From London's Trafalgar Square to the streets of Sao Paulo, tens of thousands of people around the world protested the Iraq war on the second anniversary of the US-led invasion.
British elections expected in May lent an added charge to Saturday's largest European protest, in London, where UK Prime Minister Tony Blair's staunch backing of the war has dented his support.
Police said about 45,000 demonstrators participated in a march from Hyde Park past the US Embassy and on to Trafalgar Square. Organizers said almost 100,000 took part. Several army veterans participated.
"I disagreed with [the war] to start with because I was suspicious of the weapons of mass destruction claims," said Ray Hewitt, 34, a veteran of the 1991 Gulf War. "I saw the Iraqi army in 1991 and we destroyed it."
In Istanbul, Turkey, an estimated 15,000 people marched in the Kadikoy neighborhood to protest the US presence in Iraq. "Murderer Bush, get out," read one sign.
In the US, anti-war activists marched in the streets of cities big and small, stopping traffic and wearing masks of President George W. Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Hundreds listened to anti-war speeches at the UN in New York before marching across Manhattan. A small contingent of protesters then lay down next to flag-draped cardboard coffins outside a military recruiting station. Police moved in and arrested 27 protesters.
About 1,000 people took to the streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil, displaying anti-US banners and chanting anti-war songs. In Brasilia, the capital, dozens of protesters burned an American flag in front of the US Embassy, Agencia Brasil news service reported.
In Poland, which has 1,700 troops in Iraq, about 500 protesters marched to the US Embassy in Warsaw, holding banners reading "Pull out from Iraq now" and "Poles back to Poland."
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source