German police clash with pro white demonstrators

[NewsFeed]

ISTANBUL (AP) -- The Latest on May Day events around the world (all times local):

8:25 p.m.

Police clashed with far-right demonstrators in the eastern German town of Apolda, taking 100 people into custody before declaring the situation under control.

Police told the dpa news agency that about 150 demonstrators who had attended a protest elsewhere started causing problems in Apolda's town center after getting off a train Monday afternoon.

Authorities say they ignored police warnings and then started throwing stones and firecrackers at officers.

There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Meanwhile, several thousand far-left demonstrators have started a march through Berlin, setting off smoke bombs and firecrackers along their route.

The "Revolutionary May 1 Demonstration" was not registered with authorities as required, but police decided to tolerate the Monday evening march.

Primarily dressed in black, the demonstrators chanted slogans like "flood the G20" - referring to the summit of the Group of 20 major economic powers being held in Hamburg this summer.

Some 5,400 police officers, called in from across the country, were on hand.

6:20 p.m.

Police in Istanbul have detained 165 people during May Day events around the city, most of them demonstrators trying to march to a symbolic square in defiance of a ban.

A security department statement said that another 18 people suspected of planning illegal demonstrations and possible acts of violence on Monday were detained in separate police operations.

Turkey had declared Taksim Square off-limits to May Day demonstrations, and major trade unions marked the day with rallies at government-designated areas.

Still, small groups tried to reach the square, leading to scuffles with police.

Taksim holds a symbolic value for Turkey's labor movement. In 1977, 34 people were killed there during a May Day event when shots were fired into the crowd from a nearby building.

5:40 p.m.

Thousands of people were celebrating May Day peacefully in Germany's capital, but police were braced for the possibility of violence.

The dpa news agency reported Monday that an estimated 10,000 people gathered in Berlin's Kreuzberg district for a street festival, and police reported no significant incidents.

But 5,400 police officers were mobilized in case the event got out of hand later in the day, when demonstrations were planned. Berlin has experienced major May Day riots in the past, though recent years have been relatively calm.

Still, some 50 officers were hurt last year in a brief, but violent clash.

In the eastern city of Erfurt, about 1,200 supporters of the nationalist Alternative for Germany rallied, holding signs with slogans like "no mosques in Germany." Police say the demonstration was peaceful.

5:15 P.M.

South African President Jacob Zuma was jeered by labor unionists and his May Day speech was cancelled after scuffles broke out between his supporters and workers chanting for him to step down.


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