Death toll in Syria Friday protests rise to 44-group

AMMAN: Syrian security forces shot dead at least 44 civilians in attacks on pro democracy demonstrations that had erupted across Syria on Friday, the Syrian National Organisation for Human Rights said on Saturday.

Prominent rights campaigner Ammar Qurabi, who heads of the organisation, said more than half were killed in the northwest province of Idlib, where tanks deployed on Friday to crush large demonstrations against autocratic rule.

Taliban in peace talks with Pakistani tribe

ISLAMABAD: The Taliban are negotiating a peace deal with a Pakistani tribe in the northwest, tribal elders said on Thursday, that could give militants access to remote strategic areas on the Afghan border.

The talk of a deal between members of tne Haqqani network — one of the most dangerous Taliban factions — and the Turi tribe in the Kurram region is likely to raise concerns in the United States which has been demanding Pakistan get tough with the militants fighting Western forces across the border.

“We are holding talks to end violence and fighting in the region. People have become fed up with fighting,” Sajid Hussain, a member of parliament involved in the talks, told Reuters.

Hundreds of people have been killed in clashes between the Turi tribe and their rivals backed by the Taliban in recent months.

The deal, which has not yet been finalised,

Video shows Taliban allegedly stoning woman in Orakzai

ISLAMABAD: Turbaned men in Pakistan gather around a woman with a black hood over her head, pick up large rocks and repeatedly throw them at her until she lies motionless, stretched along the ground, a video purports.

A Dubai-based television station which released the footage said the stoning was carried out in northwest Pakistan, apparently by Taliban militants, incensed because she was seen out with a man.

The footage is a stark reminder that despite a series of military offensives the army said had weakened insurgents, militants still control areas of the northwest and impose their harsh version of Islam at will.

Dubai’s Al Aan television, which focuses on women’s issues in the Arab world, said it got the tape from its sources and that it took place in Orakzai agency in northwest Pakistan. It said it had other footage of a man who was executed by shooting,

Magnitude-6.3 earthquake jolts Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: A magnitude-6.3 earthquake struck north Pakistan late Friday night, said the country’s meteorology office.

The tremor was felt in Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar and other cities in the northwest Khyber-Paktunkwa province and the east Punjab province, local residents said.

“The quake lasted 15 seconds and some people fled homes,” they added.

There were no immediate reports of casualty or damage.

Meanwhile, the US Geological Survey (USGS) reported that the quake had jolted Hindukush region of Afghanistan.

The temblor occurred at 11:51 p.m. local time (1921 GMT), at a depth of 199.7 km. The epicenter was 75 km south-southeast of Faizabad, Afghanistan and 115 km northwest of Chitral, Pakistan, said the USGS on its official website. SAMAA

11 militants killed in suspected US drone strike

NORTH WAZIRISTAN: Eleven militants have been killed in a suspected US drone air strike in North Waziristan.

Local intelligence officials said three missiles struck a suspected militant hideout in Shawal, near the Afghan border, killing 11 militants.

In another incident, police say gunmen shot a journalist dead in the volatile town of Hangu in the northwest.

Police said the journalist had received threats from militants after publishing stories about their activities. SAMAA

Special Eid train departs from Karachi to Lhr

By Kifayat Ali Shah

KARACHI: First special Eid train has departed from Karachi Cantonment Station to Lahore, SAMAA reported Tuesday.

This special Eid train will reach Lahore via Faisalabad. Due to floods there was a no stream of passengers seen.

Second Eid train will leave at 2: 00 pm for Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Peshawar.

Some passengers have left behind due to their late arrivals but DCO Railway Kamran has ensured their going in tomorrow’s special second train. SAMAA

Angelina Jolie visits flood relief camps in Nowshehra

NOWSHERA: Hollywood star Angelina Jolie Tuesday visited flood-hit areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to draw the world’s attention towards the plight of 21 million people affected by the country’s worst-ever floods.

Jolie, the 34-year-old actress and roving envoy for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, spent time talking to long-term Afghan refugees, Pakistani communities and aid workers in Nowshera.

It was Jolie’s fourth visit to Pakistan since she became a UNHCR goodwill ambassador in 2001.

“From what I understand the situation is on a scale that we have not really seen the likes of. It’s on a huge scale,” Jolie told reporters at a camp for the displaced.

“It is extraordinarily complex situation, it’s not just the floods,” said Jolie, referring to the 1.7 million Afghan refugees already living in temporary camps in the northwest.

She also

Angelina Jolie visits flood relief camps in Nowshehra

NOWSHERA: Hollywood star Angelina Jolie Tuesday visited flood-hit areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to draw the world’s attention towards the plight of 21 million people affected by the country’s worst-ever floods.

Jolie, the 34-year-old actress and roving envoy for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, spent time talking to long-term Afghan refugees, Pakistani communities and aid workers in Nowshera.

It was Jolie’s fourth visit to Pakistan since she became a UNHCR goodwill ambassador in 2001.

“From what I understand the situation is on a scale that we have not really seen the likes of. It’s on a huge scale,” Jolie told reporters at a camp for the displaced.

“It is extraordinarily complex situation, it’s not just the floods,” said Jolie, referring to the 1.7 million Afghan refugees already living in temporary camps in the northwest.

She also

Armed attack injures seven in DG Khan

Staff Report

DERA GHAZI KHAN: Unidentified gunmen shot and injured seven people in Dera Ghazi Khan on Monday.

Three persons are said to be in critical state.

The incident took place at Adda Ibrahimwala near Sadruddin locality in Dera Ghazi Khan District.

According to sources, personal enmity could be the motive behind the armed attack.

Meanwhile, Rescue 1122 team reached the scene and shifted the injured to District Headquarter Hospital. SAMAA

Blast kills 7 in Kurram Agency

PARACHINAR: A bomb exploded at a meeting of tribal elders in Kurram region near the Afghan border on Monday, killing seven people, a government official said.

“We have reports that it happened in a jirga. The death toll could be higher,” the official, Naeemullah Jan, told Reuters.

Taliban insurgents have waged a bombing campaign across the northwest region and in the Pakistani heartland, stoking concern about the stability of the U.S. ally.

The Taliban have in recent weeks kept a low profile as millions of people struggle with the country’s worst floods in memory. AGENCIES

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