AFP/Rio de Janeiro

At least five police were hurt in Rio during overnight clashes with anti-corruption demonstrators five days before the arrival of Pope Francis, authorities said yesterday.
The clashes erupted outside Rio state Governor Sergio Cabral’s residence, where police used tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons to disperse demonstrators.
Officials said about 1,000 protesters descended upon the posh Leblon district late on Wednesday.
Four police officers were hit by stones while a female agent was injured by a petrol bomb, according to authorities, who gave no details of casualties among the protesters, but reported 15 arrests.
The protest occurred five days before Francis was due in Rio on his first foreign trip since his March election to attend a global Catholic youth fest expected to attract 1.5mn pilgrims.
It followed last month’s nationwide demonstrations when hundreds of thousands of Brazilians marched to demand better public services and an end to endemic corruption.
The demonstrators demanded investigations into alleged government corruption, and railed against the high cost of staging the 2014 World Cup and the alleged use of public helicopters by the governor and his family.
But vandals ransacked shops, banks, buildings and bus stations while piles of garbage were set on fire in the streets.
Others trampled on an effigy of the governor before setting it ablaze, while some hurled stones and urine at police.
“There will be no peace for politicians,” read a placard waved by a protester.
“Some political opponents want to anticipate the elections (due next year),” Cabral said overnight. “Elections are won at the ballot box, not on the streets.”
The local branch of the global “hacktivist” group Anonymous has called for a protest outside the Rio state government headquarters on Monday when Francis meets Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.
The aim is “to protest the $90mn in public spending for the papal visit, against Governor Cabral and other senior officials”.
The group said the rally would also denounce “excessive police violence” during the June mass demonstrations.