Obama underscores urgency of debt-plan deal

US President Barack Obama has brief Democrat and Republican members must compromise to cut the US budget deficit and vote to raise the debt limit.

He bad time had almost run out, as Republican leaders scrambled to save their deficit-cutting bill amid a House of Representatives conservative revolt.

The Democrats meanwhile also announced they would present their plan to the Senate.

The fiscal fiasco leaves the US inching closer to a potentially catastrophic default on federal debt next Tuesday.

The US government will start running out of money to pay all its bills unless a $14.3tn (£8.7tn) borrowing limit is enhanced by 2 August.