U.S. Soldier Kills 16 Afghans

BALANDI, Afghanistan (AP) — An American soldier opened fire on villagers near his base in southern Afghanistan Sunday and killed 16 civilians, according to President Hamid Karzai who called it an "assassination" and furiously demanded an explanation from Washington. Nine children and three women were among the dead. Read more

Choas in Afghanistan

Riots over Quran burning have continued for almost a week now.  The protests have killed 30 people and wounded 200, including four U.S. troops who were shot dead by an Afghan soldier. Seven U.S. military trainers were wounded on Sunday when a grenade was thrown at their base in northern Afghanistan, police said. Anti-American protests continue in Afghanistan, in spite of apologies by the U.S. military and President Obama. According to Reuters, NATO has described the incident of burning of the Koran at the Bagram air base as a tragic blunder. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Sunday that such unrest and targeting of Americans has gotten "out of hand" and needs to stop.

Quran burning results in deadly riots in Afghanistan

By HEIDI VOGT, Associated Press  

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Clashes between Afghan troops and protesters angry over the burning of Muslim holy books at a U.S. military base left at least seven people dead and dozens wounded Wednesday as anger spread despite U.S. apologies over what it said was a mistake.
The demonstrations across four eastern provinces illustrated the intensity of Afghans' anger at what they saw as foreign forces flouting their laws and insulting their culture.
The violence was also a reminder of how easily Afghan-U.S. relations can deteriorate as the two countries work to forge a long-term partnership ahead of the withdrawal of foreign forces in 2014.
The unrest started Tuesday when Afghan workers at the main American military base, Bagram Air Field, saw soldiers dumping books in a pit where garbage is burned and noticed Qurans and other religious material among the trash.  Read more

Oliver Stone's Son Sean Stone Converted to Islam

US filmmaker Sean Stone, son of Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone, converted to Islam on Tuesday in Iran, where he is making a documentary, he told AFP.
"The conversion to Islam is not abandoning Christianity or Judaism, which I was born with. It means I have accepted Mohammad and other prophets," he said in a brief telephone call from the central Iranian city of Isfahan, where he underwent the ceremony.
Sean Stone's famous father is Jewish, while his mother is Christian.
The 27-year-old filmmaker did not say why he converted.
According to Iran's Fars news agency, Sean Stone had become a Shiite and had chosen to be known by the Muslim first name Ali.
Sean/Ali Stone has acted in minor roles in several of his father's films, and has directed a handful of documentaries.

Obama proposes $800 million in aid for Arab Spring

By Susan Cornwell
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House announced plans on Monday to help "Arab Spring" countries swept by revolutions with more than $800 million in economic aid, while maintaining U.S. military aid to Egypt. Read more

Where is Osama bin Laden's family?

Zakaria Ahmad al-Sadah; brother-in-law of Osama-bin-Laden has been looking for sister and her five children since the raid on of the Bin Ladin compound in Abbottabad in May of 2011. According to all accounts 16 members of Bin-Ladin have disappeared after the raid. Now he has written a letter to the Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry requesting his direct interference for securing the release of Amal al-Sadah who is a Yemeni National.

The former al-Qaeda chief’s family has been held captive by “Pakistani authorities for eight months,” Zakaria has written in his plea.

In his trip to Pakistan last November, Zakaria was supposed to meet with his sister on two occasions and take her and her children back to Yemen but his attempt remained unsuccessful.

The commission probing the operation against Bin Laden announced last October that travel restrictions on the family members had been lifted but Zakaria claims otherwise.

Sources believe that Yemen’s Ambassador to Pakistan Abdu Ali Abdul Rahman held a meeting with Interior Minister Rehman Malik and Zakaria last December 12, requesting the release of Amal and her children but the meeting remained unfruitful.

According to Zakaria, Pakistan’s law enforcement agencies had earlier promised to let him meet his sister, but they backed out later. With no recent news on the family, Zakaria said that he is unaware of how and where his sister is now.

Where is the Osama-bin-Laden's family? Are they in police custody or notorious ISI; the spy agency of Pakistan has a hand in their disappearance?

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