Death Toll // Current

Death toll in Iraq down

Both US troops and Iraqi civilians have experienced a decrease in their monthly death toll. 13 troops died in October as opposed... more

nazbags
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Some Of Ike's Missing May Have Just Washed Away

The death toll from Hurricane Ike is remarkably low so far, considering that legions of people stayed behind as the storm... more

TimALoftis
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Nato Chief slammed an EU-brokered deal that let Russian troops stay inside Georgia.

TBILISI (Reuters) - NATO chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer arrived in Tbilisi on Monday to show support for the ex-Soviet state after... more

arcticspirit
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Death Toll Rises in US rail Crash

Sep 13 - Rescue teams battling to free people trapped inside the wreckage say they expect to find more casualties. At least 10... more

arcticspirit
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US-led forces killed 9 Afghan police in 'friendly fire'

KABUL, Afghanistan — U.S.-led troops and Afghan forces killed nine Afghan police Sunday, calling in airstrikes and fighting... more

pigmonkey
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Taiwan storm's death toll hits 19

Taiwanese officials say flash floods triggered by tropical storm Kalmaegi have killed 19 people in Taiwan. The disaster relief... more

kushan
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Taiwan hit by Typhoon Kalmaegi

At least six people were killed as Typhoon Kalmaegi hit Taiwan, bringing flooding and landslides. A baby girl and her brother... more

kushan
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US forces confirm killing eight Afghan civilians

BREAKING / REUTERS / 944 AM/ U.S.-led coalition troops killed eight Afghan civilians in an air strike in the western province of... more

pigmonkey
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US Not leaving Iraq:No Deal

U.S negotiators have abandoned efforts to conclude a comprehensive agreement governing the long-term status of U.S troops in Iraq... more

Psychedelic
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2,751st twin towers victim added to the official list

A New York doctor missing since the September 11 terror attacks was restored to the city’s official death toll yesterday... more

LindseyIndigo
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Afghanistan troop deaths outnumber those in Iraq

Militants in Afghanistan killed more US and Nato troops than those in Iraq in June after a fresh spate of rebel attacks that highlighted the growing strength of the Taliban.

A count by Associated Press (AP) found that at least 45 international troops, including 27 from the US and 13 British, died in Afghanistan last month, compared with 31 international soldiers killed in Iraq, of whom 29 were from the US.

It was the second consecutive month that more troops were killed in Afghanistan, where international forces suffered their deadliest month since the 2001 US-led invasion.

The figures follow a report by the Pentagon last week that forecast the Taliban would maintain or increase the rate of attacks along the Pakistan border where US troops operate. Attacks are already up by 40% this year from 2007.

Fighting between militants and international troops is intensifying in the southern half of Afghanistan. AP's tally places the total death toll at 2,100 in the past six months.

While most of those killed have been militants, foreign troop deaths are also rising, as insurgents get more effective at ambushes and roadside bombings.

The US-led coalition said today that helicopters and a bomber carried out an attack on militants massing in the Khost province, in the eastern region of the war-torn country, armed with heavy machine guns and grenades.

"After positively identifying the militants, coalition forces engaged them with attack helicopters and a close air support bomber, killing approximately 33 militants," spokesman First Lieutenant Nathan Perry said.

An Afghan army officer said the clash began when Taliban militants attacked coalition and Afghan forces patrolling in Tani, a district on the border with Pakistan.

Colonel Mohammed Israr, a battalion commander in Khost, said the group of about 50 militants had crossed from Pakistan - where some Taliban and al-Qaida militants seek refuge - and retreated in that direction under heavy coalition fire.

However, Perry said the clash took place about five miles from the frontier and "did not involve Pakistan".

Last month, the international community pledged $21bn (£10.5bn) in aid to Afghanistan but critics have attacked a perceived lack of strategy to turn that commitment into success.
Militants in Afghanistan killed more US and Nato troops than those in Iraq in June after a fresh spate of rebel attacks that... more

pigmonkey
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13 responses

5 months ago

At least 38 killed in Iraq bombings:100 wounded

At least 38 people were killed in two massive bomb attacks in Iraq Thursday, 20 of them dying at the hands of a suicide bomber as... more

pigmonkey
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0 responses

5 months ago

A heart-breaking video about the shakiest and deadliest earthquake in the century.

Less than two weeks after the monster earthquakes hit Sichuan, China, the Western media have significantly cut back on, if not forgotten, the disaster coverage. Many have seen the horrific images of dormitory buildings shaking, people running for lives and soldiers digging rubble for signs of life. But this earthquake, along with its thousands of aftershocks, is very very different, and so much more brutal than any earthquake in recent history.

To present the disaster's visual destructiveness and ruthlessness isn't the most difficult job, as there are thousands upon thousands of video clips and images available on English and Chinese portal sites, TV network web pages, among other online entities. But how to get the viewers to understand the full magnitude of the destruction and, more importantly, the extreme challenges for refugee resettlement and reconstruction in less than 10 minutes is no easy task. (Most people nowadays don't have more than 10 minutes online for things they don't care much about any more.)

I set out to tell the earthquake story in a powerful video in a few minutes to the English speaking audience. By picking through over a thousand photos and dozens of video clips found on Chinese web sites, I managed to weave out a narrative of some major highlights with the help of a few Chinese classic tunes in the background. Strong components of this presentation includes:

The opening factoids - babies becoming orphans, parents grieving souls, 7,000 school buildings collapsed and one survey in a school found 90% students lost their friends.

Images of an anchorwoman running away from studio scared of shaking, continuous sound a minute's worth of studio desk trembling, and a clip of a security tape capturing people fleeing the building and sunshade umbrella shaking.

An emotional short conversation of an intact family describing how the father saved the daughter and what the daughter was thinking in the three hours buried under rubble. The daughter was so grateful for her survival that she kept saying "thank you" to her father, and the father kept telling her "don't mention it, stop crying." (This may not be something unusual for most Western viewers, but for those who understand Chinese culture, people often don't express emotions explicitly and saying thanks to parents or children is something rarely heard.)

Contrast photos of communities before and after the quake, photos of landslides, leveled landscapes, successful and failed rescues, satellite imagery, and a climactic string of photos that present a whole variety of difficulties for those who deal with the earthquake destruction, from 4 million Chengdu citizens sleeping on the streets to babies crying for parents.

At the end, I chose to have a moment of silence and, during this moment, open some thoughts about some of the questions journalists and many Chinese raised about shoddy buildings for schools, concerns about safety of many dams in this earthquake prone region, so on and so forth. As these will be some of the very important questions for China to address to rebuild stronger and better houses, schools, hospitals and other infrastructure projects.

This production is the most heart breaking piece I have done. But as a powerful video presentation, I hope it can help my nation and millions of those affected in their reconstructions by getting continued attention from outside China even though people here tend to forget about a most devastating earthquake in this century on the other side of the planet.Less than two weeks after the monster earthquakes hit Sichuan, China, the Western media have significantly cut back on, if not... more

chinashaken
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6 months ago

Breaking news: major bomb explosion in Dehiwala, Sri Lanka,

An Explosion occurred in side the Colombo-Panadura train while it reaching to the Dehiwala (10km south of Colombo) railway station... more

kushan
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5 responses

6 months ago

China Quake Toll Rises To 60,000

China has said more than 60,000 people were killed as a result of an earthquake in southwest China on May 12. Wen Jiabao,... more

kushan
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0 responses

6 months ago

China says over 70,000 dead or missing from quake

China raised the number of dead or missing from a devastating earthquake to more than 70,000 on Tuesday, as rescuers found more... more

kushan
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6 months ago

South Africa violence: Death toll mounts

South African mobs have launched fresh attacks on foreign workers, as anti-immigrant violence spread across the country and forced thousands from their homes.

The death toll from the wave of violence which has engulfed the Johannesburg and Pretoria region in the last few days mounted to 24 overnight, with several hundred injured.

Some 10,000 foreigners, many of them migrant workers from Zimbabwe, have been forced to flee their burning and looted homes in scenes that evoked memories of the apartheid era.

Several of the victims have been “necklaced” by the mobs, who burned their victims to death by placing petrol-filled tyres over their heads and igniting them.

The grisly scenes recall township upheavals of the apartheid years and the alleged excesses of supporters of Nelson Mandela’s ex-wife Winnie.

As the trouble spread today, the industrial Gauteng province reeled under new violence as mobs continued attacks against foreign black migrants in what church leaders and human rights groups called “a national disgrace".

There were other chilling echoes of that era in the smoke rising above the townships as migrants’ homes were burnt, the police helicopters circling low over the troubled areas and rising tension on the streets.

In Reiger Park, east of Johannesburg, a mob of at least 100 men wielding axes and metal bars raided a hostel occupied by Mozambique nationals working on nearby mines. Four men were dragged outside and beaten viciously. Police discovered the bodies of two of them this morning.

In Actonville, also east of the city, the owner of a construction company accused of hiring foreign workers died when his home was set alight by marauding attackers.

Police stations, church halls and community centres were overflowing with migrant workers and their families who had fled the violence. There were also disturbing signs of tribal hostility in the violence with Zulu mobs attacking Shangaan and Pedi people from the northern areas of South Africa.

The hard-pressed police forces in the Johannesburg and Pretoria areas have been reinforced with anti-riot squads from elsewhere in the country but have resisted calls for the army to be called in to help. Police said they had arrested some 300 people who would be charged with murder and assault.

President Thabo Mbeki has set up a committee to “analyse the problem". The South African leader called on those behind “these criminal and shameful acts” to stop. “Nothing can justify it,” he said. South African mobs have launched fresh attacks on foreign workers, as anti-immigrant violence spread across the country and forced... more

kushan
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0 responses

6 months ago

China earthquake: Death toll tops 40,000

China has reported that the number of deaths as a result of the devastating earthquake last week has risen above 40,000, with... more

mattbrawn
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6 months ago

Burma cyclone: 130,000 may have died as second storm gathers

The Red Cross said that almost 130,000 people may have perished in the Burmese cyclone disaster, as a second deadly storm gathered off the Burmese coast.

The organisation said that the toll may be 127,990, almost 30,000 higher than the figure estimated by the US embassy in Rangoon.

A further 2.51 million people have been left battling to survive the cylone’s aftermath with inadequate food, shelter or drinking water, the organisation said.

The threat of a second cyclone was once again ignored by the Burmese authorities, who have yet to alert the country.

An American government agency said: “The potential for the development of a significant tropical cyclone within the next 24 hours is upgraded to good with the only limitation being temporary land interaction.”

Amanda Pitt, a United Nations spokesman, said that the “already weak” survivors would struggle to withstand a second battering, even though it is not expected to be as severe. The new storm would hamper “people’s ability to survive and cope with what happened to them ... This is terrible,” she said.

Residents of Rangoon - which some forecasts said would receive another direct hit - were aware of “bad weather” to come from foreign broadcasts, the internet and word of mouth.

In the Irrawaddy delta, where hundreds of thousands of ailing survivors of Cyclone Nargis are living in squalor, few have access to radio. The storm, if it arrives, will come without warning.

The new storm is not expected to be as strong as the last one — whose 120mph winds whipped up a 12 foot wall of water - but it is believed to carry an average month’s worth of rain fall. Heavy rains will further damage already broken roads and bring misery to unprotected survivors.

International agencies believe that at least 100,000 people were killed by Nargis, although the Burmese regime stands by a lower figure. Relief supplies from the United Nations and charities have so far reached only 270 000 survivors — a fraction of the total number. The Red Cross said that almost 130,000 people may have perished in the Burmese cyclone disaster, as a second deadly storm gathered... more