Protesters renew call for Smith transfer, clash with cops

A shoving match near the United States embassy in Manila marked the first anniversary of the conviction of Lance Corporal Daniel Smith for the rape of a Filipino woman inside the Subic Bay Freeport in 2005. Radio dzBB reported that the police tried to stop militant women from marching to the embassy to reiterate their demand for the transfer of Smith to a "regular" jail. The militants said Smith had been in the custody of the US Embassy for the past year, despite the reclusion perpetua sentence he got after he was convicted on December 4 last year. Law enforcers managed to block the march to the embassy. Another police contingent blocked a larger group of militants at TM Kalaw Street. Last Sunday, some two dozen protesters stormed the US embassy, pounding a US government seal at the gate with their fists and a brick before surprised policemen pushed them away. - GMANews.TV