5 more killed in Syria violence

 

Five people, including two children, were killed in violence across Syria Friday as forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad fired on several protests, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

 

The two children were killed in an explosion near a cultural centre in Kfartakharim in the northwestern Idlib region, the Britain-based Observatory said adding that residents were greatly angered by the incident.

 

The activist group said at dawn two civilians were shot dead on farms in the flashpoint town of Rankus, near Damascus.

 

In the southern Daraa region, where the 10-month-old uprising against the Assad regime began, a soldier was killed and five others injured in clashes in the town of Jassem between government forces and fighters from the deserter Free Syrian Army.

 

In Idlib region, the watchdog said, massive protests were held marking the notorious 1982 massacre in the city of Hama. In the coastal town of Latakia protests began despite a huge presence of security forces who fired gunshots to disperse the crowds.

 

The Observatory said nearly 10,000 mourners turned out for a funeral march in Dael for a person who died in prison.

 

Protesters also gathered in Yabrod, in Damascus province, after Friday prayers, the activists said.

DI Khan: cop killed by miscreants laid to rest

Strict security arrangements were made for funeral prayer of the deceased.

Jahangir who was shot dead by the firing of terrorists was laid to rest in his ancestral village Baran Abad.

 

A large number of citizens and police officials offered his funeral prayer. A case has been registered against four miscreants in Cantt police station.

On the other hand, alleged miscreant killed during an encounter has been identified as Imran Gandapur.

 

He was wanted to police for being reportedly involved in incidents of bomb blasts, attacks on police and communal riots.

Karachi: Religious party activist buried after protest

TrendPK.com

KARAHI: A religious party activist, who fell to target killing, was laid to rest in Karachi today (Wednesday).

Heirs of the victim, Muhammad Ali, held a demonstration on Maripur Road before offering his funeral prayers. The protest, which continued for almost an hour, led to traffic jam.

Later, police intervened and promised the registration of an FIR, after which the protest came to an end.

Ali was gunned down at Jodia Bazar Tuesday. TrendPK

Four lose lives in Karachi violence

KARACHI: At least four people including a woman were killed in the ongoing spate of violence and firing incidents in the metropolis.

The string of firing incidents which erupted abruptly in the city, seems to have come to a halt, as a let-up in the situation is being currently witnessed; however, the citizens are still distressed.

At least two bodies including one of a woman were retrieved from Bhains Colony area of Sukhan yesterday morning. Both the deceased were kidnapped, tortured and hanged to death.

Meantime, body of a youth was recovered from under Teen Hatti Bridge. The youth was shot to death after torture. However, all three deceased could not be identified as yet.

Funeral prayers for the eternal peace of former UC Nazim Muhammed Haneef of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), were offered near City Court. He was targeted near Paan Mandi area of Risalah a day ago. MQM’s office-bearers and workers attended the prayers in large number. In the meantime, local residents staged a protest against incidents of target killing.

Later on, Haneef was laid to rest in Yaseenabad cemetery.

Meantime, the funeral prayers for the eternal peace of Muhammed Sabih, who was gunned down

Firing on mourners in Libya; 15 dead

TRIPOLI: Snipers from Libya”s government forces fired on mourners attending a funeral for slain protesters Saturday, killing at least 15 people as demonstrations calling for the ouster of President Moammar Gadhafi continued for the fifth straight day.

Snipers targeted the thousands of people who were attending a mass funeral in Benghazi, Libya”s second-largest city and the site of violent protests. The mourners had gathered to honour the 35 protesters who were shot by government forces on Friday.

Dozens of mourners were also injured, with many of the victims suffering from gunshot wounds to the head and chest.

“Many of the dead and the injured are relatives of doctors here,” an official at the local hospital told The Associated Press. “They are crying and I keep telling them to please stand up and help us.”

Saturday”s killings pushed the overall death toll to 99 as Gadhafi”s forces crack down hard on protesters calling for an end to his more than 40 years of autocratic rule.

“The blood of our martyrs is still leaking from coffins over the shoulders of the mourners,” one protester told The Associated Press, as she stood beside about 20 coffins in Benghazi.

After Friday”s violence, the government moved to stifle online communication, a key public relations component for organizers of the demonstrations. U.S.-based Arbor Networks said Internet use in Libya ground to a halt shortly after 2 a.m. local time Saturday, with protesters confirming they were unable to get online.

A few hours later, government special forces broke up a camp of protesters, which included lawyers and judges, outside of the Benghazi courthouse. One protester told the Associated Press that soldiers dispersed the crowd by firing tear gas on the group.

After the violence at the funeral, local residents organized neighbourhood patrols through Benghazi as police disappeared from the streets. Residents feared the lack of police presence meant that government forces were preparing to raid homes, particularly of protest organizers, overnight.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague called reports of guns and other weapons being used against demonstrators in Libya “clearly unacceptable and horrifying.” He also criticized limits on media access.

Malcolm Smart of Amnesty International said Saturday that during anti-government demonstrations across much of the Arab world, protesters have remained resolute even when they have been shot at by pro-government forces.

“I think that”s in a sense the inspiration that”s going to the protesters, and also in the minds of those in power and who do not want to go the way of those who were in power in Tunis and in Cairo,” Smart told CTV News Channel, referring to former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and former Tunisian leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who were both forced from power by popular uprisings.

Canada”s Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said the federal government is monitoring events in Libya very closely and is “deeply concerned” about the attacks on peaceful protesters.

“We call on the Libyan government to respect the rights of freedom of expression and assembly and to engage in peaceful dialogue with its people to address legitimate concerns,” Cannon said in a statement.

In Libya, as in Egypt and other nations, protesters want solutions to dire poverty and high unemployment, as well as greater respect for human rights, including the right to peaceful protest.

The demonstrations have largely occurred in the particularly impoverished cities in the nation”s east, although protesters have taken to the streets in the capital of Tripoli.

However, the police and military presence have remained heavy in Tripoli, where one female protester described residents as being “under siege.”

Security Stepped up in Lahore on Salman Taseer’s Burial

LAHORE, trendpk: Funeral prayers of Punjab governor Salman Taseer will be offered at Governor House Lahore this noon.

Taseer, who was shot dead by a guard in Islamabad on Tuesday, will be buried at Cavalary Graveyard.

Security has been stepped up and over 1000 security men have been deployed in Lahore.

The dead body of Salman Taseer, has been airlifted to Lahore and his funeral prayers will be offered after Zohar prayers today. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and top political officials of the country will attend the funeral.

The dead body of the assassinated governor of Punjab was taken to his residence in Lahore, later the remains shifted to Governor House in Lahore.

Earlier, the dead body of the governor of Punjab, after post mortem at PIMS hospital in Islamabad, was airlifted to Lahore through C-130 airplane. Federal ministers Babar Awan, Rehman Malik and Qamar Zaman Kaira reached Lahore with the body. The dead body was received at airport by Salman Taseer’s son Hassan Shahzad, Chief Minister of Sindh Sayed Qaim Ali Shah and Fariyal Talpur.

Elizabeth Edwards Funeral

Elizabeth Edwards Funeral: After all, Rielle Hunter hopes to marry John Edwards someday soon, which would make her stepmom to John and Elizabeth’s kids, two who are still young and live at home. And, that aside, Rielle is already and forever the mother of the Edwards kids’ half sister Quinn. The kids are already blood-linked to Rielle for life through their youngest sibling. So whether anyone likes it or not, that little innocent child makes them all — even Elizabeth before her tragic passing — a blended family already, whether or not Rielle ultimately gets her ring from John or not.

And if she and John are still in a relationship, maybe he needs her, too. To be by his side so he can be strong for his children and all the other mourners.

So shouldn’t Rielle, if she is his beloved, be there at the funeral?

Before you call me a wacky modern family lovefester, think about it. We don’t know the intricacies of this blended family. Perhaps John and Rielle are still together in their private lives. Perhaps the kids already know and have a relationship with Rielle. Maybe their relationship, as painful as its start was to everyone involved, is ordinary life to them now. If so, what would they think if Rielle didn’t show up to be there for them all in their time of need?

No doubt it’s interesting to ponder, right?

Of course, no matter what, I hope Rielle would respect the family’s wishes if they don’t want her to attend, for their own sakes or for the comfort of other attendees. After all, this day is not only for the immediate family, but it should be a safe place for close family and friends to remember Elizabeth Edwards, say goodbye, and pay their respects. This day should NOT be “infected” by the precise crazymaking that made Elizabeth’s last years so much more difficult than they had to be.

14 women die as roof of a house collapses in Swat

Staff Report

SWAT: The roof of a house has collapsed in Buner, Swat, Trend Pk learnt Tuesday.

People were gathered for condolences in a house where a man died a day earlier, when suddenly the house’s roof collapsed, killing 14 women and injuring 14 others.

According to sources, a local resident of Buner, Arshad, died in a traffic accident a day earlier. His relatives and neighbors gathered for his funeral ceremony when all of a sudden, the roof of his house collapsed where women were sitting.

DPO Buner Falak Naz Khan said that 14 women have been killed in the incident and 14 are reported as injured. Relief work has started and the injured have been transferred to a nearby hospital. Trend Pk

Dr Imran’s mourning: Karachi’s traffic thin, petrol pumps close on 2nd day

Staff Report

KARACHI: After the funeral of Mutahida Qaumi Movement’s slain leader, Dr. Imran Farooq, on Saturday, the traffic was very thin and petrol pumps remained closed on the second day of mourning in the metropolis.

According to details, the petrol pumps of M.A.Jinnah Road, Liaqatabad, Kharadar, Mithadar, Azizabad, Nazimabad, Federal-B Area and many other parts of the city were kept closed while most of the roads also remained vacant.

The people faced great difficulties to move in the city as majority of the public and private transport was missing from the road. Trend Pk

Security during Dr Imran’s funerals – Trend Pk VIDEO

Arbab Chandio reports on the security arrangements during the funeral prayers of Dr Imran Farooq. (November 06, 2010)

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