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Report: India may end Pakistan cease-fire

MUMBAI, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- The Indian government may suspend its five-year, cease-fire with Pakistan in the wake of last week's Mumbai terror attacks, sources say.

Citing unnamed sources, CNN-IBN reported Sunday Indian officials may also end their dialogue with Islamabad after at least 183 people died in a wave of attacks by armed gunmen who some say were trained by Pakistan-backed Muslim militant groups based in the disputed state of Kashmir.

Indian Home Minister Shivraj Patil submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday, saying he took "moral responsibility" for the terrorist assaults, CNN reported.

Patil had been under criticism even before the attacks, and his resignation came as questions quickly mounted about the country's readiness to prevent terrorism. Critics cited a report to Parliament last year that blasted inadequate protection of India's shores -- which is how the attackers sneaked into Mumbai, The New York Times said.

"This man has been widely criticized for not being up to it and it was simply impossible that he could stay on after this," N. Ram, editor-in-chief of The Hindu newspaper, told CNN, quoting Patil's critics saying "(he hadn't) delivered in the promise to improve intelligence."

Deficit spending worries bailout critics

WASHINGTON, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- Unprecedented deficit spending being used to battle the U.S. financial downturn could be planting the seeds of the next crisis, critics say.

Record amounts of deficit spending will be necessary to pay for initiatives to lower mortgage rates, stimulate consumer loans and steady banking conglomerate Citigroup. Including loan guarantees and other potential commitments, the potential long-term cost of the government's varied economic rescue initiatives could reach $8.5 trillion, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday.

Analysts told the newspaper next year's budget deficit could easily break the $1 trillion barrier after soaring to a record $455 billion last year. Both the Bush administration and U.S. President-elect Barack Obama say the deficits are necessary to rescue an economy on the brink of collapse, although Obama has said long-term deficit reduction is a priority.

"There's a huge risk of another economic crisis, a debt crisis, once we get on the other side of this one," Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, told the Times.

"We're mortgaging our future to a certain extent, but we're trying to do things that give us a future," countered David Stowell, a Northwestern University finance professor.

Two killed in Kabul suicide bombing

KABUL, Afghanistan, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- Two people were killed and three were injured Sunday when a suicide bomber detonated explosives near a German embassy car in Kabul, officials said.

A local police spokesman told CNN that a bicyclist carrying a bomb exploded the device on a Kabul street as an official car from Germany's Afghanistan embassy was nearby. The car was slightly damaged and it wasn't known if the ambassador was inside, the broadcaster said.

Meanwhile, U.S. and Afghan officials said Sunday 17 "armed militants" were killed and another 10 arrested south of Kabul while 16 others were slain in a second incident in the Sorobi district, east of the capital, CNN reported.

The first operation in the Zadran district targeted a militant associated with the radical Haqqani network who allegedly assisted foreign fighters, the joint statement said from U.S. and Afghan military officials said.

Israel moves to release 250 prisoners

JERUSALEM, Nov. 30 (UPI) -- The Israeli Cabinet Sunday approved the release of 250 Palestinian prisoners, but said it must be coupled with continued opposition to terrorism.

The Cabinet approved the measure authored by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who pledged two weeks ago to free the prisoners while meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, the Jerusalem Post reported.

Olmert said the move was a goodwill gesture to mark the upcoming Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha. During the meeting, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni praised the move, but said it must go hand-in-hand with tough action against Hamas, the newspaper said.

"At the same time that prisoners are released as a gesture to (Abbas), Israel must balance its activities with systematic action against Hamas and in exposing terror," Livni said.

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