Top news: A day after Pakistani security forces prevented more than 2,000 protesters from reaching the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, demonstrators are again clashing with police -- this time on a "Day of Love for the Prophet Mohammad" that the Pakistani government carved out for peaceful protests against an anti-Islam movie produced in the United States. The U.S. government has been running an ad on Pakistani television condemning the film, which has sparked deadly demonstrations across the Muslim world.
On Friday, an employee of a Pakistani television station was reportedly killed when police fired on rioters who were attacking a movie theater in the northern city of Peshawar. Pakistani officials have urged calm and shut down mobile phone services in several cities as a security measure, but they've also expressed anger at the film. "An attack upon the Holy Prophet is an attack on the whole 1.5 billion Muslims," Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf declared.
France shuttered embassies and other offices in around 20 countries on Friday after a French satirical magazine published cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammad, and the United States closed the U.S. Embassy and other facilities in Indonesia.
Afghanistan: U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced that the last of the 33,000 "surge" troops that President Obama dispatched to Afghanistan have left the country, leaving 68,000 American forces to fight the war. Panetta argued that the surge had accomplished its goals of reversing the Taliban's momentum and building up the Afghan security forces.
Middle East
- Syrian warplanes carried out a deadly attack on a gas station in Raqqa Province as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad gave a defiant interview to an Egyptian magazine.
- White House Press Secretary Jay Carney called the assault on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya a "terrorist attack" but said there was no evidence yet of advanced planning.
- Iran's top atomic energy official said that Iran sometimes uses "false" nuclear data to mislead foreign intelligence services.
Asia
- Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda won a leadership election for the ruling Democratic Party of Japan.
- Leon Panetta became the first U.S. defense secretary to visit New Zealand since 1982.
- South Korean naval boats fired warning shots at North Korean fishing boats that crossed a disputed Yellow Sea border.
Europe
- Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy failed to reach a tax revenue redistribution deal with Catalonia.
- During a summit in Brussels, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao criticized the European Union for not lifting an arms embargo on China.
- Georgia's interior minister resigned over a prison abuse scandal.
Africa
- A suicide bombing at a restaurant in Somalia's capital killed at least 14 people.
- Hailemariam Desalegn was sworn in as Ethiopia's new prime minister after the death of Meles Zenawi.
- Workers at South Africa's Kopanang gold mine went on strike.
Americas
- Mexican officials reported that inmates involved in a massive jailbreak in Coahuila state had escaped through the prison's front door.
- Clashes between police and protesters at a gold mine in Peru left at least one person dead.
- Jamaica is introducing the study of black nationalist leader Marcus Garvey into school curricula.
AAMIR QURESHI/AFP/Getty Images
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