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Controversial movie Innocence of Muslims, which sparked global riots after its release in 2012, should not be banned from YouTube, an appeals court in San Francisco has ruled.

In 2014, a federal court had ordered Google to remove the movie, which mocks the Prophet Muhammad.

Actress Cindy Lee Garcia sued to get the film taken down from YouTube after she had received death threats. She had also said she was tricked into appearing in the movie.Cindy Lee Garcia Innocence of Muslims ban

Google has said: “We’re pleased with this latest ruling.

“We have long believed that the previous ruling was a misapplication of copyright law.”

However, no decision has yet been made over whether to reinstate Innocence of Muslims on YouTube.

In the film, released as a trailer, Cindy Lee Garcia appears to ask whether the Prophet is a child molester.

The actress said she had been told she had been performing in a completely different film and the lines dubbed without her knowledge after filming.

However, Google had argued that only the film-maker, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, owned the copyright, and, therefore, Cindy Lee Garcia had no right to demand its removal – and the appeals court agreed.

“In this case, a heartfelt plea for personal protection is juxtaposed with the limits of copyright law and fundamental principles of free speech,” wrote Judge M. Margaret McKeown.

“We are sympathetic to her plight. Nonetheless, the claim against Google is grounded in copyright law, not privacy, emotional distress, or tort law, and Garcia seeks to impose speech restrictions under copyright laws meant to foster rather than repress free expression.”

Judge M. Margaret McKeown noted that Nakoula Basseley Nakoula was currently in prison for unrelated offences.

Several people died in the global protests sparked by Innocence of Muslims release in September 2012.

Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, the US man behind anti-Islam film Innocence of Muslims that led to mass protests in the Middle East has been sentenced to a year in jail for probation violations.

Nakoula Basseley Nakoula was sentenced by a judge in California after admitting four violations which stem from a 2010 conviction for fraud.

None of the charges was connected with the content of the controversial film, Innocence of Muslims.

Dozens of people died in the Middle East in protests over the film.

US District Judge Christina Snyder said Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, 55, must spend 12 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release.

Prosecutors had been seeking a two-year sentence.

After the 2010 conviction, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula had served most of a 21-month jail sentence for using more than a dozen aliases and opening about 60 bank accounts to conduct a cheque fraud scheme, prosecutors said.

Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, Innocence of Muslims filmmaker, in jail for probation violations

Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, Innocence of Muslims filmmaker, in jail for probation violations

The Los Angeles Times said that it was while he was in prison that he read the Koran, looking for ways to criticize Islam.

On his release he was barred from using computers or the internet for five years without approval from his probation officer.

Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, who was arrested in September, also goes by the name of Sam Bacile, Nicola Bacily and Mark Basseley Yousseff and is believed to be an Egyptian-American Coptic Christian.

US authorities have said they believe Nakoula Basseley Nakoula was the person behind the controversial film, but have not said whether he was the person who posted it on the internet.

Muslims around the world took to the streets in protest, outraged by the film’s portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad.

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Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, the man linked to anti-Islam video Innocence of Muslims that sparked riots across the Muslim world, has been held without bond after a hearing in Los Angeles, California.

A judge said Nakoula Basseley Nakoula was a flight risk and cited a pattern of deception when making his ruling, Reuters news agency reported.

Nakoula Basseley Nakoula was investigated for violating probation terms after he was released from prison in 2011 for bank fraud.

He has not been detained over the contents of the inflammatory video.

Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, a 55-year-old Christian originally from Egypt, allegedly produced the 14-minute trailer for the film Innocence of Muslims. He had been in hiding after the release of the video.

Nakoula Basseley Nakoula has been held without bond after a hearing in LA

Nakoula Basseley Nakoula has been held without bond after a hearing in LA

After his 2010 conviction, he was sentenced to 21 months in prison and, under the terms of his probation, he was banned from using computers or accessing the internet for five years without an officer’s permission.

US Central District Chief Magistrate Judge Suzanne Segal said: “the court has a lack of trust in this defendant at this time”.

Assistant Attorney Robert Dugdale said the court believed Nakoula Basseley Nakoula was flight risk.

“He has every incentive to disappear,” he said.

A clip from the US-made film was dubbed into Arabic, provoking widespread anger for its disrespectful portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad.

The film was made on a very low budget, with insults and offensive inferences to the Prophet Mohammad and Islam crudely dubbed on afterwards.

Earlier, the Obama administration had requested Google, the company that owns YouTube, to remove the clip. The technology firm refused, saying the film did not violate its rules.

The clip was uploaded to YouTube in July, but violence only broke out on 11 September, after Arabic TV stations broadcast it.

The clip has not broken any laws in the US, where freedom of speech is enshrined in the constitution’s first amendment.

Four Americans, including US Ambassador Christopher Stevens, were killed in an attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya earlier this month.

Meanwhile, some of the actors in the video have come forward to say they were misled. They said had been hired to appear in a film called Desert Warriors, which did not mention Islam or the Prophet Muhammad in the script.

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The Pakistani PM’s spokesman has condemned a minister’s $100,000 reward for the killing of the maker of amateur anti-Islam video Innocence of Muslims.

Shafqat Jalil said the government “absolutely disassociated” itself from comments by Railways Minister Ghulam Ahmad Bilour.

Innocence of Muslims, produced in the US, has led to a wave of protests in the Muslim world and many deaths.

The bounty offer came a day after at least 20 died in clashes in Pakistan.

Pakistani Railways Minister offers $100,000 reward for the killing of Innocence of Muslims maker

Pakistani Railways Minister offers $100,000 reward for the killing of Innocence of Muslims maker

Friday’s violence, which saw protesters pitted against armed police, occurred in cities throughout Pakistan, with Karachi and Peshawar among the worst hit.

“I will pay whoever kills the makers of this video $100,000,” the minister said.

“If someone else makes other similar blasphemous material in the future, I will also pay his killers $100,000.

“I call upon these countries and say: Yes, freedom of expression is there, but you should make laws regarding people insulting our Prophet. And if you don’t, then the future will be extremely dangerous.”

At one point, he even called for the help of the Taliban and al-Qaeda in killing the filmmaker.

His ANP party, which is part of the governing coalition, said this was a personal statement, not party policy, but added that it would not be taking any action against him.

Shafqat Jalil said: “He is not a member of the [ruling] PPP [Pakistan People’s Party], he is an ANP politician and therefore the prime minister will speak to the head of the ANP to decide the next step. They are not ruling out action against him but say he will stay in his post for now.”

Meanwhile, scores of people were reported to have been injured on Saturday in a clash in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka between police and hundreds of demonstrators.

Police fired tear gas and used batons to disperse stone-throwing protesters who set several vehicles alight, the Associated Press news agency reports.

In Pakistan itself, a peaceful demonstration was held in Islamabad. Protesters marched through the capital and gathered near parliament, chanting slogans against the filmmaker and demanding his punishment.

And in Nigeria, tens of thousands of Muslims marched in the northern city of Kano in a protest that passed off peacefully.

Marchers shouted “death to America, death to Israel and death to the enemies of Islam” in a procession several kilometres long. US and Israeli flags were dragged through the dirt.

The exact origins of Innocence of Muslims, the low-budget film that has prompted the unrest, are unclear.

The alleged producer of the trailer of the film, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, is in hiding.

Anti-US sentiment grew after a trailer for the film dubbed into Arabic was released on YouTube earlier this month.

US citizens have been urged not to travel to Pakistan, and the US embassy has paid for adverts on Pakistani TV showing President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemning the film.

Although US targets have borne the brunt of protests against the film, anti-Western sentiment has been stoked further by caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad published this week in the satirical French magazine, Charlie Hebdo.

France shut embassies and other missions in about 20 countries across the Muslim world on Friday.

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At least 15 people have been killed during violent protests which erupted on the streets of Pakistan’s main cities in anger at anti-Islam film Innocence of Muslims made in the US.

Ten people were killed in the port city of Karachi and a further five died in the north-western city of Peshawar, hospital officials said.

Protesters also breached the diplomatic enclave in the capital, Islamabad, near the US embassy.

There has been widespread unrest over the amateur film, Innocence of Muslims.

Dozens of people have been reported wounded and some were in a critical condition.

Protests have already left several people dead around the world, including Pakistan, where the government had appealed in advance for peaceful protests, declaring a holiday and “day of love” for the Prophet Muhammad.

At least 15 people have been killed during violent anti-film protests which erupted on the streets of Pakistani main cities

At least 15 people have been killed during violent anti-film protests which erupted on the streets of Pakistani main cities

Although US targets have borne the brunt of protests against the film, anti-Western sentiment has been stoked further by caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad published this week in the satirical French magazine, Charlie Hebdo.

France shut embassies and other missions in around 20 countries across the Muslim world on Friday.

Protests were banned in France itself and in Tunisia, where France is the former colonial power, but there were widespread demonstrations elsewhere:

• A peaceful protest took place outside the US embassy in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur

• Some 3,000 people marched in the southern Iraqi city of Basra

• Thousands burned US and French flags in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka

• Crowds rallied in Baalbek in southern Lebanon in a protest organized by the Shia militant group, Hezbollah, burning US and Israeli flags

• There were fears of violence in the Libyan city of Benghazi where the US ambassador and three other American officials were killed in an attack on the US consulate in the city on 11 September

But it was in Pakistan’s major cities that protesters took to the streets in big numbers and tried to march on US diplomatic missions.

The worst of the violence took place in the country’s biggest city, Karachi, and the north-western city of Peshawar, close to Pakistan’s lawless tribal belt.

Police in Karachi fired live bullets in the air to disperse the crowds and one of those killed was a policeman. Health officials said 10 bodies were taken to two hospitals.

Several cinemas and banks were set on fire and there were reports of looting.

In Peshawar, protesters ransacked cinemas and a driver for Pakistan’s ARY TV was killed when police opened fire on the crowd.

In the capital, Islamabad, which saw its first clashes between protesters and security forces on Thursday, a police checkpost was burned as demonstrators breached the “red zone” where the main embassies and government offices are based.

Police used live rounds and tear gas as the crowd swelled to thousands of people.

The focal point of people’s anger was the US embassy and he had seen more people injured in one hour than all of Thursday.

The low-budget film that has prompted the unrest was made in the US and is said to insult the Prophet Muhammad.

Its exact origins are unclear and the alleged producer for the trailer of the film, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, is in hiding.

Anti-US sentiment grew after a trailer for the film dubbed into Arabic was released on YouTube earlier this month.

US citizens have been urged not to travel to Pakistan and the US embassy has paid for adverts on Pakistani TV showing President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemning the film.

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New protests are under way in Muslim countries against anti-Islam film Innocence of Muslims made in the US.

In Pakistan, a government-declared “special day of love” for the Prophet Muhammad has seen violent clashes and at least one death in the northern city of Peshawar, and clashes elsewhere.

The US has paid for adverts on Pakistani TV that show President Barack Obama condemning the film.

There has been widespread unrest over the amateur film, Innocence of Muslims.

The protests have already claimed several lives around the world.

New protests are under way in Muslim countries against anti-Islam film Innocence of Muslims made in the US

New protests are under way in Muslim countries against anti-Islam film Innocence of Muslims made in the US

Although the US has borne the brunt of protests, anti-Western sentiment has been stoked further by caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad published in satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo.

In Peshawar, protesters attacked and ransacked two cinema buildings. A driver for a Pakistani TV station was killed when police opened fire to disperse protesters, seven of whom were reported wounded.

Clashes between police and protesters are also being reported from the cities of Rawalpindi, Lahore and Karachi.

In the capital Islamabad, which saw fierce clashes between protesters and security forces on Thursday, the security forces have effectively sealed off large parts of the city. Rubber bullets were fired by police during skirmishes at one of the entrances to the city.

Dozens of protests against the film had already been held across Pakistan over the past week – killing at least two people – but Thursday was the first time violence had erupted in the capital.

All major political parties and religious organizations have announced protests for Friday, along with trade and transport groups.

The Pakistani authorities have urged people to demonstrate peacefully, with mobile phone services cut across the country to reduce security risks.

Meanwhile, the US charge d’affaires Richard Hoagland was summoned to the Pakistani Foreign Office and an official protest was lodged with him. He is reported to have responded that the US government had nothing to do with the film.

The US state department has issued a warning against any non-essential travel to Pakistan.

France has closed its embassies and other official offices in about 20 countries across the Muslim world on Friday after French magazine Charlie Hebdo published cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, including two drawings showing him naked.

French Muslim leaders condemned the magazine and said an appeal for calm would be read in mosques across the country on Friday.

Charlie Hebdo sold out on Wednesday but is publishing another 70,000 copies, to coincide with Friday prayers.

In Tunisia – where France is the former colonial power – the government has banned Friday protests.

Calls to protest against the caricatures have turned up in Tunisian social media. Interior Minister Ali Larayedh said it was believed that some groups were planning violent protests after Friday prayers.

There are also fears of violence in the Libyan city of Benghazi after rival groups said they would take to the streets.

One group intends to denounce extremism and urge militias to disband, following an attack on the US consulate in the city on 11 September that killed the US ambassador and three other American officials.

Throughout the week, Benghazi residents have left wreaths and placards condemning the attack outside the US mission.

Meanwhile, Ansar al-Sharia, the jihadist militia blamed by some local people for the attack, called for protests “in defence of the Prophet Muhammad”. Both protests are scheduled for the same time.

In the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, more than 2,000 people protested peacefully in front of the US embassy.

Some protesters were holding signs insisting that insulting religion was not freedom of speech.

In Cairo, where the protests against the film began, Egyptian security forces are patrolling the streets around the US embassy.

Radical Islamists have clashed with security forces there in recent days, although President Mohamed Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood has stayed away from the unrest, only condemning the film and calling for peaceful demonstrations.

The low-budget film that sparked the controversy was made in the US and is said to insult the Prophet Muhammad.

Its exact origins are unclear and the alleged producer for the trailer of the film, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, is in hiding.

Anti-US sentiment grew after a trailer for the film dubbed into Arabic was released on YouTube earlier this month.

 

Pakistani TV channels are airing an advert showing news clips of President Barack Obama condemning anti-Islam film Innocence of Muslims made in the US.

The advert also features a statement from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at a press conference rejecting the amateur film’s message.

Unrest over the film, Innocence of Muslims, has claimed several lives.

Also on Thursday, a protest against the film outside the US embassy which had turned violent ended peacefully.

The adverts seek to emphasize the message reiterated by US officials throughout the crisis: that the “disgusting” film was not made by the US government, but that there is never any justification for violence.

The embassy described the advert as a “public service announcement” and repeated the statements from Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton on its Twitter feed.

Protest against anti-Islam film Innocence of Muslims in Pakistan

Protest against anti-Islam film Innocence of Muslims in Pakistan

A caption on the advert, which ends with the seal of the US embassy in Islamabad, reads “Paid Content,” the Associated Press reports.

State department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland confirmed the US spent $70,000 to air the 30-second clip on seven Pakistani TV stations.

She said the US embassy in Pakistan wanted to run the ads because they determined those messages were not reaching enough of the Pakistani public through regular news reporting.

“As you know, after the video came out, there was concern in lots of bodies politic, including Pakistan, as to whether this represented the views of the US government,” Victoria Nuland said.

She said the television spots were the “best way” to reach as many as 90 million Pakistanis.

The low-budget film that sparked the controversy was made in the US and is said to insult the Prophet Muhammad.

Its exact origins are unclear and the alleged producer for the trailer of the film, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, is in hiding.

The Pakistani authorities had earlier called on the army as police struggled to contain the crowd of thousands outside the US embassy in Islamabad with tear gas and live rounds.

Some protesters had said they would not leave the diplomatic enclave until the US embassy was on fire.

Streets leading to the enclave, where most of the embassies are housed, were earlier blocked off with shipping containers in an effort to increase security.

Television pictures showed chaotic scenes as police tried to gain control of the situation.

Protesters burned an effigy of President Obama and threw missiles at the police.

The US state department earlier issued a warning against any non-essential travel to Pakistan.

It also “strongly urged” US citizens in Pakistan to avoid protests and large gatherings.

Anti-US sentiment has been growing since people became aware of the amateur film earlier this month.

The US Ambassador to Libya was killed in an attack on the US consulate in Benghazi on 11 September.

The US secretary of state announced on Thursday that she would appoint an independent panel, chaired by a retired diplomat, to investigate the incident.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said earlier in the day, in a statement read to reporters on Air Force One, that it had been “a terrorist attack”.

Protests in countries around the world have since taken place, with tensions further inflamed by the publication by a French magazine of obscene cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad on Wednesday.

The Pakistani government has called a national holiday on Friday to enable people to demonstrate peacefully.

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Cindy Lee Garcia, a US actress who appeared in amateur anti-Islam video Innocence of Muslims that sparked protests across the Muslim world, is suing the film’s suspected director.

Cindy Lee Garcia accused Nakoula Basseley Nakoula of duping her into a “hateful” film that she was led to believe was a desert adventure movie.

She is also asking a judge to order YouTube to remove the film.

A clip dubbed into Arabic provoked widespread anger for its mocking portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad.

Innocence of Muslims, which was made in the United States, has sparked protests across the Middle East, North Africa and as far away as Sri Lanka, with some demonstrations turning into destructive and violent riots.

Cindy Lee Garcia accused Nakoula Basseley Nakoula of duping her into Innocence of Muslims that she was led to believe was a desert adventure movie

Cindy Lee Garcia accused Nakoula Basseley Nakoula of duping her into Innocence of Muslims that she was led to believe was a desert adventure movie

Four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stephens, were killed during an attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

According to Cindy Lee Garcia, the script she received had made no mention of the Prophet Muhammad or made references to religion.

She claims she has received death threats since the video was posted to YouTube, and says her association with the film has harmed her reputation.

In a court filing lodged with Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday, Cindy Lee Garcia alleged fraud, slander and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Lawyers for Cindy Lee Garcia contend that changes in dialogue during post-production casts her in a false light.

“[Garcia] had a legally protected interest in her privacy and the right to be free from having hateful words put in her mouth or being depicted as a bigot,” the lawsuit says.

“There was no mention of <<Mohammed>> during filming or on set. There were no references made to religion nor was there any sexual content of which Ms Garcia was aware,” it adds.

Nakoula Basseley Nakoula denies being “Sam Bacile”, a pseudonym used by the person who posted the video online.

He has gone into hiding after telling US media he was the manager of a company that helped produce the film, but US officials believe him to be the director.

Nakoula Basseley Nakoula was convicted of fraud in 2010 and ordered to pay more than $790,000 in restitution. He was released in June 2011 with the provision that he did not access the internet or use any aliases without permission.

Authorities questioned him last week over whether he had violated any of those conditions.

YouTube has so far refused Cindy Lee Garcia’s requests to remove the film, according to the lawsuit, although it has blocked it in Saudi Arabia, Libya and Egypt.

“This lawsuit is not an attack on the First Amendment nor on the right of Americans to say what they think, but does request that the offending content be removed from the Internet,” the complaint states.

Google, which owns YouTube, has blocked the film in Saudi Arabia, Libya and Egypt.

A spokesman for YouTube said they were reviewing the complaint and would be in court on Thursday.

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Fresh protests are taking place around the Muslim world over amateur anti-Islam video Innocence of Muslims, which was produced in the US.

At least one protester was killed in violent protests in Pakistan and thousands attended an angry rally in the Philippines city of Marawi.

Weapons were fired and police cars torched in the Afghan capital, Kabul.

The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah has said the US faces “very dangerous” repercussions if it allows the full video to be released.

In a rare public appearance, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah told a rally in the capital Beirut that the world did not understand the “breadth of the humiliation” caused by the “worst attack ever on Islam”.

Thousands of people were on the streets, waving flags and chanting: “America, hear us – don’t insult our Prophet”.

Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, the influential leader of the Shia Muslim militant group, earlier called for a week of protests – not only against American embassies, but also to press Muslim governments to express their own anger to the US.

A trailer for the obscure, poorly made film at the centre of the row, entitled Innocence of Muslims, came to light in recent weeks and protests first erupted in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, last Tuesday.

More than a dozen people have died in protests since.

In Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the local press club was burnt down and government offices attacked in the Upper Dir district.

One protester was killed in an exchange of fire with police, following the death of another protester on Sunday.

A protest of thousands of students took place in the nearby city of Peshawar, reported AFP news agency.

In the biggest city, Karachi, police fired in the air to disperse a crowd heading for the US consulate, reported Reuters, and lawyers marched in Lahore.

At least one protester was killed in violent protests in Pakistan over anti-Islam video Innocence of Muslims

At least one protester was killed in violent protests in Pakistan over anti-Islam video Innocence of Muslims

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said the film was “wrong and offensive but also laughable as a piece of film-making – what is dangerous and wrong is the reaction to it”.

Tony Blair, who now serves as a Middle East peace envoy, said the protests were ultimately about the “struggle of modernization” under way in the region and not “some form of oppression by the West”.

The exact origins of the film are shrouded in mystery, although US authorities say they believe the film was made by Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, a convicted fraudster living in California who has since been questioned over his role.

A trailer of the film is available on YouTube and the company said it would not remove it as it was within its guidelines.

But a spokesperson said YouTube had restricted access to the clip in countries where its content is illegal “such as India and Indonesia as well as in Libya and Egypt given the very sensitive situations in these two countries”.

The eruption of anger has seen attacks on US consulates, embassies and business interests across the Middle East and North Africa. British, Swiss, German and Dutch properties have also been targeted.

The US ambassador to Libya was among four Americans killed on the day protests first broke out.

Libyan Interior Minister Fawzi Abdul Al has dismissed a claim on Sunday by the president of the national congress that 50 people have been arrested in connection with the deaths.

He said only four people had been detained so far, although up to 50 could be under investigation.

About 3,000 protesters burned US and Israeli flags in the southern Philippines city of Marawi

• In Yemen, hundreds of students in the capital, Sanaa, called for the expulsion of the US ambassador, said AFP

• In Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, hundreds of protesters faced off with police, throwing stones and petrol bombs, while police retaliated with tear gas

• More protests were reported in Srinagar, Indian-administered Kashmir

• Hundreds of Palestinians staged a peaceful sit-in protest in the West Bank city of Ramallah

• Angry demonstrators in the Afghan capital, Kabul, fired guns, torched police cars and shouted anti-US slogans

• A small protest was held outside the US embassy in Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, AP reported.

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Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Shia Muslim militant group Hezbollah, has called for fresh protests in Lebanon on Monday over film Innocence of Muslims.

The world needed to know Muslims “would not be silent in the face of this insult”, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said.

Protests at many US diplomatic missions have been continuing over the film, which was made in the US.

One person was reportedly killed in clashes between protesters and police in Pakistan on Sunday.

In a speech broadcast on Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV station, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah called for demonstrations on several days over the coming week.

The first is scheduled to take place on Monday afternoon in a southern suburb of Beirut which is a Hezbollah stronghold.

Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Shia Muslim militant group Hezbollah, has called for fresh protests in Lebanon on Monday over film Innocence of Muslims

Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Shia Muslim militant group Hezbollah, has called for fresh protests in Lebanon on Monday over film Innocence of Muslims

Sheikh Nasrallah branded the video the most dangerous insult to Islam ever, worse, he said, than Salman Rushdie’s novel The Satanic Verses and the cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, which were published in a Danish newspaper in 2005.

He said he had waited for the Pope to complete his three-day official visit to Lebanon before speaking out on the matter.

“Those who should be held accountable, punished, prosecuted and boycotted are those directly responsible for this film and those who stand behind them and those who support and protect them, primarily the United States of America,” Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said.

He said that Arab and Islamic governments should press for an enforceable international law banning insults to Islam and other religions.

There have been protests over the film in Lebanon in recent days, but most have been reported from the northern city of Tripoli, which has a Sunni Muslim majority.

The obscure, poorly made film at the centre of the row, entitled Innocence of Muslims, depicts the Prophet Muhammad as a power-hungry and foolish man, and includes scenes of him having sex with his wife Khadija and other women.

The exact origins of the film are shrouded in mystery, although US authorities say they believe the film was made by Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, a convicted fraudster living in California.

On Monday, more than 1,000 people were reported to be taking part in a demonstration against the film in the Afghan capital, Kabul.

Some protesters were armed and have opened fire, but there were no reports of casualties, a senior security official said.

Two police vehicles have been set on fire on the Jalalabad road, home to NATO and US military bases.

Sunday’s clashes in Karachi, Pakistan’s biggest city, occurred when protesters attempted to break through a barricade to the US consulate.

Police used tear gas and fired warning shots into the air in response to stone-throwing protesters.

A spokesman for the group that organized the rally told the Associated Press news agency that a protester had been killed in the clashes. Several other people were injured.

The US embassy in Islamabad announced on its Twitter feed that “all American personnel are safe and accounted for” at the consulate and thanked Pakistani police for their efforts in protecting it.

In the Danish capital, Copenhagen, a few hundred people held a vocal demonstration outside the US embassy.

Protesters directed invective not just towards the controversial video, but also at US military involvement in the Middle East and Afghanistan.

Crowds also gathered outside the US consulate in the Dutch capital, Amsterdam.

Anti-Islamic Dutch politician Geert Wilders, whose party lost many of its seats in last week’s elections, has posted a link to the video on his website and encouraged his followers to do the same.

Also on Sunday, the president of Libya’s interim assembly said some 50 people had been arrested in connection with last week’s deadly attack on the US consulate in Benghazi.

Mohamed Magarief told CBS News he had “no doubt” the attack was pre-planned, and that some of those who took part were from outside Libya.

US Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other US consulate staff were killed in the attack.

However, US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice told ABC America’s “current best assessment” was that “this began as a spontaneous, not a pre-meditated, response” to earlier protests over the film in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.

The violence in Benghazi was followed by a string of attacks on US consulates, embassies and business interests across the Middle East and north Africa. British, Swiss, German and Dutch properties have also been targeted.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has called for fresh attacks against Western embassies, describing the recent unrest as “a great event”, and urging protesters to unite to “expel the embassies of America from the lands of the Muslims”.

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Libya has made several arrests in connection with the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi in which Ambassador Christopher Stevens was killed.

New Libyan Prime Minister Mustafa Abu Shaqur said the investigation was making progress.

The attack happened on Tuesday during protests over a US-made film that mocks the Prophet Mohammed.

Similar protests have spread across the Middle East and North Africa. Further unrest is expected at Friday prayers.

Clashes between riot police and protesters continued overnight in the Egyptian capital Cairo, where Islamist groups and others have called for a peaceful “million-man march” later on Friday.

US President Barack Obama has promised to do whatever is necessary to protect US citizens abroad and said he was urging foreign governments to guarantee their security.

A White House statement said he had thanked Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi for condemning an attack on the US embassy there and for launching an investigation.

“President Obama expressed appreciation for the co-operation we have received from the Yemeni government and underscored the importance of working together to ensure the security of US personnel,” the statement said.

Libya has made several arrests in connection with the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi

Libya has made several arrests in connection with the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi

In Benghazi, US and Libyan officials are investigating the possibility that heavily armed militants used the protest as a pretext for a co-ordinated assault.

Libyan officials say those arrested are being interrogated on suspicion of having instigated the attack.

Four embassy staff died, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens.

PM Mustafa Abu Shaqur blamed the attack on “criminals” and said anger against the film could not justify it.

“The people, they don’t understand that such a case like this, the American government has nothing to do with it,” he said.

“Somebody made a film and they put it on YouTube. It was very offensive for sure but that doesn’t justify taking this wild actions against Americans or American embassies. People can come out and demonstrate and express their opinion peacefully.”

Following the attack, some Libyans have taken part in rallies in Benghazi and Tripoli denouncing the violence.

Libyan Deputy Interior Minister Wanis al-Sharif told reporters that those arrested had been taken from their homes on Thursday but gave no further details.

No group has said it carried out the attack and Wanis al-Sharif said it was too early to say if those arrested belonged to a particular organization.

Meanwhile, further protests against the US-made film are expected on Friday.

In Yemen, demonstrators briefly stormed the grounds of the US embassy in Sanaa on Thursday and burnt the US flag before being driven back by security forces.

A White House spokesman said all those working in the embassy were safe and accounted for.

In Egypt, 224 people were injured in protests outside the US embassy in Cairo on Thursday, with some demonstrators demanding the expulsion of the ambassador. Police vehicles were set alight.

Egyptian media said that as night fell on Thursday, police were continuing to fire tear gas at stone-throwing protesters.

Calls for a million-man march in Cairo came from The Muslim Brotherhood, the Salafist al-Nour party and non-religious groups including the “Ultra” fans of Zamalek football club.

They said they had invited Muslims, Coptic Christians and all Egyptian citizens to join them.

President Mohammed Mursi said Egyptians rejected “any kind of assault or insult” against the Prophet Muhammad, but appealed for calm.

Small protests have also been reported in Bangladesh, Iraq, Morocco, Sudan and Tunisia, and security has been increased at US embassies and consulates around the world.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has condemned the film, entitled Innocence of Muslims, as “disgusting” and “reprehensible” but said it was no excuse for violence.

The film was shot in the US and posted online earlier this year. It depicts the Prophet Muhammad as a womanizer and the bloodthirsty leader of a ragtag group of men who enjoy killing.

However, the film’s exact origin and the motivation behind its production remain a mystery.

Some of the actors involved have since condemned the film, saying they had no idea it was to be used as anti-Islam propaganda.

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