Moscow protesters demand Putin resignation

Some 500 people have rallied in central Moscow to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and political reform.

Opposition activists from left-wing and liberal groups gathered at the statue to the 19th century Russian poet Alexander Pushkin, known for his anti-government stance, in a rare opposition protest allowed by the Moscow authorities.

Anti-government activists have held dozens of rallies in Moscow in the past months but most of them were unsanctioned and were broken up by police.