threatened by the escalating attack ads.
"Our party has to remain united -- that's the most important thing for November," she said. "The bottom line is, all this could cause a rift, but I hope it doesn't."
Bomber kills senior Iraqi police official
BAGHDAD, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- A suicide bomber in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul Thursday killed a provincial police chief investigating a blast site from a day earlier, the military said.
Police and military officers were working at the scene of a massive weapons cache explosion Wednesday that killed 15 people and injured 132 others. Thursday's bombing killed two other police officers and wounded an Iraqi soldier and a coalition soldier, CNN reported.
The U.S. military issued a statement calling the bombing a "cowardly act" by al-Qaida, which it said had "complete disregard for human life."
In Baghdad, the Interior Ministry reported a roadside bomb hit a police patrol Thursday morning, killing two officers. Three other officers and three civilians were injured by the blast, the report said.
Pakistan violence claims 48 lives
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- Pakistani military officials said Thursday fierce fighting in the tribal region near the Afghan border has left 40 militants and eight soldiers dead.
Pakistan's army used tanks and troop reinforcements in the South Waziristan region to purge militants loyal to Baitullah Mehsud, a Taliban leader suspected of orchestrating the assassination of political leader Benazir Bhutto last month, The Times of India reported.
"These areas have been cleared of militant strongholds and hideouts," the military said in a statement. "Forty miscreants have been killed in the last 24 hours and 30 miscreants have been apprehended while many injured."
Thirty-two soldiers were reported wounded in addition to the eight killed, the Times reported.
Breakthrough in Kenyan talks denied
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- The Kenyan government's claim of a breakthrough in talks over disputed election results was denied by the opposition party in Nairobi Thursday.
Ugandan presidential press secretary Tamale Mirundi said both sides agreed to set up a judicial commission, but a spokesman for the opposition Orange Democratic Movement, Salim Lone, denied it, the BBC reported.
Wednesday, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni held talks with President Mwai Kibaki as former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan waited to meet with Kibaki and ODM leader Raila Odinga separately.
Efforts to get the president and Odinga into a single meeting have failed so far, the report said.
The ODM claims there was widespread vote-rigging in the Dec. 27 election that kept Kibaki in power. The party has also refused to accept a recount, as it claims it would only recount counterfeit ballots.
Rioting along tribal lines since the results were announced have killed at least 650 people, rights groups and observers reported.
