French magazine offices petrol-bombed after it prints Muhammad cartoon

The offices of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo have been burned out in a petrol-bomb attack after a special Arab spring edition entitled "Sharia Hebdo" featured a cartoon of the prophet Muhammad on the cover as "guest editor".At around 1am the offices were gutted after a petrol bomb was thrown into a window and set light to the computer system, blowing out windows and burning most of the office contents.
The fire happened before the "sharia" edition was to hit news stands on Wednesday morning in what the paper had mockingly called a 'celebration' of the victory of the moderate Islamist party  in the Tinisian election, and the Libyan transitional executive's statement that Islamic sharia law would be the country's main source of law. On the front page a cartoon prophet Muhammad says: "100 lashes if you don't die of laughter!"
It is not the first time the weekly has published cartoons of Muhammad, depictions of whom are forbidden in Islam. In 2007 a Paris court threw out an attempt by two Muslim organisations to sue the paper for reprinting the prophet Muhammad cartoon that had been published by a Danish newspaper and sparked protests worldwide.
The magazine's editor, known only as Charb, told France Inter radio that for the past few days the paper had received threats on Twitter and Facebook and by post, which had been passed on to police. He said he was sickened and angry that "violence could be used to counter drawings".
He told Agence France Presse he rejected accusations that he was trying to provoke, saying the magazine was "just doing our job as usual".
The Socialist-run Paris City Hall said it would help Charlie Hebdo find a new office. "We'd never leave an organ of the free press without offices. It's the duty of the republic. Charlie Hebdo should be able to continue to work," tweeted Christophe Girard, a deputy mayor of Paris.
Mohammed Moussaoui, head of the French Council for the Muslim Faith (CFCM), said he "strongly condemned" the fire if police did confirm it was a criminal attack.
In 2006, the CFCM brought a lawsuit against Charlie Hebdo for publishing caricatures of the prophet that he said were "a lot more violent". He told AFP the front page of this week's edition "wasn't of the same order" but added that the simple fact of caricaturing the prophet was considered offensive to Muslims.
Jean-Francois Copé, secretary general of Nicolas Sarkozy's ruling rightwing UMP party, condemned the apparent arson attack, telling Europe 1 radio it was "an attack against a newspaper in a country which should stand for freedom of expression".

The Guardian 

US is like a mother-in-law who is never satisfied

A light moment in Islamabad town hall for Hillary Clinton, when said that US is like a mother-in-law never satisfied   Video link  Us is like a mother-in-law never satisfied

Muammar Gaddafi Killed

Muammar Gaddafi was killed Thursday, succumbing to wounds sustained after fighters discovered the deposed autocrat hiding in a sewage pipe while trying to flee his final redoubt of Sirte.

 According to reports, he was stopped by a French air strike and captured, possibly some hours later, after gun battles with rebel fighters who found him hiding in a drainage culvert.

NATO said its warplanes fired on a convoy near Sirte at about 8:30 a.m., striking two military vehicles in the group, but could not confirm that Gaddafi had been a passenger.

France later said its jets had been in action at the time.

The killing or capture of senior aides, including possibly two sons, may ease fears of diehards regrouping elsewhere – though the gruesome video of Gaddafi’s final moments may inflame his remaining sympathizers.

The brief footage shows a man looking like Gaddafi, with distinctive long, curly hair, being hauled by his hair from the hood of a truck. The man is bloodied and staggering under blows from armed men, apparently National Transitional Council fighters.

To the shouts of someone saying “Keep him alive,” he disappears from view and gunshots are heard along with chants of “Allahu akbar,” God is great.

“They captured him alive and while he was being taken away, they beat him and then they killed him,” said one senior source in the NTC.

A Libyan official said Gaddafi was killed in custody.

Iranians Charged in U.S. Over Assassination Plot

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. authorities broke up a plot by two men linked to the Iranian government to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in the United States, U.S. officials said on Tuesday, escalating tensions between Tehran and Washington.

 

 U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said one of two men charged in the plot, both originally from Iran, had been arrested and confessed.

The other, who was still at large, was described in the criminal complaint as being a member of the elite Quds Force, which is part of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

"High-up (Iranian) officials in those agencies ... were responsible for this plot," Holder told a news conference. "I think one has to be concerned about the chilling nature of what the Iranian government attempted to do here," he said.

Two men were charged in a U.S. court. Gholam Shakuri was described in the criminal complaint as a member of the Quds Force and is believed to be in Iran.

U.S. authorities arrested the other man, Manssor Arbabsiar, 56, who is a naturalized U.S. citizen and holds an Iranian passport, at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York on Sept. 29.

The target of the plot was Saudi ambassador Adel Al-Jubeir, according to the criminal complaint.

U.S. officials said there had also been initial discussions about other alleged plots, including attacking the Saudi and Israeli embassies in Washington, however no charges for that were revealed on Tuesday.

Iran swiftly rejected the allegation. "The Islamic Republic of Iran has rejected U.S. accusations of the country plotting to assassinate the Saudi envoy to Washington as a prefabricated scenario," state English language Press TV said, without elaborating or giving a source.

 

 

Iranian actress Marzieh Vafamehr sentenced to 90 lashes, for role in My Tehran for Sale

AN Iranian actress who helped make a movie with Australian film producers has been sentenced to 90 lashes and a year in jail.
Actress Marzieh Vafamehr was handed the sentence on the weekend, according to a Iranian opposition website Kalameh.com.

'A verdict has been issued for Marzieh Vafamehr, sentencing her to a year in jail and 90 lashes. Her lawyer has appealed the sentence, which was handed down yesterday (Saturday),' the website stated.

Vafamehr was arrested in July after appearing in 'My Tehran for Sale,' which came under harsh criticism in conservative circles.

The film, produced in collaboration with Australia, tells the story of a young actress in Tehran whose theater work is banned by the authorities.

She is then forced to lead a secret life in order to express herself artistically.

The Fars news agency said the movie had not been approved for screening in Iran and was being distributed in the country illegally.

Vafamehr was released in late July after posting unspecified bail.

The Telegraph

Shia Muslims Killed In A Bus Attack In Pakistan

Armed men near the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta have killed at least 13 Shia Muslims headed to a vegetable market in what police believe to be a sectarian attack.
Witnesses say the attackers approached a bus headed towards Dalbandin 45 minutes into their journey, in the province of Baluchistan, of which Quetta is the capital.
According to Hamid Shakeel, a senior police officer, the passengers were forced to stand in a line as four or five gunmen opened fire, killing 13 and wounding five.
Families of the victims, many of whom were shopkeepers and merchants, set fire to a bus used to transport the injured and dead in a show of protest, according to the private Pakistani television channel Geo TV.