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More than 85,000 Iraqis killed from 2004-2008: GovtUS seeks to calm Pak fears over aid, but says no change in billPakistan army headquarters attack: 40 suspects picked up in LahoreMurder case against Musharraf for Bugti killingBritain to send 500 extra troops to AfghanistanCall for justice to Jammu’s Rizwanur gets shriller Try Blair for war crimes: Say families of soldiers killed in IraqFatah-Hamas Unity Circus11 killed in Iraq mortar attackBritain ready to send more troops to Afghanistan17 killed in South Waziristan air strikes Troops in Kashmir to take back seatMore troops, tanks move into Waziristan, 10 Taliban killed8 mosques to host 'Meet Your Muslim Neighbor' open houseHouse GOP seeks Muslim 'spy' probeIndonesia: Christians and Muslims against pro abortion billMuslim Mafia - Congressmen Shaddegg, Myrick, Broun and Franks Slam CAIRParis - Muslim-Verband: Burka-Verbot "Stigmatisierung"NOW MUSLIMS DEMAND FULL SHARIA LAWMyths of our Afghanistan debate5 terror attacks in Pak in a day, 38 deadShia board decides to tone down weddingsPakistan jets bomb Taliban bastionHo hum, Pakistan Threat Persists in Yemen, SomaliaMore than 85,000 Iraqis killed from 2004-2008: GovtUS seeks to calm Pak fears over aid, but says no change in billPakistan army headquarters attack: 40 suspects picked up in LahoreMurder case against Musharraf for Bugti killingBritain to send 500 extra troops to AfghanistanCall for justice to Jammu’s Rizwanur gets shriller Try Blair for war crimes: Say families of soldiers killed in IraqFatah-Hamas Unity Circus11 killed in Iraq mortar attackBritain ready to send more troops to Afghanistan17 killed in South Waziristan air strikes Troops in Kashmir to take back seatMore troops, tanks move into Waziristan, 10 Taliban killed8 mosques to host 'Meet Your Muslim Neighbor' open houseHouse GOP seeks Muslim 'spy' probeIndonesia: Christians and Muslims against pro abortion billMuslim Mafia - Congressmen Shaddegg, Myrick, Broun and Franks Slam CAIR

Paris - Muslim-Verband: Burka-Verbot "Stigmatisierung"NOW MUSLIMS DEMAND FULL SHARIA LAWMyths of our Afghanistan debate5 terror attacks in Pak in a day, 38 deadShia board decides to tone down weddingsPakistan jets bomb Taliban bastionHo hum, Pakistan Threat Persists in Yemen, Somalia

More than 85,000 Iraqis killed from 2004-2008: Govt

15 October 2009BAGHDAD: More than 85,000 Iraqis died violently from 2004 to 2008, according tofigures released by the government on Wednesday, the first suchofficial data since the 2003 US-led invasion. The report, published by the human rights ministry, also said nearly 150,000 peoplehad been wounded in that period, during part of which communal violence engulfedthe country and Iraq threatened to fall into civil war."Outlawed groups, through terrorist attacks like explosions, assassinations,kidnappings and forced displacements, are responsible for these terrible figures,which represent a big challenge for the rule of law and for the people of Iraq," thereport said.A total of 85,694 people died as a result of violence, while 147,195 people werewounded, the report said. Included in the death toll were 15,000 unidentifiedbodies.Sectarian bloodshed blighted Iraq in 2006 and 2007, the two years with the highestdeath tolls in the period covered by the report -- 32,622 and 19,155, respectively. The report does not include figures for the number of dead and wounded in theimmediate aftermath of the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003.Independent British website www.iraqbodycount.org calculates that at least 93,540people died in Iraq from the beginning of the war until August 2009.http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/More-than-85000-Iraqis-killed-from-2004-2008-Govt/articleshow/5125849.cms------

US seeks to calm Pak fears over aid, but says no change in bill

14 October 2009WASHINGTON: Senior US lawmakers sought on Tuesday to soothe anger in Pakistanover a proposed multibillion-dollar US aid package, saying theywould provide assurances that the United States has no intention of interfering withPakistan's sovereignty.Democratic Senator John Kerry, who co-sponsored the aid package, said lawmakerswould prepare an explanatory statement to accompany the bill, which has languagethat some in Pakistan see as outside interference with their government.

The statement would "set the record absolutely straight" and correctmisinterpretations about the bill, Kerry told reporters after meeting with foreignminister Shah Mahmood Qureshi."The bill doesn't have to be changed. If there is a misinterpretation, it just has to beclarified," Kerry said.A statement would not alter the bill, which already has been approved by the USCongress and must still be signed into law by President Barack Obama. Anychanges would have to be voted on by both chambers of Congress.Rep. Howard Berman, the Democratic chairman of the House of RepresentativesForeign Affairs Committee, said before his meeting on Tuesday with Qureshi thatthe statement would explain what the bill does and what it does not do. The bill, hesaid, is meant to help Pakistan's people, not dictate what the country should do.Qureshi was pressing lawmakers and the Obama administration for the assuranceson the bill just a week after he was in Washington praising the aid package. Duringthat first trip, Pakistan's military publicly criticized the bill, which triples nonmilitaryassistance to the country. The bill would provide Pakistan with $1.5 billion a year over the next five years tospend on democratic, economic and social development programs. But Pakistan'smilitary has objected to language that links money for counterterrorism assistanceto Pakistan cracking down on militancy and meeting other conditions. The dispute shows the strains between the fragile civilian government of PresidentAsif Ali Zardari and the military. It also highlights rising mistrust about US intentionsin Pakistan.Qureshi said he wanted Congress to address worries about the bill compromisingPakistan's sovereignty."The fears that have been raised in Parliament need to be addressed," Qureshi said.Pakistani analysts said the Pakistani military's complaints had little to do withgenuine dislike of the bill, which includes money to rebuild crumbling schools, roadsand hospitals. Instead, the military is sending a message to the Pakistani and USgovernments about the limits of civilian control in a country that has been subjectto military rule for about half of its 62-year history. The legislation conditions US aid on whether Pakistan's weak, US-backed civiliangovernment maintains effective control over the military, including its budgets, thechain of command and top promotions.Kerry said no conditions are attached to the nonmilitary aid in the bill. Theconditions on certain types of military aid, he said, do not require anything of Pakistan not already stated as goals by the government and opposition."There certainly is no intent to micromanage," Kerry said. "We're going to clarifythis."Qureshi also met with the Obama administration's top envoy for Pakistan andAfghanistan, Richard Holbrooke, and with White House officials.Qureshi's mission appears to be an about-face from last week, when, during his tripto Washington, he told reporters then that the aid package was crucial toIslamabad's efforts to fight terrorists. He also played down Pakistani militarystatements rejecting U.S. attempts to link the aid package to increased monitoringof anti-terror efforts. The aid bill, US officials say, is meant to alleviate widespread poverty. Pakistan'smilitary, in an unusual public statement last week, expressed serious concern aboutthe bill.