May Day marked with protests, celebrations

More than 400 demonstrators were arrested Thursday in Turkey as people around the world marked May Day with protests and celebrations.

May 1 is considered the unnofficial International Workers' Day and is typically marked with demonstrations and rallies. This year's protests included calls for improved workers' rights and help with rising food prices.

In Turkey, tens of thousands of workers and students clashed with police on Istanbul's streets. Six police officers were injured and 467 demonstrators detained as police fired tear gas and water cannons and used clubs to try to prevent a rally in the central Taksim Square. Protests in the square have been banned since 1977, when unknown gunmen killed 37 people.

In Germany, police said anti-capitalism and pro-socialism protests Wednesday in Hamburg turned to violence and vandalism. The night before May 1 is known in the country as Walpurgisnacht and is often a night of mischief.

In Berlin, 24 people were arrested late Wednesday night after a rowdy party near where the Berlin Wall once stood. A police officer was slightly injured after partygoers threw glass bottles and rocks, police spokesman Hansjoerg Draeger said, and two cars were set on fire.

On Thursday, up to 10,000 people gathered for more rallies across the country, including a march for the far-right National Democratic Party and a counter-demonstration from leftist groups.

In Russia, police said about 30,000 people gathered for rallies around Moscow. Members of the Kremlin-backed party United Russia carried banners praising new President Dmitry Medvedev and former president Vladamir Putin as the "saviours of higher education," while Communist groups carried red, hammer-and-sickly flags and portraits of Lenin and Stalin.

Meanwhile, a reported 500,000 people gathered in Havana to see new Cuban President Raul Castro lead a short parade as marchers danced, sang, waved banners and screamed "Long Live Fidel! Long Live Raul!"

Raul Castro did not speak, but Communist labour union chief Salvador Valdes Mesa used the podium to call on state employees to work harder and increase production.