Obama signs K-L Bill amid Pak rejection of ‘explanatory note’

October 15th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a bid to soothe ruffled feathers in Pakistan over anti-terror strings attached to the $7.5 billion aid package, US lawmakers have provided a written explanation to Islamabad about the offending provisions, saying there was no intention to "micromanage internal Pakistani affairs". Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman were joined by Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi as they spoke to reporters Wednesday about their response to Pakistani protests about US meddling in its affairs.

October 15th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The United States has attached a separate memo with the Kerry Lugar Bill to clarify the conditions mentioned in the legislation, however, the new document too mentions that Pakistan must prevent its soil from being used by militants to launch a terror attack on other countries. The language of the explanatory note appeared to be watered down from the initial conditionalities, but a minute observation of the note clarifies that the US' intent remains the same.

October 15th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan may have to seek an additional $847 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) if the aid the US has proposed under a controversial bill does not come through, the country's finance minister has said. Pakistan, in its budget for 2009-10, had estimated a US grant of $874 million for the fiscal that began July 1 but the ongoing impasse on the bill had put this at stake and the government would have to take measures to bridge the gap, Dawn Thursday quoted Shaukat Tarin as saying.

October 14th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The United States has made it clear that it would not remove any clauses in the controversial Kerry Lugar bill, rather an explanatory memo addressing Pakistan's reservations would be stapled in with the bill. Interacting with mediapersons after a meeting with Pakistan Foreign Minister, who had rushed back to Washington to convey Islamabad's objections, Chairman of the Senate Foreign relations Committee John Kerry said a separate document would be attached with the bill to clarify the elements of the 7.5 billion dollar bill.

October 14th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The White House has made it clear that it would not change any clauses in the controversial Kerry Lugar Bill, and has blamed certain Pakistani quarters for misinterpretating the bill for their own 'vested interests.' White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said that the objections being raised over the bill in Pakistan were primarily due to some misconceptions that surround the legislation. "I know a number of countries have conditional aid based on meeting certain important criteria.

October 10th, 2009 KARACHI - Amid the widespread criticism the Kerry Lugar Bill has received in Pakistan, US and Pakistani officials and are working behind the scenes to work out a 'middle path' to end the crisis. Sources said that US Ambassador to Pakistan Anne W Patterson and top military officials have been busy in letting President Barack Obama know the questionable clauses of the proposed aid bill, that has actually made the Pakistani political parties and the Army cry foul.

October 10th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Amid all the controversy and apprehensions that President Barack Obama may ask for a review of the Kerry Lugar Bill, the White House has made it clear that the President would sign the bill into law. "The President will sign the legislation.

October 10th, 2009 LAHORE - A renowned Pakistani journalist has blamed the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) (PML-N) and the Army for creating troubles for President Asif Ali Zardari. Najam Sethi said the PML-N is actively involved in a propaganda to undermine the work done by the government and is spreading rumours about the Kerry Lugar Bill.

August 24th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama and his family have arrived at their sprawling vacation home, starting off their week of holiday in Martha's Vineyard. The family arrived on August 23 after a four-hour delay in Washington to avoid Hurricane Bill, and as they drove to their vacation home, they were greeted along the way by dozens of waving and cheering supporters, who carried signs reading "Aloha Obama Family" and "Hope, Obama".

August 1st, 2009 BROOKLYN - The woman whose 911 call set in motion this week's White House "beer summit", but who was not invited, has received a "beautiful" bouquet of flowers and a note of gratitude from Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr, but nothing from President Obama. Lucia Whalen reported what appeared to her to be a break in to Gates's Cambridge, Mass.

June 25th, 2009 WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has signed into law a measure keeping the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan from running out of money. The $106 billion spending bill also includes money to fight swine flu and a "cash for clunkers" program encouraging drivers to switch to more fuel-efficient cars.

June 19th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The US Congress has approved a $106-billion spending bill that includes money for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and a loan to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The wide-ranging legislation includes money for foreign aid, preventing a flu pandemic and a "cash-for-clunkers" initiative that encourages consumers to trade in older, less efficient cars to help revive the auto industry.

June 12th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Barack Obama wrote an unusual get-out-of-class-free note for a girl whose father had taken her to the U.S. President's town hall.

June 4th, 2009 CAIRO - "Among some Muslims, there is a disturbing tendency to measure one's own faith by the rejection of another's," US President Barack Obama told the world's 1.5 billion Muslims in a speech from Cairo Thursday. "The richness of religious diversity must be upheld - whether it is for Maronites in Lebanon or the Copts in Egypt.

May 30th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Fear of rejection over their appearance is what drives people to look attractive, confirms a new study. The research was led by Lora Park, assistant professor of psychology, University of Buffalo, along with her graduate student Ann Marie DiRaddo and Rachel Calogero, psychology lecturer at the University of Kent.