Asia/Pacific

The advice comes as the White House hits the halfway point in timeline to withdraw U.S. troops.

Pakistan's foreign minister on Friday thanked Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for criticizing a U.S.-made anti-Islam film and said her words would go a long way toward calming tensions in the Muslim world.

The United States is spending $70,000 in TV ads in Pakistan featuring President Obama and Clinton distancing the U.S. government from the 14-minute trailer that sparked protests in 20 countries. At least 17 protesters were killed in Pakistan on Friday after the government called a national holiday so people could demonstrate against the film.

“Allow me to begin from where you began, Madam Secretary, and to say that we appreciate the very strong condemnation ... of this blasphemous video, which has certainly stroked the sensitivities of the Muslims in the wrong way,” Hina Rabbani Khar, who is on her first visit to the United States,  said while standing alongside Clinton at the State Department. 

The last of the 33,000 U.S. “surge” troops left Afghanistan on Thursday ahead of a Sept. 30 deadline, marking the end of a key phase in the 11-year war.

While in New Zealand on Friday, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced that the withdrawal of surge troops had been completed.

“This week, the ongoing effort in Afghanistan marked an important milestone: The United States military has completed drawing down the surge forces President Obama committed in December of 2009, reducing our presence by 33,000 troops on schedule,” Panetta said in a statement.

The State Department is warning U.S. citizens to “defer all non-essential travel to Pakistan” in the wake of anti-American protests fueled by an online video that denigrates Islam.

The travel warning updates last month's advisory that merely warned Americans against travel to the country. Hundreds of demonstrators protested in the capital, Islamabad, on Thursday and tried to approach the U.S. Embassy before being repelled by police armed with tear gas and batons, The Associated Press reports. 

The protests are expected to be even larger on Friday, Muslim's traditional day of prayer. The Pakistani government has called a national holiday so people can protest, the AP reports.

“Protests have taken place across Pakistan against the United States, International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and NATO,” says the travel warning, which doesn't mention the "Innocence of Muslims" film. “There have also been widespread demonstrations and large political rallies condemning drone strikes, Pakistan's ongoing energy crisis and Pakistan's July 3, 2012, decision to reopen NATO transit routes to Afghanistan. These protests and demonstrations are likely to continue. U.S. citizens in Pakistan are strongly urged to avoid protests and large gatherings.”

“I think all options ought to be considered, including whether we have to just withdraw early," he said.

The Burmese opposition leader is on a two-week visit to the U.S.; she'll also meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill

Sens. McCain, Graham and Lieberman warn conditions are "worrisome enough" to justify maintaining 68,000-strong force.

Burmese opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi kicked off her first official visit to the United States on Tuesday by reassuring China that her country's tightening ties with the United States doesn't signal a rupture with its giant neighbor.

China was the Burmese military regime's closest ally for several decades, and is worried that Burma's rapid democratization and improving ties with the U.S. and other western powers could undermine its influence as the Obama administration proceeds with its strategy of “rebalancing” toward Asia. Suu Kyi is visiting several U.S states over the next two weeks, starting with a busy schedule in the nation's capital, where she will receive the congressional Gold Medal on Wednesday.

“We can use our new situation to strengthen relations with all three countries,” Suu Kyi said in remarks at the U.S. Institute of Peace. 

The U.S. Embassy in the Caucasus nation of Azerbaijan on Monday issued an “emergency message” to Americans in the area warning them to be “alert and aware” as violent anti-American protests spread beyond the Middle East.

A protest, sparked by the American-made anti-Muslim video that has fueled riots in two dozen countries, is expected in front of the U.S. Embassy in Baku on Monday afternoon, the embassy warned. 

“The demonstration is assumed to be connected to other anti-American demonstrations ongoing worldwide,” the embassy warned. “Even demonstrations that are meant to be peaceful can become violent and unpredictable. You should avoid them if at all possible. Be alert and aware of your surroundings at all times.”

Your morning global affairs speed-read

The United States officially transferred its military prison at Bagram to control of Afghanistan's government on Monday. [The Washington Post]

The vice president of Iraq has been sentenced to death in absentia on terrorism charges. [The New York Times]