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8A Daily News – Saturday, July 9, 2011 WORLD BRIEFING South Sudan becomes newest nation JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — South Sudan became the world’s newest nation early Satur- day, officially breaking away from Sudan after two civil wars over five decades that cost the lives of millions. In the new country’s capital, Juba, streets pulsed with excitement. Residents danced, banged on jerry cans and chanted the name of the world’s newest president, Salva Kiir. One man kneeled and kissed the ground as a group ran through the streets singing ‘‘We will never, never, never surren- der.’’ ‘‘Ah, I’m free,’’ said Daniel Deng, a 27-year- old police officer and for- mer soldier who broke out in a wide grin. The Republic of South Sudan earned indepen- dence at 12:01 a.m. Satur- day, breaking Africa’s largest country in two. It marked the culmination of a January indepen- dence vote, which was guaranteed in a 2005 peace deal that ended the most recent north-south war. After the celebrations die down, residents of South Sudan face an uphill climb. While the new country is oil-rich, it is one of the poorest and least-developed places on Earth. Unresolved prob- lems between the south and its former foe to the north could mean new conflict along the new international border, advocates and diplomats warn. Space shuttle off on the final flight CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — With a cry from its commander to ‘‘light this fire one more time,’’ the last shuttle thundered into orbit Fri- day on a cargo run that will close out three decades of both triumph and tragedy for NASA and usher in a period of uncertainty for Ameri- ca’s space program. After some last- minute suspense over the weather and a piece of launch-pad equipment, Atlantis and its four astronauts blasted off practically on schedule at 11:29 a.m., pierced a shroud of clouds and set- tled flawlessly into orbit in front of a crowd esti- mated at close to 1 mil- lion, the size of the throng that watched Apollo 11 shoot the moon in 1969. It was the 135th shut- tle flight since the inau- gural mission in 1981. ‘‘Let’s light this fire one more time, Mike, and witness this great nation at its best,’’ Atlantis commander Christopher Ferguson told launch director Mike Leinbach just before liftoff. Atlantis’ crew will dock with the Interna- tional Space Station on Sunday, deliver a year’s worth of critical supplies to the orbiting outpost, and bring the trash home. The shuttle is scheduled to land back on Earth on July 20 after 12 days in orbit, though the flight is likely to be extended to a 13th day. UK PM Cameron’s former aide arrested LONDON (AP) — Prime Minister David Cameron’s former com- munications chief and an ex-royal reporter were arrested Friday in a phone hacking and police cor- ruption scandal that has already toppled a major tabloid and rattled the cozy relationship between British politicians and the powerful Murdoch media empire. The 168-year-old muckraking tabloid News of the World was shut down Thursday after being engulfed by allega- tions its journalists paid police for information and hacked into the phone messages of celebrities, young murder victims and even the grieving families of dead soldiers. Its last publication day is Sunday. The hacking revela- House passes boost in military budget WASHINGTON (AP) — Money for the Pentagon and the nation’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is proving largely immune from the budget-cutting that’s slamming other gov- ernment agencies in the rush to bring down the deficit. tions horrified the nation and advertisers, who pulled their ads en masse. News International, the British arm of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., jettisoned the paper in hopes of saving its $19 billion (12 billion pound) deal to take over satellite broadcaster British Sky Broadcasting. But the British government on Friday signaled the deal would be delayed due to the crisis. Many expressed aston- ishment that 43-year-old Rebekah Brooks, who was editor of News of the World when some of the hacking allegedly occurred, was keeping her job while the paper’s 200 staff were laid off. 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Red Bluff Corner of Antelope & Gilmore COUPON 200 off SAVE ADDITIONAL any Dinette, Dining Set $ and above 100 off 399.00 399.00 any SAVE ADDITIONAL has shown, ‘‘an almost maniacal desire to protect Ms. Brooks at all costs,’’ said industry analyst Claire Enders. 50 off Jobless rate up to 9.2 percent WASHINGTON (AP) — Hiring slowed to a near-standstill last month, raising doubts that the economy will rebound in the second half of the year. The report baffled economists who had predicted much stronger job creation. And it escalated a debate in Washington over how to spur hiring and energize the economy while also cutting federal spend- ing. Just 18,000 net jobs were created in June, the fewest in nine months. The unemploy- ment rate rose to 9.2 percent, the highest rate of the year, the Labor Department said Friday. Stocks plunged after the report was released, although the market recovered some losses in late-afternoon trad- ing. The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 62 points for the day. Broader indexes also fell. For President Barack Obama, the sputtering job market represents a threat 16 months before his re-election bid. Employment report casts shadow over debt talks WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama used a bleak jobs report Friday to prod Congress toward a swift agreement on deficits and the national debt. But the higher unemployment numbers hardened partisan views that a weak economy can’t tolerate added taxes or cuts in spend- ing, both key to the grand deal Obama seeks. White House, con- gressional negotiators and their aides worked to bridge differences over how to reduce long term deficits by as much as $4 trillion over 10 years. Obama plans to call the eight top leaders of Congress to the White House on Sunday to assess progress. Summing up the dif- ficulties facing them, House Speaker John Boehner likened the task to a notoriously confounding puzzle. ‘‘This is a Rubik’s Cube that we haven’t quite worked out yet,’’ he said. A budget agreement is central to increasing the nation’s borrowing limit, currently capped at $14.3 trillion, by Aug. 2 to avoid a poten- tially catastrophic gov- ernment default. That looming deadline and a new unemployment rate of 9.2 percent height- ened the pressure for a deal, uniting the two most high profile chal- lenges now facing Obama’s presidency. Obama called on Congress to move quickly to raise the debt ceiling. He said uncer- tainty over a potential default has hindered hir- ing in the private sector. On a 336-87 vote Friday, the Republican-controlled House overwhelmingly backed a $649 billion defense spending bill that boosts the Defense Depart- ment budget by $17 billion. The strong bipartisan embrace of the measure came as White House and congressional negotiators face an Aug. 2 deadline on agreeing to trillions of dol- lars in federal spending cuts and raising the borrowing limit so the U.S. does not default on debt payments. While House Republi- can leaders agreed to slash billions from the proposed budgets for other agencies, hitting food aid for low- income women, health research, energy efficiency and much more, the mili- tary budget is the only one that would see a double- digit increase in its account beginning Oct. 1 Concerns about under- mining national security, cutting military dollars at a time of war and losing defense jobs back home trumped fiscal discipline in the House. Only 12 Repub- licans and 75 Democrats opposed the overall bill. ‘‘In the midst of a seri- ous discussion about our nation’s debt crisis, House Republicans demonstrated responsible leadership that sets priorities and does not jeopardize our national security interests and our nation’s ongoing military efforts,’’ Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee, said in a state- ment. BP argues future claims should end NEW ORLEANS (AP) — BP is arguing that most victims of last year’s Gulf oil spill should not get any more payouts for future losses because the hard- est-hit areas are recover- ing and the economy is growing. The British oil compa- ny argues its case in a 29- page document made public Friday and filed with the Gulf Coast Claims Facility. The $20 billion fund is responsible for paying for damages from the spill. The company says the fund should end payments for future losses to every- one, except in limited cases for oyster har- vesters. 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