Pakistan soldiers held over videoed killing in Karachi

Police in Karachi, Pakistan, say they have arrested two paramilitary soldiers seen on video killing a young man.

Video footage shows the man, Sarfaraz Shah, begging for his life before being shot by six members of the Sindh Rangers paramilitary force.

The Rangers say the young man was caught trying to rob someone. His family denies this.

An inquiry is already under way into the killing of five unarmed Chechens last month by the security forces.

The video from Karachi, which has been broadcast widely on Pakistani television, is disturbing to watch.

It shows a young man in a black T-shirt being dragged by his hair in a public park by a man in plain clothes.

He is pushed towards a group of Sindh Rangers who are in uniform and armed. The young man, who does not appear to be armed, pleads for his life as one of the Rangers points a gun at his neck.

A little later, a Ranger shoots him twice at close range, hitting him in the thigh. The young man is seen writhing on the ground, bleeding heavily and begging for help.

The paramilitaries remain close to the injured man but do nothing to help him. He died from his injuries.

The journalists' union in Karachi have said that the TV cameraman who shot the video had received threats and was being "pressured [by authorities] to say it was a fake".

Sarfaraz's brother, Salik Shah, said he had been the victim of an extrajudicial killing.

The incident has sparked an outcry with some politicians calling for the Rangers involved to be prosecuted.

It comes as a separate inquiry is under way in neighbouring Balochistan Province into the killing of five Chechens by members of the paramilitary.

Five civilians, including a heavily pregnant woman, were shot dead at close range in the western city of Quetta, despite apparently trying to surrender.

Officials initially said that the five family members were armed and were suicide bombers - but this was later found to be u

ntrue.

Deadly blasts at market in Pakistani city of Peshawar

At least 34 people have been killed and 90 wounded after two explosions ripped through a market in the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar, police say.

The blasts occurred just after midnight in an area of the city that is home to political offices and army housing.

The number of attacks by militants in Pakistan has risen sharply since al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden was killed in a US commando raid last month.

On Thursday, a bombing on the outskirts of Peshawar left four people dead.

An explosive device was planted in a pile of rubbish by the roadside in the Matani area, police said. The victims included a woman and a child.

Remote

A senior police official in Peshawar, Dost Mohammed, told the Associated Press that the first explosion on Sunday had been relatively small, and had drawn rescue workers, police and several journalists to the scene.

Minutes later, a large explosion rocked the area, causing the fatalities and most of the injuries. Eighteen people were said to be in a serious condition in hospital.

Jamal Khan, a 22-year-old student, was in his flat when the first blast happened. He was hit by flying debris by the second blast after rushing downstairs.

"The explosion was so huge I will never forget it all my life," he told AP. "It was deafening, and then there was a cloud of dust and smoke. When the dust settled, I saw people crying for help and body parts scattered everywhere."

Mr Mohammed said initial reports suggested the second blast was caused by explosives hidden in a vehicle and detonated by remote.

However, several police officials later said it might have been carried out by a suicide bomber on a motorbike.

The source of the first explosion is still unknown.

The AFP news agency said the apparent target was a supermarket. But the blasts also occurred close to a building containing the offices of several newspapers and across the road from those of the top political agent to Khyber, a volatile tribal region. There is also housing for soldiers nearby.

Rahimullah Yusfzai, editor of the News International newspaper, told the BBC he was in his office nearby when the blast went off.

He said the area had many shops and restaurants and was popular with families and students.

"First there was a small blast, we thought it was a gas cylinder which had exploded. Many people then ran towards the site of the blast and then the second big explosion took place which was heard far and wide," he said.

"This is how the militants operate - there is, in almost all cases, a smaller blast then a bigger one when the police and the media arrive."

The incident came as Afghan President Hamid Karzai visited the capital, Islamabad, for talks with senior Pakistani officials.

Speaking at a joint news conference, Pakistan's Prime Minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani, said his country would give Afghanistan all the support it could, as Kabul pursued peace talks with the Taliban.

Mr Gilani said Pakistan's only aim was to support the peace process.

Panetta tries to repair strained relations with Pakistan

Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) -- In Pakistan to repair damaged relations, CIA Director Leon Panetta urged top officials to step up efforts to hunt militants operating within its borders as the United States reduced troop levels in the south Asian

nation at the request of Islamabad.

Between 200 and 300 U.S. military personnel remain in Pakistan, said a U.S. military spokesman, who asked not to be identified. It's not known what the previous number was but an official U.S. statement said the reduction was in line with a request from the Pakistani government.

"We recently received a written request from the Government of Pakistan to reduce the number of U.S. military personnel here, and we have nearly completed that reduction," said Navy Vice Adm. Michael LeFever, a U.S. defense representative in Pakistan.

Pakistan's military chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani said the United States "has drastically cut down" troop strength in Pakistan.

Panetta met with the chiefs of Pakistan's military and top spy agency Friday to discuss U.S. partnership with Pakistan, strained by disputes about how to pursue counter-terrorism efforts.

Panetta's unannounced visit was the latest in a series of such visits by U.S. officials -- among them, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen and Sen. John Kerry -- in efforts to smooth things over after Osama bin Laden was killed in a Navy SEALs raid in early May.

Panetta insisted that Pakistan launch a military operation in North Waziristan, a rugged mountainous region rife with militants, according to a senior Pakistani official who asked to remain anonymous because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

Kayani agreed with Panetta in principle but told the incoming defense secretary that Pakistani troops are already stretched thin.

Panetta and his Pakistani counterparts agreed to form a joint intelligence team to track militant targets inside Pakistan.

U.S. officials believe Pakistan is not doing enough to go after al Qaeda and other extremists, while the Pakistanis are upset with what they consider to be unilateral steps taken by the United States within their borders.

Washington did not give advance notice to Pakistani officials about the raid on bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad.

At his confirmation hearing Thursday for defense secretary, Panetta, described the U.S. relationship with Pakistan as "difficult" but "critical."

While Pakistan has proven to be a safe haven for extremists, a positive relationship with authorities in Islamabad is vital to the mission in Afghanistan, he said.

Gallery: India's monsoon arrives early

his year the monsoon arrived in Mumbai almost a week ahead of schedule. It announced itself with whip-cracking thunder on June 5, catching the otherwise prepared Mumbaikar unawares.

Around June 10 in normal years, the average Mumbaikar has umbrellas, rubber slippers, plastic bags, waterproof bags, zip-locked checkbook holders, the works. Girlfriends make dates with each other to shop for gumboots.

The slush and the rush of the torrents of water leave the average worker surviving twice-over: once their normal day in an anxious, heaving city, and once again to wade towards their destinations.

However in contrast to a heavy snow-day elsewhere in the world, no monsoon can stop Mumbai.

Everything looks full and ripe, and children play and nobody is thirsty, and all of a day’s work (and play) is undertaken wet, instead of dry.

The monsoon is a great inspiration to pop-culture. From countless Bollywood films to Tuhin Sinha’s novel, "That Thing Called Love" and Kashmira Sheth’s endearing children’s book, illustrated by Yoshiko Jaeggi, about a young boy and his grandfather who go out one "Monsoon Afternoon" to sail paper boats.

More famously, Steve McCurry, the photographer behind the lucid eyes of the Afghan girl featured on the front of National Geographic, created a monsoon series set in Mumbai.

Particularly, this portrait of a tailor in the monsoon became similarly iconic, for framing the good humor and idiosyncrasies that come with this paradoxical season.

McCurry's photos all pinpoint the simultaneous hardship and humor and accidental poetry that come with the monsoon season in Mumbai.

This photo gallery charts the same.

Read more: Gallery: India's monsoon arrives early | CNNGo.com http://www.cnngo.com/mumbai/life/wettest-monsoon-photo-gallery-youve-ever-seen-410728?hpt=hp_c2#ixzz1OyHldCXf

Syria: Thousands still fleeing into Turkey

At least 4,300 people have now fled violence in Syria to seek refuge in Turkey, a senior Turkish official says.

A BBC correspondent on the border says the real number of displaced people is probably much higher.

The Syrians have mainly been fleeing the town of Jisr al-Shughour, targeted in a government crackdown.

An eyewitness described a tank attack on a nearby village on Friday morning, in which people were killed and crops destroyed.

Syria's government says its forces went into the town to restore order after the deaths of 120 security personnel.

Clashes throughout the country on Friday led to the deaths of at least 32 people.

Hundreds of people have been killed in a crackdown in recent weeks on anti-government protests, which began in March.

Meanwhile the US White House strongly condemned Syria's "outrageous use of violence" against the protesters and called for an "immediate end" to the violence.

'Not refugees'

The BBC's Owen Bennett Jones, in Guvecci on the Turkish-Syrian border, says the real number of displaced people is probably much higher than official total because many have slipped across the border unnoticed by the Turkish army.

Senior Foreign Ministry official Halit Cevik said Turkey would deal with the crisis as best it could.

"If they are coming, this is a humanitarian issue," he said. "We will do whatever is needed within our means."

He added that while Turkey could cope with the crisis at the moment, it might need international help if things got worse.

But Mr Cevik said that the UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, would not be involved.

The Syrians involved were not seeking refuge in Turkey, he said, as their eventual aim was to go back home.

Russian colonel who killed Chechen girl is shot dead

A Russian colonel who was jailed for murdering a Chechen teenager has been shot dead in central Moscow.

Yuri Budanov was killed on Friday by an unidentified gunman on Komsomolsky Prospekt, a busy avenue in the capital, state prosecutors said.

In 2003 a court upheld his 10-year jail sentence for strangling an 18-year-old girl in war-torn Chechnya in 2000.

But he was released early from jail in January 2009 - a move that angered human rights activists.

Russian media say the gunman, wearing a blue jacket and hood, attacked Budanov at about 1230 (0830 GMT), shooting him six times with a pistol, then fled by car.

The Mitsubishi Lancer getaway car was later found abandoned and on fire, the reports said. A pistol and silencer were found inside.

High-profile case

The Budanov trial was big news in Russia, where very few officers have been prosecuted over abuses committed during Russia's two campaigns against Chechen separatist rebels.

He was the only senior officer to be jailed for crimes committed in Chechnya.

He was found guilty of the kidnapping and strangling of Elza Kungayeva in 2000. An allegation that he had also raped her was dropped.

The murder provoked outrage in Chechnya, where many civilians have died at the hands of Russian forces and the local pro-Moscow militia, during the long war against rebels.

At his re-trial in 2003 Budanov accused Russian media of having swayed the judge, insisting that he was "a Russian soldier who defended his country for the past 20 years".

Budanov was acquitted at his first trial in December 2002, when the court accepted his plea that he had been temporarily insane at the time of the killing.

But the Russian supreme court ordered a re-trial, where he was found to have been of sound mind at the time. He was found guilty and stripped of his rank and the Order of Courage, which he had won in breakaway Chechnya.

Budanov told the court he believed that Kungayeva was a Chechen sniper and that a fit of rage had come over him as he interrogated her.

The lawyer representing Kungayeva's family, Stanislav Markelov, was shot dead in Moscow in January 2009, along with a journalist, Anastasia Baburova, who was with him at the time.

Last month a court in Moscow sentenced a Russian nationalist to life imprisonment for the double murder. His partner was also jailed.

Syria: US condemns 'brutality and violence'

The US has strongly condemned Syria's "outrageous use of violence" against anti-government protesters.

The White House said the government was leading Syria down a "dangerous path" and called for "an immediate end to the brutality and violence".

Activists say at least 32 people were killed in fresh clashes on Friday.

The violence came as government forces moved into the town of Jisr al-Shughour, where it said 120 security personnel had

killed.

Hundreds of civilians have fled north into Turkey to escape the assault.

Assad 'unavailable'

In a statement, White House spokesman Jay Carney repeated calls for the Syrian security forces to exercise restraint.

"The Syrian government is leading Syria on a dangerous path," he said.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, meanwhile, described the use of military force as "unacceptable".

A spokesman for Mr Ban said he was "keen to speak to" Syria's president, but that Bashar al-Assad had repeatedly been "unavailable" in recent days.

Syria has prevented foreign journalists, including those from the BBC, from entering the country, making it difficult to independently verify reports from there

In the most serious of Friday's incidents, anti-government activists said about 15 people had died in the northern province of Idlib.

They said most of the deaths were in Maarat al-Numan, where tanks and helicopters are said to have fired on protesters who had taken to the streets after prayers.

State TV and opposition figures said police stations in the town had been attacked by protesters.

Correspondents say it is the first reported use of air power to quell protests in Syria's three-month uprising.

'Mutiny'

Both state media and activists on the ground also reported troops and tanks advancing on Jisr al-Shughour.