Hezbollah chief tells Bush and Rice 'to shut up'

Beirut: The leader of Hezbollah said US President George W. Bush and his secretary of state should "shut up" after they accused Syria and Iran of fuelling protests over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad(PBUH). He was heading a march by hundreds of thousands of Shiite Muslims yesterday. Shaikh Hassan Nasrallah urged Muslims worldwide to continue demonstrations until there is an apology over the drawings and Europe passes laws forbidding insults to the Prophet. The head of the guerrilla group, which is backed by Iran and Syria, spoke before a mass procession of Shiites marking Ashura, an annual remembrance of the 680 AD battle in which Imam Hussain was killed by rivals. Whipping up the crowds on the most solemn day for Shiites worldwide, Nasrallah declared: "Defending the Prophet should continue all over the world. Let Condoleezza Rice and Bush and all the tyrants shut up. We are an Islamic nation that cannot tolerate, be silent or be lax when they insult our Prophet and sanctities.