Churches torched in Charlie protest,France defends free speech

Violent mobs torched at least eight churches in Niger's capital Niamey today during fresh protests against the French weekly Charlie Hebdo, as France strongly condemned the violence and defended freedom of expression.
With France still reeling from last week's attacks that claimed 17 lives, jittery European countries stepped up security, with soldiers patrolling the streets of Belgium for the first time in 35 years.
Anger mounted in several Muslim countries over the satirical newspaper's caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed, with a second day of rioting erupting in Niger, a predominantly Muslim former French colony.
Around 1,000 youths wielding iron bars, clubs and axes rampaged through Niamey, hurling rocks at police who responded with tear gas.

The French embassy in Niamey urged its citizens to stay at home, the day after a rally against Charlie Hebdo in Niger's second city of Zinder left four dead and 45 injured.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius condemned "the use of violence, today in Niamey and yesterday in Zinder".

In his first reaction to the violence, which also erupted in Pakistan yesterday, President Francois Hollande today emphasised that France was committed to "freedom of expression", saying it is "non-negotiable".
Some 15,000 people also rallied in Russia's Muslim North Caucasus region of Ingushetia against Charlie Hebdo.
The deployment of troops in Belgium came after security forces this week smashed a suspected Islamist "terrorist" cell planning to kill police officers.

Greek anti-terror police arrested at least four people suspected of links to the jihadist cell dismantled in Belgium, including Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the 27-year-old alleged mastermind of the cell who according to media reports may have been planning the foiled attacks from Greece.
In London, authorities were mulling "further measures" to protect police "given some of the deliberate targeting of the police we have seen in a number of countries across Europe and the world."
British police officers, for the most part unarmed, will reportedly be equipped with taser guns as part of reinforced security measures.
As authorities try to close in on jihadist cells around the world, Yemen detained two Frenchmen for questioning over suspected links to Al-Qaeda.

French and Belgian authorities were grilling suspected accomplices both of the Paris gunmen and the alleged "terrorist" cell raided in eastern Belgium.
Asked about protesters who burned the French flag, Hollande said: "They have to be punished because when it happens in France, it's intolerable, but also abroad.