A wave of anti-war protests began to roll across the US, Europe and West Asia on Thursday after the opening salvos of the war against Iraq sparked angry demonstrations in Asia and Australia.Dozens of people were arrested in the US when they took out marches against the war. Demonstrators in Washington, New York, Boston and San Francisco railed against war while the clock ticked toward the 8 pm deadline. In Boston, police arrested 36 people at a federal building and outside the Boston Stock Exchange. During a midday march to the UN in New York, 45 anti-war demonstrators were taken into custody and charged with disorderly conduct. In Australia, a 40,000 strong crowd brought Melbourne to a stand still, while 50,000 students marched from Berlin’s Alexander Platz past the guarded US Embassy and through the Brandenburg Gate. In France, organisations planned a 1700 GMT rally outside the US Embassy in Paris.In Italy, anti-war activists and labour unions staged demonstrations. Thousands were expected to take part in a march to the US Embassy in Rome in the afternoon. British anti-war campaigners blocked roads, boycotted schools and workplaces, and began gathering in public places. In London, a single helicopter hovered over the mother of all Parliaments in central London this afternoon. Mounted police threw a protective cordon around Whitehall. Protesters had to limit their anti-war carping to Parliament Square. ‘‘Not in my name,’’ shouted one banner. Others screamed, ‘‘Blair get a backbone,’’ while a third said, ‘‘No blood for oil.’’ Like yesterday, when thousands of school-children across Britain had skipped classes — with permission of their parents, they said.In Spain, several hundred chanting demonstrators gathered outside the US Embassy in Madrid. In the Gaza Strip, Palestinian children set fire to Israeli and US flags. Anti-American sentiment was stronger in Indonesia, Malaysia and Pakistan, where many saw the attack as the beginning of an American campaign to subjugate the Islamic world.
