In response to the burning of a Koran in Florida, riots broke out in the Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif, where a mob overran U.N. offices and killed seven staffers, and elsewhere, including Kandahar, where young men burned American flags, tires, cars, and a girls’ school. Terry Jones, the pastor whose church burned the Koran, defended the actions. “The time has come to hold Islam accountable,” he said. “It is not that we burn the Koran with some type of vindictive motive. We do not even burn it with great pleasure or any pleasure at all. We burn it because we feel a deep obligation to stay with the court system of America. The court system of America does not allow convicted criminals to go free.” General David Petraeus called the riots “every security force leader’s worst nightmare.”NYTimesNYTimesNYTimesNYTimesWall Street JournalAntigovernment forces failed to make inroads against Libyan leader Muammar Qadaffi despite ongoing bombing assistance by NATO forces; Britain announced it would not be offering immunity to defected Libyan foreign minister Moussa Koussa; and pro-Qadaffi forces laid land mines in Ajdabiya. At least two of Qadaffi’s seven sons were said to have made secret proposals to the British for the ouster of their father.NYTimesNYTimesNYTimesguardianNYTimesNYTimesA United Airlines flight was diverted to Chicago when three “Middle Eastern” men caused a minor disturbance: one fell ill and lay down in the aisle, another became agitated and paced the aisle, and an interpreter had trouble understanding the problem; other “strange” behaviors included passing notes and writing in a notebook.daily mail

Protests continued in Syria, where the government promised to install committees for investigating reform. President Basher al-Assad suggested that continuing protests were part of “plots that are being hatched against our country.”NYTimesNYTimesFighting escalated in Ivory Coast between troops loyal to president elect Alassane Ouattara and those loyal to incumbent Laurent Gbagbo. French forces took control of Abidjan’s airport, and the U.N. evacuated its workers in the country. NYTimesIndia beat Sri Lanka to win the World Cup of cricket for the first time in 28 years; during the semifinals, Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh invited Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani of Pakistan to watch the match, spurring hopes for a diplomatic breakthrough between the two nations. As it became clear India would win, Mr. Singh clapped while Mr. Gilani “sat grim and silent.”bbcNYTimesA South Korean court sentenced a baker to 18 months in prison for trying to damage the reputation of a rival bakery by distributing a doctored photo of a bread loaf containing a dead rat. Donald Trump released his birth certificate for public scrutiny; it was found to be unofficial.Raw StoryFeed Proxy

The Bronx Zoo lost and then found its Egyptian cobra, and South African authorities killed Fred, a baboon living at the tourist spot of Smitswinkel Bay, by lethal injection for repeatedly jumping into the cars of tourists and snatching their food and bags.Ny Daily NewsMetro UKArtist Ai Weiwei was detained at Beijing airport and his studio raided by police, and Maine governor Paul LePage proposed the removal of a mural at the state Department of Labor that depicts moments in the state’s labor history because it might make businessmen uncomfortable.ny review of booksguardianCharlie Sheen kicked off his “Violent Torpedo of Truth” tour in Detroit, where he started the show 45 minutes late, stumbled around the stage, screened his new video with Snoop Dogg, and ended the show abruptly; attendee Jack Green said, “I’m here to see him fall apart.”guardianA Texas prosecutor promised leniency in dealing with Willie Nelson’s latest arrest for marijuana possession. “You can bet your ass I’m not going to be mean to Willie Nelson,” Hudspeth County Attorney C.R. “Kit” Bramblett said. Bramblett’s plea offer includes a $100 fine and for Nelson to sing him “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.” The judge overseeing the matter, Becky Dean-Walker, insisted “my court is not a jester court, I understand that people are star-struck, I’m not one of them.”CNNIt was revealed that Fox News’s vice president, Bill Sammon, thought that his network’s repeated attempts during the 2008 election to brand Barack Obama a “socialist” were “mischievous speculation” that he believed to truly be “rather far-fetched.” dailybeastThe mayor of a northern French town had a sculpture of Marianne, France’s national symbol, removed because its breasts were too large. Said the sculptor, Catherine Lamacque, “I made the breasts prominent to symbolize the generosity of the Republic.”LA Times