Tens of thousands of Shiite Muslims, mostly supporters of the militant group Hezbollah, turned out in Beirut Friday in a massive show meant as a strong warning to the US against attacking holy sites in Iraq.
Wearing white shrouds symbolizing their readiness to die in defense of the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala in southern Iraq, the demonstrators, estimated at more than 200,000, shouted "Death to America" and "Death to Israel" as they marched in Beirut's teeming southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold.
A protest march by about 5,000 Shiites in Bahrain led to clashes with police in which at least three people were injured by shotgun pellets and 10 treated for tear gas inhalation. Later Friday, the Bahraini king fired the interior minister over the clashes, saying the demonstration should have been allowed.
`Martyrdom'
Also Friday, a small demonstration was held outside the British Embassy in Tehran, Iran.
The Lebanon demonstration was in response to a call by Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah earlier this week for "a symbolic demonstration to tell America that we are ready for martyrdom to defend our holy places."
Nasrallah accused US forces of desecrating holy shrines in Iraq, and called on Muslims to fight to the death to defend the sanctities in Najaf and Karbala.
US soldiers have been fighting militiamen of the radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in Najaf and Karbala during the past two weeks. During last weekend's fighting, the golden dome of the Iman Ali mosque in Najaf was lightly damaged, but it was not clear which side was responsible. The Imam Ali mosque is the burial place of the Prophet Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, who is revered by Shiites.
Addressing the crowd at the end of the march, Nasrallah renewed his call on the US to leave Najaf and Karbala.
"We will not abandon our religious duty. Today's march is a step on the road to defending the holy sites. Anything decided by our religious duty we will do without hesitation regardless of the sacrifices and calculations," he said.
"Let the Americans understand that those who wore shrouds today, including clerics, men, women, children and adults, did not come to show off," he said.
Ali Hassan, a 25-year-old Iraqi who joined the march, said: "I am ready to sacrifice my life for Imam Hussein. I am ready to join [al-Sadr's] Al Mahdi Army to fight against the Americans."
`Death to america'
A veiled Shiite woman, who introduced herself as Umm Mohammed, said: "Today's march is a message to America and the world that we are martyrdom lovers."
At a protest in Bahrain, police fired tear gas to disperse thousands of demonstrators, but the angry crowd broke through the police blockade and continued its march to protest the fighting in Karbala and Najaf, shouting: "Death to America!"
One group carried a banner reading: "Our shrines are our lives. Leave them alone!"
Most of the crowd was male, and many wore white shrouds.
After pushing past the security personnel, some protesters overturned a vacated police van and set it on fire.
The 3km march had been approved by security authorities but police tried to stop the demonstrators halfway through, saying the Ministry of Interior had not been informed of the march.
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
ALLIES: Calling Putin his ‘old friend,’ Xi said Beijing stood alongside Russia ‘in the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying’ Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday was in Moscow for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia’s army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce. More than 20 foreign leaders were in Russia to attend a vast military parade today marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, taking place three years into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and has marshaled the memory of Soviet victory against Nazi Germany to justify his campaign and rally society behind the offensive,
CONFLICTING REPORTS: Beijing said it was ‘not familiar with the matter’ when asked if Chinese jets were used in the conflict, after Pakistan’s foreign minister said they were The Pakistan Army yesterday said it shot down 25 Indian drones, a day after the worst violence between the nuclear-armed rivals in two decades. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed to retaliate after India launched deadly missile strikes on Wednesday morning, escalating days of gunfire along their border. At least 45 deaths were reported from both sides following Wednesday’s violence, including children. Pakistan’s military said in a statement yesterday that it had “so far shot down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones” at multiple location across the country. “Last night, India showed another act of aggression by sending drones to multiple locations,” Pakistan military spokesman Ahmed