NETHERLANDS: Thousands have paid their last respects to the murdered Dutch politician, Mr Pim Fortuyn, filing past his coffin as he lay in state in Rotterdam's Catholic cathedral. Mr Fortuyn's funeral will take place at the cathedral today after a short procession through the city.
Many mourners wept as they passed the open white casket containing Mr Fortuyn's body, which was dressed in a dark suit, white shirt and yellow tie. There was no trace of the bullet wounds to the head he sustained when he was shot outside a radio station on Monday. Next to the coffin stood a large wreath surrounding one of Mr Fortuyn's election campaign posters with his slogan "at your service".
Yesterday's lying in state was the first of its kind in the Netherlands since the death of Queen Wilhelmina in 1962.
It emerged yesterday that Queen Beatrix sent a personal message of condolence to Mr Fortuyn's family earlier this week. Many of those who visited the cathedral yesterday were aged between 18 and 30, the group from which Mr Fortuyn received most support.
A 32-year-old animal rights activist has been charged with Mr Fortuyn's murder, which has left the Netherlands in shock.
Mr Fortuyn's name will still appear on the ballot for next Wednesday's general election and his anti-immigration party is expected to win more than 20 per cent of the votes. Some political analysts have predicted that the far-right group, called Lijst Pim Fortuyn, could emerge as the largest group in the Dutch parliament.
In such an event, the queen would be obliged to ask the party to form a government. But the party has received a blow with the withdrawal of one of its most important benefactors, a property tycoon, Mr Harry Mens.
Describing the party's remaining candidates as amateurs, Mr Mens said he was switching to the Christian Democrats. Following Mr Fortuyn's death, the party's leading candidate is Mr Joao Varela (27), a black cosmetics executive from Cape Verde. Mr Varela, who has no political experience, grew up in an orphanage before studying economics at Rotterdam's Erasmus University. Mr Varela, who is a Catholic, shares Mr Fortuyn's opposition to fresh immigration and has defended the late politician's description of Islam as a "backward" culture.
Yesterday's lying in state followed a night of clashes in Rotterdam between police and fans of the local football team, Feyenoord. After a peaceful start to celebrations of the team's victory in the UEFA cup final, some fans attacked police early yesterday morning and 70 were arrested.
Campaigning for next week's election has been suspended but the prime minister and most leading politicians will be among the mourners at today's funeral, which will be broadcast live on Dutch television. Mr Fortuyn will be interred briefly in his family's vault in northern Holland before being buried near his holiday home in Italy.