Hurricane or no hurricane, veterans of the Iraq war were determined to get their anti-war message across at the Republican National Convention. The party has cut back on events in the light of the storm but activists went ahead with their protest march in St Paul, Minnesota.

The US First Lady Laura Bush, who was due to address the convention later today, summed up the mood.

“Of course, everyone who is here is disappointed,” she told reporters. “All the delegates who have come in from around the country are disappointed that they are not going to be able to have tonight’s big celebration – the first night of the programme. But they all understand and everyone’s eyes are on the Gulf Coast and everyone is thinking about them.”

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