SOUTH African dignitaries lit an Olympic-style torch in Pretoria on Tuesday to symbolise their opposition to racism, as thousands of Muslims took to the streets of Cape Town to protest what they said was Israel’s continuing oppression of Palestinians. The two events came 10 days ahead of a UN-sponsored global conference on racism which will be held in Durban from August 31 to September 7. Organisers of the Muslim demonstration, which stretched several city blocks, said it had drawn 25_000 to 30_000 people, while police estimated their number at 18_000 to 20_000. The crowd, many of whom wore traditional Muslim headdress, were led in chants of “Zionism equals racism”, and “Free Palestine”. The United States threatened to boycott the Durban conference if it equated Zionism with racism, but the situation in the Middle East will be discussed there even if the equation is not made. – AFP