Latest developments in protest of anti-Islam film

By The Associated Press

A look at protests and events across the world on Tuesday responding to an anti-Muslim film, nearly a week after angry crowds began assaulting a string of U.S. embassies in the Mideast.

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AFGHANISTAN

A suicide bomber rammed a car packed with explosives into a mini-bus in Kabul, killing at least 12 people in what a militant group said was revenge for the film. Afghan President Hamid Karzai said the attack killed eight South Africans, three Afghans and a Kyrgyzstani _ all aviation workers who were headed to the capital’s airport. A spokesman for the Islamist militant group Hizb-i-Islami claimed responsibility for the dawn attack and said it was carried out by a 22-year-old woman.

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EGYPT

General prosecutor issued arrest warrants for seven Egyptian Coptic Christians and a Florida-based American pastor Terry Jones and referred them to trial on charges linked to an anti-Islam film. The prosecutor’s office said in a statement that the accused, which includes the film’s alleged producer, face charges of harming national unity, insulting and publicly attacking Islam and spreading false information. The office said they could face the death penalty, if convicted.

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ISRAEL

About 500 Palestinians demonstrated against the film in the Shuafat refugee camp in east Jerusalem, chanting “We love you Mohammed” and “We will all sacrifice ourselves for the Prophet.”

Some 200 people marched to a nearby Israeli checkpoint, lobbing rocks and firebombs at security forces, who fired stun grenades, tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the protesters. No serious injuries were reported.

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BANGLADESH

A spokesman for the state-run Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Ltd. said the Bangladeshi government blocked YouTube late Monday to prevent people from seeing the video. The spokesman in Dhaka, Mir Mohammaed Morshed, said the decision will remain effective until further notice.

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INDONESIA

About 200 people from various Islamic groups torched an American flag and tires outside the U.S. Consulate in Medan, the nation’s third-largest city. Some unfurled banners saying, “Go to hell America,” while others trampled on dozens of paper flags. In Makassar, about 100 Muslim students called for the death penalty against the filmmaker, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula. Protests also occurred in Gorontalo and in Palu, where protesters were calling for a boycott of U.S. and allied products. About 50 protesters at KFC and Texas Chicken restaurants forced customers to leave and management to close the stores.

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KASHMIR

Marchers burned U.S. flags and an effigy of President Barack Obama, shutting down businesses and public transportation in Srinagar. Police fired tear gas and used batons to disperse rock-throwing protesters as they tried to enter the main business district. The bar association, trade unions and separatist groups supported the shutdown.

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NORTH AFRICA

A statement on militant websites from Al-Qaida in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb praised the Sept. 11 killing of U.S. ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens in an attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi. The group threatened attacks in Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco and Mauritania, and condemned the United States. It urged Muslims to pull down and burn American flags at embassies, and kill or expel American diplomats to “purge our land of their filth in revenge for the honor of the Prophet.”

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PAKISTAN

Hundreds of angry protesters broke through a barricade outside the U.S. Consulate in the northwest city of Peshawar. Demonstrators threw bricks and flaming wads of cloth at the police, who pushed them back by firing tear gas and rubber bullets and charging with batons. Several were wounded on both sides. The protest was organized by the youth wing of the hardline Jamaat-e-Islami party.

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THAILAND

An estimated 400 people protested peacefully outside the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, where protesters carried signs and banners saying, “We love Prophet Muhammad” and “Stop insulting our religion,” and chanting, “Down with America” and “Down with Israel.” The demonstration was organized by a group called the International Al Quds Federation of Thailand, which had called for a peaceful protest on its Facebook page. About 700 police were on hand to maintain order.