A rally in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki to protest new IDs draws 5,000 people

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Police say about 5,000 people gathered in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki Sunday to protest against a new type of identity card to be introduced later this month. Carrying Greek flags and banners, the protesters, gathered in the city’s iconic White Tower, a waterfront former fortification, chanted slogans and the national anthem and listened to speeches. Later, they marched through the city center before dispersing without incident. The machine-readable cards will replace the type of ID issued now and will contain the same information, such as name, parents’ name, address and height. The only extra information, blood type, is optional. But this has not stopped their opponents from claiming they will contain location-revealin and even mind-controlling devices.