18,000 take part in anti-Islam rally in Germany

Around 18,000 people have taken part in an anti-Islam rally in the German city of Dresden - despite an appeal by Chancellor Angela Merkel to reject the growing protests, which she's branded racist.

Counter-demonstrations were held in other cities across Germany.

Lights around the country were switched off in a silent protest against the anti-immigration demos - monuments in Dresden were thrown into darkness along with Cologne Cathedral and Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.