Most popular articles
.png "Italians protest public spending cuts")
Tens of thousands of Italians took to the streets Friday to protest public spending cuts that are part of a tide of government austerity washing over Europe, foreign media reported.
Demonstrators demanded that Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi modify his plan to freeze public-sector salaries and slash local government funding, a tough retrenchment that he says is necessary to bring down Italy's budget deficit and bolster confidence in the battered euro.
The protest came a day after hundreds of thousands of demonstrators turned out in France to denounce a move to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62. Germany, Portugal, Spain and Greece are all grappling with rising discontent over tough new public spending regimes.
Placeholder
Studio One