Beirut throngs mourn murdered minister and revile Syria

With an anti-Syria fury that recalled the aftermath of the assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri, hundreds of thousands of Lebanese poured into Beirut on Thursday for the funeral of the government minister slain Tuesday, Pierre Gemayel. Demonstrators shouted for the resignation of Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, who is allied with Syria. They cursed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah, and spat on pictures of Gen. Michel Aoun, a Christian who aligned his party with Hizballah.