Vzla: Still refusing to take basket

The recall proponents in Venezuela are standing firm.

Waving copies of voter signatures, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets yesterday to protest delays in the verification of petitions calling for a referendum on recalling President Hugo Chavez.

The protesters banged on drums, blew whistles and played anti-Chavez jingles on loudspeakers as they marched along several routes to a rallying point on a Caracas highway. Some held up signs with their signatures asking for a vote on Chavez in huge letters.

Several dozen Chavez sympathizers drove past in trucks, yelling, "Traitors!" at the protesters. The "Chavistas" held rallies of their own, setting off fireworks and chanting in defense of the president.