Mullen lauds Iraqi leaders' work
BAGHDAD, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaking in Baghdad Tuesday, blamed Iran for the violence he said is meant to destabilize Iraq.
"The Iranian regime continues to violate Iraqi sovereignty by intervening in Iraqi social and political affairs, training and equipping militias to conduct attacks on Iraqi soil and thwarting efforts by the Iraqi people to pursue unfettered the economic growth, development and independence that geography and democracy have bestowed upon them," Navy Adm. Michael Mullen said during a news conference.
Mullen, after meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and President Jalal Talibani Monday, praised the Iraqi leaders for challenging the Iranian regime to stop violence directed inside Iraq. The Iraqi military stepped up operations in coordination with U.S. forces against such Iranian-backed groups, he said.
"As a result, we have seen a dramatic reduction in these deadly attacks," he said.
Mullen noted June was a bad month for U.S. forces in Iraq, with 15 killed, mostly by Iranian-backed militias using weapons officials say came directly from Iran.
Mullen said Maliki and Talibani understand the urgency behind deciding whether to formally ask that some U.S. forces remaining in Iraq beyond the Dec. 31 deadline for withdrawal of American troops. The Iraqi leaders also understand that U.S. assistance can help to bridge lapses in Iraq's security capabilities, he added.
"My government has made it clear that we would entertain a request for some troops to stay, and I was encouraged to learn last night that Iraqi leaders plan to meet to discuss the merits of such a request," Mullen said. "I remain hopeful, therefore, that we will soon achieve some clarity. And I am grateful that serious attempts to resolve the issue are now under way."
Ex-News of the World editor arrested
LONDON, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- A former News of the World editor was reported arrested Tuesday in Britain's spreading phone-hacking scandal.
The BBC said a 71-year-old man believed to be ex-NOTW managing editor Stuart Kuttner was arrested on suspicion of plotting to intercept communications and was being questioned at a north London police station.
Kuttner was a longtime high-ranking executive at News International, the British newspaper sector of Rupert Murdoch's media empire, and is believed to know a lot about its finances. Meanwhile, an IT firm said News International asked that more than 200,000 of its e-mails be deleted.
HCL Technologies, the India-based company that manages News International's computer systems, said it was asked to delete e-mails nine times between April 2010 and July 2011, The Daily Telegraph reported Tuesday.
The disclosure came after Labor Party lawmaker Tom Watson alleged there was an attempt to destroy data at an HCL facility to try to mask the scale of the phone hacking. HCL Technologies said it was unaware of anything "abnormal, untoward or inconsistent" behind the requests to delete the e-mail.
Keith Vaz, chairman of the home affairs select committee, said he was surprised by the letter from HCL and said members of Parliament would question the company about its role in the hacking scandal.
In the letter, HCL said it "does not hold any information belonging to News International [nor has it ever held such information] relevant to the subject matter of the current investigation."
Rather, the company's role was to manage New International's IT systems, such as servers, applications databases and e-mail systems networks.
The Independent reported the news prompted concerns that key evidence may have been lost to police and other entities investigating the phone hacking scandal at the defunct News of the World.
Autopsy awaited on New Hampshire girl, 11
WEST STEWARTSTOWN, N.H., Aug. 2 (UPI) -- As a New Hampshire town awaited Tuesday's autopsy report on Celina Cass, it emerged that her stepfather has a history of crime and insanity.
The 11-year-old girl's body was found Monday in the Connecticut River near the home in West Stewartstown, N.H., where she lived with her mother, sister and stepfather, Wendell Noyes.
Friends and neighbors held a candlelight vigil in the village near the Canadian border Monday night, and Celina's body was taken to Concord for an autopsy Tuesday morning, ABC News reported.
Walter Laro, Celina's grandfather, thanked investigators and the media for their work solving her disappearance.
Senior Assistant State's Attorney General Jane Young said the case is now a criminal investigation but named no suspect. Celina was last seen at home July 25.
Noyes, 47, who was rushed to a hospital Monday after behaving strangely, was involuntarily committed to a mental hospital in 2003, court records show.
He was arrested after invading an ex-girlfriend's home and threatening her in violation of a protective order but found incompetent to stand trial. A forensic examiner found him to be a paranoid schizophrenic and a threat to others.
Cuba to ease restrictions on travel
HAVANA, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- Cuba will ease migration rules, both for emigres visiting home and Cubans going abroad, state media say.
Speaking to the National Assembly of Peoples' Power Monday, President Raul Castro said the government "is making advances with the reform and elaboration of a series of regulations" that have been in force too long, El Nuevo Herald of Miami reported, citing Havana's official news agencies.
"We take this step as a contribution to the increase in links between the nation and the emigre community, whose makeup has changed radically since the first decades of the revolution," Castro said. "In their overwhelming majority, Cubans today emigrate because of economic reasons, and almost all of them preserve their love for family and country."
For decades, the Communist government has vilified Cubans who leave the island as "counterrevolutionaries" and "worms."
Tens of thousands of people who left illegally or stayed overseas more than 11 months have been barred from returning.
Cubans currently need an exit permit good for only 30 days.
Floods swamp Manila area, 1 dead
MANILA, Philippines, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- Heavy rains flooded parts of Quezon City and Manila Tuesday, causing at least one death, Philippine authorities say.
The body of an unidentified woman, 50 to 55 years old, was found floating in a creek in Quezon City, ABS-CBN News reported.
Some streets were waist-deep under water and 30 families had to be evacuated to shelters.
Commuters also were stranded by floodwaters in Manila.
No end in sight to heat wave
DALLAS, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- Dallas residents suffered for the 32nd day with temperatures topping 100 degrees Tuesday while blazing heat continued over the central United States.
Heat advisories were in place from the South to the Central Plains with at least 14 states suffering from high temperatures and humidity, CNN reported.
Health officials in Dallas were passing out air-conditioning units to residents who couldn't afford them.
"If people meet the eligibility requirements, which is usually based on income, we'll go out there to install the a/c unit," said Blanca Cantu of the Dallas County Health and Human Services Agency.
Meteorologists predicted the string of triple-digit heat in the Dallas Fort Worth area might last for the next couple of weeks, Accuweather.com reported.
"The current string of 100-degree days will probably last into the middle of August," said Paul Pastelok, a long-range expert meteorologist.
The longest stretch of 100-degree days in Dallas was 42 set in the summer of 1980.
