Workers march as general strike hits Italy

Tens of thousands of demonstrators turned out to protest the Italian government’s 2006 budget plan today, rallying in support of a general strike that snarled transport and closed down public offices across the country.

Demonstrators voiced anger at spending cuts worth billions of euros that Premier Silvio Berlusconi’s centre-right government has included in the budget plan as it struggles to contain its deficit amid sluggish economic growth.