Koran burning

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Iraqi Protesters Storm Swedish Embassy

Iraqi protesters denounced plans to burn Koran outside country's Stockholm embassy

(Newser) - The Swedish embassy in Baghdad was stormed Thursday by hundreds of protesters angered by plans to burn a Koran outside the Iraqi embassy in Sweden. Protesters broke into the compound, which also houses the Finnish embassy, and set a small fire, the AP reports. Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said...

He Was Accused of Blasphemy. Then the Mob Descended

Dozens arrested after man stoned to death for allegedly burning Koran in Pakistan

(Newser) - Dozens of men have been arrested in Pakistan's Punjab province after a man accused of blasphemy was stoned to death there over the weekend by an enraged mob. The BBC reports the lynching took place on Saturday evening in Tulamba, located in the district of Khanewal. Police spokesman Munawar...

Koran-Burning Pastor Terry Jones Banned by Germany

Nation takes action as neo-Nazis plan events around anti-Islam film

(Newser) - In the interest of public order, German officials are taking steps to make certain that Koran-burning American preacher Terry Jones can't get into the country. The Jones ban is being instituted amid rumors that far right groups in Germany plan to invite the Florida preacher to speak in the...

Girl Accused of Blasphemy Granted Bail in Pakistan

First such case to see bail offered

(Newser) - Following extensive court arguments in Pakistan today, a girl accused of burning pages of the Koran has been granted bail. A minorities activist group has agreed to pay the $10,000 bail fee, CNN reports. A lawyer for the Christian girl, called Rimsha, held that she has a low IQ...

Mullah 'Framed' Christian Girl in Blasphemy Case
Cleric 'Framed' Girl to Rid Neighborhood of Christians
witnesses say

Cleric 'Framed' Girl to Rid Neighborhood of Christians

Hafiz Mohammed Khalid Chishti was taken to court today

(Newser) - Witnesses say a cleric in Pakistan accused of planting evidence of blasphemy on a young girl did so because he wanted Christians like her booted from his neighborhood, the Guardian reports. Hafiz Mohammed Khalid Chishti was delivered blindfolded and handcuffed to court in Islamabad today on charges of fabricating evidence—...

Troops Punished for Burning Korans, Urinating on Dead

But no criminal charges for servicemen

(Newser) - Six soldiers and three Marines who infuriated Afghans and sparked riots in a pair of high-profile incidents will not face criminal charges, the military says. The soldiers who accidentally burned some 100 Korans have received administrative punishments instead, including potentially career-ending letters of reprimand, Stripes reports. The Marines who were...

Troops in Koran Burning to Be Punished, Not Charged

They're looking at something like a rank and pay drop

(Newser) - The US military will not recommend the US troops who burned Korans at an Afghanistan NATO base, sparking protests , face any criminal charges. Administrative punishments have been recommended instead, MSNBC reports. The punishment will likely involve a rank and pay drop, a letter of reprimand, or the assignment of additional...

Terry Jones Burns Korans
 Terry Jones Again Burns Korans

Terry Jones Again Burns Korans

He's slapped with $300 fire fine

(Newser) - Controversial right-wing pastor Terry Jones has defiantly torched copies of the Koran outside his Florida church. Jones also set aflame an image of the prophet Muhammad in front of the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville. Pentagon officials had urged Jones to refrain from the action out of fear it...

Iran Tried to Stir Anti-US Violence After Koran Mess

Its efforts to make trouble in Afghanistan largely failed

(Newser) - As if the situation in Afghanistan isn't messy enough, American officials today revealed that Iran tried to stir the pot. Tehran apparently jumped on the news that US troops had burned Korans at Bagram in late February, ordering agents stationed in the country to try to spur on violent...

Afghanistan on Brink Over US Soldier Killings

Reports vary, but murders could push US-Afghan relations to the brink

(Newser) - US and Afghan officials alike are scrambling in the wake of today's rampage that claimed the lives of 16 Afghan civilians , as relations between the two nations threaten to boil over. The latest reactions, along with emerging details:
  • Reuters has the most incendiary report, alleging that more than one
...

US Inquiry Pins Koran Burning on 5 Soldiers

Still seen as accidental, though clerics want a trial, strict punishment

(Newser) - The US has completed its promised investigation into the Koran-burning incident at Bagram Air Force Base that plunged Afghanistan into turmoil last week, naming five soldiers as responsible for the debacle, the Washington Post reports. The US says the culprits will be disciplined, but insists the incident was an unfortunate...

Afghan Colleagues Kill 2 More US Troops

6 US service members have been killed since Koran-burning protests began

(Newser) - Increasingly frightening news out of Afghanistan: Two more US troops died at the hands of their Afghan colleagues today, bringing the death toll of such green-on-blue attacks in the last eight days to six. The service members were killed before dawn at a southern Kandahar base, marking the third such...

Obama: My Koran Apology Calmed Tensions

Politics comes second to protecting troops, he says

(Newser) - Saying sorry to Afghan President Hamid Karzai for the accidental burning of Korans by US troops helped calm tensions, President Obama says. "We're not out of the woods yet," he told ABC . "But my criteria in any decision I make, getting recommendations from folks who are...

Gingrich to Afghanistan: Live Your Own Miserable Life

'They've spent several thousand years hating foreigners,' says Newt

(Newser) - That's harsh. After blasting President Obama for apologizing for the burning of Korans at Bagram, Newt Gingrich now has some advice for Afghanistan: "Live your own miserable life." It's past time for America to quit that nation, Gingrich groused. We’re "not going to fix...

Koran-Burning Mess Threatens Afghan Exit

Some fear the US can't trust Afghan partners

(Newser) - Afghanistan has roiled with violence for the past week over the Koran burnings at Bagram , leading to questions of whether the American exit strategy will actually work as planned. The US, Britain, Germany, and France temporarily removed hundreds of advisers from Afghanistan over the weekend in the wake of several...

Taliban: We Poisoned Food at NATO Base

Taliban claims responsibility for car bomb at Afghan airport, too

(Newser) - At least nine people were killed and 12 injured when a suicide car bomber struck an airport in eastern Afghanistan this morning. The blast killed six civilians, two airport guards, and an Afghan soldier at Jalalabad airport, which is used for both civilian and military flights, the AP reports. The...

Rick Santorum: Obama Wrong to Apologize for Korans

Says Afghans are the ones who need to apologize

(Newser) - Afghanistan may still be seething over US troops who burned Korans last week, but Rick Santorum is joining those conservatives taking aim at President Obama's efforts to diffuse the situation. Speaking today on Meet the Press, Santorum slapped at the president's apology over the incident, saying he...

Afghans Lob Grenades at US Base, Clashes Continue

Karzai pleads for return to calm

(Newser) - Protesters angry over Korans burned by American troops tossed grenades at a US base in northern Afghanistan and clashed with police and troops in a sixth day of violence that left seven international troops wounded and two Afghans dead. "Tensions are running very high here and I think we...

2 US Officers Killed Inside Afghan Ministry

Violence continues after burning of Korans

(Newser) - Two US military officers were shot to death inside the interior ministry building in Kabul today, reports CNN . The Taliban claimed responsibility, saying the killings were in retaliation for the burning of Korans by US troops, notes AP . It's still not clear exactly what happened, but Afghan authorities say...

So How Should You Dispose of a Koran?

Bury it or burn it, reverently

(Newser) - Protests raged on in Afghanistan for a fourth day today, with continued cries of "Death to America" over the burning of Korans at Bagram. Earlier reports said the books in question were removed from a prison library at the base because radical messages had been written in them. Which...

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