By Derek Gatopoulos, Associated Press, 4/3/03

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ATHENS, Greece -- A nationwide strike called to protest the war in Iraq shut down banks, stores and government services, and disrupted flights Thursday in Greece, where thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in several cities.

About 10,000 people shouting anti-American slogans filed past the heavily guarded U.S. Embassy in Athens, and 15,000 marched to the U.S. consulate in the northern port city of Thessaloniki. Police said all rallies were peaceful.

The public in NATO-member Greece is overwhelmingly opposed to the war and all main political parties -- including the governing Socialists -- support the near-daily demonstrations at the U.S. Embassy. Still, the government has let the United States use Greek airspace and a U.S. Navy base on the island of Crete in the war.

Demonstrations flared in several other countries Thursday, including Muslim-dominated Niger and in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim nation, where protesters threw tomatoes at a U.S. Consulate.

Students in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, hurled eggs and red paint against the fence of the U.S. Embassy. Some protesters carried posters with a picture of President Bush and the text: "Wanted -- dead or alive. Preferably dead. Reward -- peace."

In Pattani, Thailand, a predominantly Muslim town, an estimated 30,000 people prayed in the streets.

"I think what Bush is doing is equal to Satan's work. Why can't he find a better way to stop a problem?" said Waetalee Waebuyi, a 21-year-old student.

In Malaysia, about 2,000 members of the largest political opposition group burned U.S. flags and effigies of Bush in Kuala Terengganu, a town about 200 miles from the capital, Kuala Lumpur, the national news agency reported.

About 3,000 people marched through the main financial district in Manila, Philippines, beating drums and yelling "no to war."

Some kicked around a stuffed toy dog with a mask showing the face of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, a vocal supporter of the war in Iraq. A protester carried her portrait and a live python to portray her as a traitor.

Police in Minsk, Belarus, arrested 16 young people for holding an unauthorized rally Thursday in front of the U.S. Embassy. But this group was in support of the war in Iraq. Their signs said "Down with tyrants" and "America, we are with you."

It was the first pro-war rally in Belarus, a former Soviet republic that has developed close ties with Iraq.