Anti-Berlusconi Protesters Bang Pots, Pans

ROME (AP) - Hundreds of demonstrators have banged pots and pans in Rome and Milan demanding scandal-plagued Premier Silvio Berlusconi resign.

The gatherings came a day before protests Sunday, when thousands of women are expected to turn out in 200 Italian cities to denounce what they say is Berlusconi's debasing of females.

On Saturday, protesters banged pot lids and pans, including one with an image of Berlusconi drawn as if behind bars.

Prosecutors want to try Berlusconi for allegedly paying a 17-year-old Moroccan girl for sex. Paying for prostitution with a minor is a crime in Italy. Berlusconi and the teenager have denied the allegation.

In counter-protest, newspaper editor Giuliano Ferrara hung up underwear in a Milan auditorium against what he calls a puritanical drive to oust the premier.