And in Baghdad

Thousands protest:

"No, no to the American agreement… No, no to the agreement of humiliation,'' chanted the protesters as they waved Iraqi flags and green banners.

The demonstrators, who had converged in Baghdad's Firdous Square for Friday prayers, staged the last in a series of protests that have been held against the deal.

If approved by the parliament and ratified by the president, the deal will keep US forces in Iraq for another three years after their UN mandate expires on December 30.

In reading the US coverage of the story, on CNN:

Protesters at one point set fire to U.S. flags and an effigy of President Bush, but the rally was well-organized and peaceful with no evidence of fighting or arrests. People dispersed amicably after the 2½-hour event.

The protest was announced last week by al-Sadr, who called for Sunnis and Shiites to hold a unified Friday prayer ceremony and have a peaceful demonstration against the agreement.

The security agreement, reached after months of negotiations between Iraqi and U.S. representatives, sets June 30, 2009, as the deadline for U.S. combat troops to withdraw from all Iraqi cities and towns. The date for all U.S. troops to leave Iraq would be December 31, 2011.