Worldwide anti-war demonstrations

A series of anti-war demonstrations in countries including the United States, Canada, Australia, Spain and Britain occurred ahead of the fourth anniversary of the US-led war in Iraq.

Thousands of people converged on the center of the US capital on Saturday and also marched on to the Pentagon. It's been 40 years since protesters mobilised a massive march on the Pentagon in Washington against the Vietnam war - an image that organisers of Saturday's massive march against the Iraq war are hoping to match.

Bill Hackwell, a spokesman for the Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (Answer) coalition, which organised the march, said: "We're feeling a shift in the general population of the country who are now opposed to the war and are now thinking about doing something about it, not only about voting but becoming active in the anti-war struggle."

The protests were timed to coincide with the fourth anniversary on Tuesday of the Iraq war, which has claimed at least 70,000 civilian lives and nearly 10,000 lives of soldiers and police officers from Iraq, the US and eight coalition countries.