Iran Protests: Opposition Leader Mir Hossein Mousavi's Nephew Shot Dead
THE TELEGRAPH: Iranian security forces have shot and killed a nephew of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi during the fiercest clashes with anti-government protesters in months.


At least eight people are thought to have died in clashes across the country, according to opposition web sites and witnesses.

Amateur video footage from the centre of Tehran showed an enraged crowd carrying away one of the casualties, chanting, "I'll kill, I'll kill the one who killed my brother".

In several locations in the capital, demonstrators fought back furiously against security forces, hurling stones and setting their motorcycles, cars and vans ablaze, according to video footage and pro-reform websites.

Demonstrations also took place in at least three other cities. >>> | Sunday, December 27, 2009

Trapped by Taliban Terror
THE SUNDAY TIMES: Innocent families are hemmed in as the army tries to crush the hardline Islamic militants fighting for control of north-west Pakistan

A Taliban militant smiles as he holds his weapon outside the mosque where tribal elders and the Taliban met in Daggar, Buner's main town, Pakistan, Thursday, April 23, 2009. Photo courtesy of The Sunday Times
FIERCE fighting engulfed the once serene mountain resort of Swat yesterday, with thousands of civilians trapped as the Pakistani army launched an all-out offensive against the Taliban.

In Swat’s main town of Mingora, now controlled by the Taliban, residents described a scene of terror. Taliban positions were heavily shelled, food and water were running low and electricity and most telephone lines had been cut.

Some described how they were left cowering inside their homes, praying for survival as fighter jets screeched overhead. An army curfew and Taliban threats prevented them fleeing.

The army said it had killed 55 more Taliban fighters in Swat yesterday, bringing the total to more than 200 since the operation began. Hundreds of civilians were feared dead. The provincial government, claiming that hundreds of thousands more were flooding down from the mountains in search of safety, said it could not cope. >>> Christina Lamb and Daud Pakistan Khattak in Batkhela, Swat Valley | Sunday, May 10, 2009