Crisis talks in Brazil as protests escalate

Brazil awoke to city centres still smouldering after a night that shocked the nation: One million anti- government protesters took to the streets in scores of cities, with clusters battling police and destroying swaths of storefronts and buildings.

President Dilma Rousseff called an emergency meeting about the demonstration with top Cabinet members, after a largely silent and much criticised response to some of the biggest protests seen in this 192m-person country in decades.

There were also growing calls on social media and in mass emails for a general strike next week.