Thousands demo in Berlin to mark Int´l Women's Day

Several thousand people took to the streets of the German capital Berlin on Friday to mark International Women's Day.

At midday a demonstration organized by an alliance of trade unions and community initiatives started at Oranienplatz in the city's Kreuzberg district with around 4,500 people, according to a police spokeswoman.

Participants were demanding better living and working conditions for women. Many people carried home-made signs, some carried large banners.

Accompanied by music, the protest marched to the Brandenburg Gate. On the neighbouring Unter den Linden boulevard, around 5,000 people were expected for another gathering.

Several more demonstrations and rallies were planned to take place in the capital by the evening.

Demonstrations were also organized by the radical left-wing scene in Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg, each with several hundred people in attendance.

The police described the various daytime events as "calm." The police spokeswoman said several hundred officers were deployed throughout the city to accompany the gatherings.

The traffic information centre warned of road closures, especially in the centre of the city and Kreuzberg.

International Women's Day is a public holiday in Berlin. It was first organized in Germany and neighbouring countries on March 19, 1911, at the suggestion of the German Social Democrat politician Clara Zetkin. It has been celebrated annually on March 8 since 1921.