Thousands protest at Pope's visit

Tens of thousands of people chanted slogans against Pope Benedict XVI and waved banners against his upcoming visit in a defiant display of the pro-Islamic anger that could await the pontiff on his first papal trip to a mostly Muslim nation.

About 25,000 people filled a square in a working-class district of Istanbul at a rally organised by an Islamist political party whose leaders have strongly denounced the pope’s remarks in September that linked violence and Islam.