Dozens of Filipinos picket Israeli, US embassies

Dozens of Filipino protesters on Friday burned mock American and Israeli flags in noisy demonstrations outside the countries' embassies and a mosque, demanding an end to Israel's offensive in Lebanon. The protest in front of the Israeli Embassy drew a crowd of about 40, mostly left-wing activists who have been denouncing the attacks on Lebanon almost every day. They burned paper-made US and Israeli flags before dispersing peacefully. Meanwhile, a Muslim political party issued a strongly worded statement after Friday prayers at Manila's Golden Mosque, calling on Muslim nations to "unite in condemning in the strongest possible terms the continuing criminal act of the brutal Zionist Israeli military forces, not only against the Lebanese and Palestinian people but the entire Muslim community."