US pastor cancels Koran-burning plan
A CHRISTIAN pastor yesterday cancelled a plan to burn copies of the Koran at his obscure Florida church, which had drawn international condemnation and a warning from President Barack Obama that it could provoke al Qaeda suicide bombings.
Defense secretary Robert Gates called Terry Jones, an obscure minister who heads the tiny Dove World Outreach Center church in the Florida town of Gainesville, to urge him not to go ahead, the Pentagon said.
Following the call, Jones said that he was calling off his plan, which had caused worldwide alarm and raised tensions over this year’s anniversary of the 11 September 2001, al Qaeda attacks on New York and Washington.