Tomato battle drenches Spanish town in red

Tens of thousands of revellers hurled 120 tonnes of squashed tomatoes at each other Wednesday, drenching the streets in red in a gigantic Spanish food fight known as the Tomatina.

A sea of more than 40,000 alcohol-soaked men and women packed into the Plaza Mayor square of Bunol, eastern Spain, many with their shirts off and wearing swimming goggles to keep out the stinging juice.

Spectators peered over the balconies of surrounding buildings, some also chucking tomatoes on chanting, dancing food-fighters below, who covered the square like a carpet.

Five trucks loaded with the tomatoes struggled to find space in the human tomato soup to enter the square.

But as they unloaded the edible ammunition, the square and surrounding streets were suddenly awash in a sea of tomato sauce, covering the crowds of festival goers.

"I can't throw fast enough. This is crazy. It's my third year," said one battler, Angel, as he pelted others with tomatoes, which must be squashed before being chucked so as to minimise the pain.

"It is a battle of crazy people, who get on together, and no injuries," said another, Nestor, who after being slathered in tomato in previous years chose to watch from balcony, spraying others with a water hose.

Many wore yellow T-shirts enscribed "Fanatic of the Tomatina".

"Long live the Tomatina! cried one Japanese tourist wrapped in a scarf decorated with a huge tomato picture, alongside a friend who protected himself with a tomato-shaped helmet.

The Tomatina is held each year in Bunol, in the heart of a fertile region some 40 kilometres (25 miles) north of the coastal city of Valencia, Spain's third-largest city, on the last Wednesday in August.

The town says it expects the fight to bring in 300,000 euros ($380,000) to the local economy, a welcome financial boost as the country suffers from a recession and a jobless rate of nearly 25 percent.

"We don't have much space but there is no other way," said Rafael Perez, spokesman for the town of 10,000 inhabitants.

"It's been here since 1945."

Though the origins of the event are unclear, it is thought to have its roots in a food fight between childhood friends in the mid-1940s in the city.

It has grown in size as international press coverage brought more and more people to the festival, with tourists flocking in this year from Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India.

After the fight, many of the revellers head to the local river to wash off the pulp.

This year, six special trains offering 29,000 seats were laid on for the Tomatina, along with camping grounds for the tourist influx.

Source: MSN.Com

Funeral celebrates Jesse Robredo

NAGA CITY—Eulogizing Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo on the final day of national mourning before his interment here on Tuesday, President Aquino said that the secretary had joined the pantheon of national heroes looking after his countrymen.

“Jesse is already in the ranks of heroes watching over us from heaven, and he is giving us the strength to continue with their good deeds. So let us stop weeping; instead, let us give thanks,” the President said in a speech delivered in Filipino that elicited repeated applause from the crowd at Minor Basilica of Our Lady of Peñafrancia, where the concelebrated requiem Mass was held.

“For the brief time that he was here in this world, we were the ones blessed to be in the company of Jesse Manalastas Robredo,” said Mr. Aquino, who wore a black arm band as a sign of mourning.

“Goodbye, Jesse. In behalf of the nation, thank you very much,” the President concluded.

The funeral rites came 10 days after Robredo, 54, and the two pilots of a Piper Seneca died in a plane crash at sea in Masbate.

In his eulogy, Mr. Aquino summed up the gravity of Robredo’s death. “His family lost a husband and father; the nation lost a trustworthy and efficient leader; I lost a brother in the official family of the Cabinet who was an ally in our crusades, and a party mate. I lost a good friend,” he said.

Robredo had served for 19 years as mayor of this city before joining the Aquino administration in 2010.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer

Notting Hill Carnival reaches bombastic climax

Revellers filled the streets of west London as the Notting Hill Carnival, Europe's biggest street festival, reached its climax with its famous Caribbean-inspired parade.

A multi-ethnic throng milled between the stalls and thumping sound systems, drinking, dancing, and tasting jerk chicken as the smells of open-cooked food wafted through the air.

Cloudy weather did not deter hordes of party-goers from flooding the streets to cheer on dozens of floats and flamboyantly dressed dancers parading through the west London neighbourhood.

An extra 2,000 police officers were brought in to keep order in Notting Hill on Monday, adding to the 5,000 on patrol for Sunday's Children's Day.

Officers have been granted stop and search powers within the area where the carnival takes place, while the force has advised visitors to only use mobile phones when absolutely necessary.

Commander Christine Jones said: "Mobile phones, especially expensive ones, are a glittering prize for thieves.

"Don't give them a head start by displaying them openly and only use them if it's absolutely necessary. Pick up one of our maps instead and pre-arrange meeting points with family and friends."

Police later confirmed a group of 34 people were detained at Kings Cross underground station in order to prevent a potential breach of the peace at the event.

"The group were stopped at the station at around 3:45 pm (1445 GMT) after it was suspected they were heading to the carnival to commit disorder," said a police statement.

On Sunday, young performers covered in feathers, jewels and waving flags, danced their way along the sunny route to the sound of steel drums and calypso music.

The carnival was founded in 1964 following disturbances in Notting Hill six years earlier that saw clashes between whites and newly arrived immigrants from the West Indies.

This year's festivities were largely peaceful, police said, though one 20-year-old man was left in a serious but stable condition on Sunday after being stabbed in the back and buttocks in Ladbroke Grove.

Scotland Yard arrested 96 people during Children's Day, mainly for drug and public order offences as well as robbery and assault.

Source: MSN.Com

Eid al-Fitr, 19th August 2012

The Islamic holiday of Eid-ul-Fitr commences on Sunday 19th August 2012, sparking one of the biggest celebrations of the Islamic calender. To mark the occasion, here's an explanation of some of the traditions and rituals practised throughout the festival.

The festival stretches across the Muslim world, as can be seen here, with the Muslim women of Chennai, India, offering their own Eid al-Fitr prayers.

Muslims therefore not only partake in Eid to celebrate the end of Rammadan and the end of fasting, but also to thank Allah for the strength given to them by Allah to ensure self-control during the previous month.

Here, thousands of Egyptian Muslims gather to perform a group prayer on the first morning of of Eid al-Fitr at the Mostafa Mahmoud Mosque in Cairo.

However, Muslims will often rely on an 'official' sighting of the new moon, rather than scanning the sky themselves. Here, a group of clerics and astronomers assigned by Iran's Supreme Leader attempt to find the new moon and announced the beginning of Eid.

One of the festival's customs is to break the previous month's fasting with a small, sweet breakfast, normally with a date fruit, before attending a special Eid Prayer known as salaat.

Eid includes special services both in Mosques and out in the open, such as processions in streets, as well as a celebratory meal. The meal is consumed during the daytime, and will be the first time Muslims will have eaten during the daylight hours for a month.

Symbolically, Eid also represents a time for forgiveness and the forgetting of past animosities for Muslims, as well as chance for the Islamic world to show unity.