Women Protest Berlusconi

More than 100,000 Italian women and their supporters turned out across the country to protest against Premier Silvio Berlusconi, saying his dalliances with young women humiliate the sex as a whole and degrade female dignity. Backers of the 74-year-old Berlusconi, who is under investigation for allegedly paying for sex with a 17-year-old girl, dismissed the protests as strictly political. The teenager, a Moroccan night club dancer, has said Berlusconi lavished cash and jewelry on her. Both deny having had sex with each other.