Protesters massed in London today to denounce British involvement in the Iraq war

Protesters massed in London today to denounce British involvement in the Iraq war, as emotional anti-war demonstrators filled city streets across Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Demanding "Blair Out!" and "Bring Our Boys Home!," placard waving demonstrators gathered peacefully in central London's Hyde Park to put pressure on British Prime Minister Tony Blair's government, as new explosions rocked Baghdad. Blair's commitment of 45,000 British troops alongside nearly a quarter of a million American forces for a war without UN blessing has divided Britain and put Blair in political peril. Protesters marched, mostly peacefully, to condemn the war in other European cities including Berlin, Paris, Madrid, Lisbon, Stockholm, Helsinki, Amsterdam and Berne. But in the Middle East, anger at the war and its potential to destabilise the region was very near the surface as thousands of Arabs protested for a third day. With live footage of explosions and burning buildings in Iraq beamed into most Arab homes, emotions were high over what many consider a sinister plan to dominate the Arab world. In France and Germany, whose governments have opposed the war, demonstrators were out in force. In Paris, Palestinian and Kurdish supporters joined anti-war activists, students and left wing parties in street protests numbering some 80,000 people.