Rally held in Rome to defend press freedom

Tens of thousands of people, including journalists and media rights activists, gathered in a Rome square Saturday to defend press freedom, accusing Premier Silvio Berlusconi of trying to silence critical voices. Berlusconi, a media magnate, has dismissed the accusations as a "joke" and the demonstration as a "farce." He said this week that there is more press freedom in Italy than in any other Western country. Berlusconi owns the country's largest private broadcaster. As premier, he and his conservative coalition have indirect control on the state-run broadcaster RAI. AP.