Italian riot police hammer protesters with batons near the Colosseum as a cost-of-living strike sweeps dozens of cities

A 24-hour general strike called by Unione Sindacale di Base, an Italian grassroots union, brought tens of thousands of people onto the streets of more than 40 cities on Friday, with the most intense clashes erupting in Rome, Turin and Genoa over wages, public services and military spending.

Eight people were arrested in Rome after repeated attempts to force through police barricades, with masked demonstrators throwing rocks, bottles and firecrackers at officers.