Brazilian protesters wreck banks in Sao Paulo

Some 300 Brazilian protesters ransacked around 10 banks and set fire to a television news van in Sao Paulo on Friday before police dispersed them with tear gas. The demonstrators marched in the city in a show of support for demonstrators in Rio de Janeiro who have held several protests against state Governor Sergio Cabral. In Rio, around 200 protesters marched to within a few meters (yards) from a Copacabana beach stage where visiting Pope Francis was wrapping up a massive ceremony with hundreds of thousands of young Catholics. The protests in the two mega-cities were small in comparison to massive demonstrations that were held across Brazil last month to denounce corruption, lagging public services and the cost of the 2014 World Cup. In Sao Paulo, masked protesters rammed metal bars through bank windows, broke traffic lights and burned trash bins to block the city's heavily-used Paulista Avenue. A television van was burned down and a car dealership was destroyed. The protesters spray painted anarchist symbols on the banks as well as the name of the Black Bock protest group. Around 100 police officers broke up the protest by firing tear gas and stun grenades.