Istanbul - Police have used tear gas and water cannon to break up protests Tuesday against the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, which are having their annual meetings in Istanbul. A crowd of several hundred had gathered in downtown Istanbul's Taksim Square, less than a kilometer from the convention centre where the meetings are being held, but were turned back by a large police force.
Some of the protestors shattered the windows of a McDonald's restaurant and several banks along the city's famous Istiklal Street, a pedestrian-only boulevard near the square.
Clouds of tear gas wafted down the street, lined with shops and restaurants, while helicopters flew overhead. Some 100 were arrested by the police, according to Turkish press reports.
Last week a student threw a shoe at IMF Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn while the official was meeting with a group at an Istanbul university. The shoe hit the head of another student, before landing near Strauss-Kahn.
