News Timeline: September 2012

 

September 2 — South Asia/North America: AFGHANISTAN/UNITED STATES

The United States temporarily suspends training for new Afghan local police recruits after a series of deadly attacks on NATO troops by Afghan police and soldiers suspected to have ties with the Taliban. The local police are used to improve security in the country’s remote areas. The U.S. plans to improve the vetting process for new recruits.

September 2 — South Asia: PAKISTAN

Police in Pakistan arrest a Muslim cleric who planted burned pages of Koran in a girl’s bag, who is a Christian from his neighborhood. The girl called Rimsha was briefly detained under Pakistan’s strict law of blasphemy after an angry crowd demanded her punishment. The event causes the flight of Christians from the area and increases concerns about the country’s blasphemy laws, which are often used to solve personal issues.

September 4 — South Asia/East Asia: INDIA/CHINA

China’s Defense Minister, General Liang Guanglie, comes to India on an official visit, the first one in eight years. During the visit both sides agree on an exchange of high-level officials, maritime security, and cooperation between their two navies. They also agree to resume joint military exercises, which were suspended in 2007.

September 7 — North America/Middle East: CANADA/IRAN

Canada breaks off diplomatic relations with Iran after Iran’s continued support for troubled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and over its insistence to continue its nuclear program and failure to comply with the United Nations inspectors. Canada also designates Iran as a country that sponsors terrorism.

September 9 — Middle East: IRAQ

A court in Iraq sentences Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi to death in absentia accusing him of running hit squads. Hashemi, a Sunni in a majority Shia government, rejects the sentence, saying it is politically motivated. He is in exile in Turkey.

September 10 — Africa: SOMALIA

Somalia’s new parliament elects Hassan Sheikh Mohamud the country’s president. The vote is carried out under tight security by African Union troops in the country’s Mogadishu airport. Mohamud is an academic and a civic activist who worked in international organizations, including the United Nations UNICEF. He faces severe challenges, including the al-Shabab militia and the country’s powerful competing clans.

September 11 — Middle East: YEMEN

Yemeni Defense Minister General Muhamman Nasir Ahmad survives an assassination attempt that kills 11 other people. Although no group claims responsibility, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is suspected for planting the car bomb.

September 12 — Africa/North America: LIBYA/UNITED STATES

The United States Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens and three other embassy employees are killed after armed protesters storm the consulate in Benghazi. The violent protests were sparked by a U.S.-produced anti-Islamic low budget film that appeared on the internet. It is suspected that the raid is carried out by a militia known as the Ansar al-Sharia.

September 23 — Former Soviet Union/Europe: BELARUS

During the parliamentary elections in Belarus, boycotted by major opposition parties, the voters elect mostly supporters of President Alexander Lukashenko. Observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) say the election was neither free nor fair.

September 29 — Africa: SOMALIA

The African Union forces push Somalia’s Islamist militant group al-Shabab from its last stronghold in a major city and the country’s second largest port of Kismayo. As a significant source of revenue, the loss of Kismayo is a major blow to the militants. The group is still in control of most of the central and southern areas of Somalia.

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