A day of worldwide protests against a looming US-led war on Iraq has culminated in giant peace rallies in Washington, San Francisco and other US cities. More than 50,000 Americans converged on the National Mall in the centre of Washington, in one of the biggest protests since the build-up for war began. The most popular chant was "No War For Oil". The crowds carried placards saying "Regime Change Starts at Home" and "Would Jesus Bomb Them?"

Anti-war demonstrations spanned the world on Saturday, including rallies in Japan, Pakistan, Syria, Egypt, Russia, France, Britain, Argentina and Mexico.

Momentum Towards War Continues to Grow

But the momentum towards war continues to grow.

The UN chief weapons inspector, Hans Blix, complained on Saturday that Iraq was still not giving his team "genuine co-operation" as they searched for weapons of mass destruction.

And it has emerged that UN arms experts have found 3,000 undisclosed documents apparently relating to nuclear weapons technology in an Iraqi scientist's home.

However, US opinion polls show that most Americans still back President George Bush. But many of them say Mr. Bush has not yet made a convincing case for war against Iraq.

The US and its main ally Britain are sending tens of thousands of troops to the Gulf, and putting others on standby.

Bush Faces a Pre-emptive Anti-war Movement

The activists at the Washington rally included the Reverend Jesse Jackson and Reverend Al Sharpton

As many as 50,000 people are expected to attend a peace rally in San Francisco, including actor Martin Sheen.

US protest organizers want to generate the kind of opposition that was expressed against the Vietnam War 30 years ago.
One of them, Washington lawyer Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, said: "Bush has said he intends to launch a pre-emptive war, and now he's facing the most formidable obstacle, which is a pre-emptive anti-war movement".

In San Francisco, environmental and trade union activists, Hollywood stars; anarchists and military veterans marched to show opposition to military action against Iraq.

"I'm hoping that the bus loads of people coming as far away as Oregon and Nevada give an indication that this isn't just the crazy loons in San Francisco - but we reflect the opinions of the entire United States," said Tim Kingston of the anti-war
group Global Exchange.

Anti-war Movement Spreading Across the Globe

In Moscow, Cold War-era music accompanied a demonstration outside the US embassy by about 1,000 communist supporters

· *Thousands of people joined an anti-war march in Paris

· *In Germany, peace protesters marched through the cities of Rostock and Tuebingen

· *Protesters in Cairo defied a ban on political rallies to condemn any war against Iraq

· *In Damascus, tens of thousands of people condemned US war preparations and Washington's support for Israel .
· *Hundreds of schoolchildren joined protesters in the Pakistani capital Islamabad to try to form a human chain to                    Rawalpindi, 10 kilometres (six miles) away

· *More than 4,000 people attended a peace concert in Tokyo - the largest of about 10 demonstrations in Japan

Saddam Hails Worldwide Anti-war Protest Movement

In Baghdad, President Saddam Hussein hailed worldwide anti-war demonstrations Saturday and said the protests showed that Iraq had international support for standing up to the United States.

Saddam ordered his top officers to look after their soldiers to gain their confidence and make sure they were well fed and kept warm as they prepared to sacrifice their blood to defend Iraq.

"They are supporting you because they know that evildoers target Iraq to silence any dissenting voice to their evil and destructive policies," Saddam told senior military officers and his son Qusay, the commander of the elite Republican Guards.
A recording of the meeting was broadcast on Baghdad's state- run television.

PHOTO CAPTION

Protesters gather on the National Mall during an anti-war rally, in Washington January 18, 2003. REUTERS/Molly Riley. - Jan 18 7:13 PM ET