Italy news

Police in Italy’s capital unleashed an arsenal of riot control weapons on crowds protesting a new round of coronavirus lockdown measures, blasting demonstrators with water cannons, tear gas and flash bang grenades.

Chaotic demonstrations have ignited in several Italian cities, where throngs of protesters were seen fighting with law enforcement and ransacking businesses as they called for an end to the country’s sweeping coronavirus lockdown.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has authorized a curfew on restaurants and bars, along with other tougher measures aimed at curbing the rapidly growing coronavirus infection rate.

Street battles erupted in central Rome overnight as Italian police dispersed a group of 200 far-right demonstrators, who staged a violent protest against the government’s Covid-19 restrictions.

Protesters defied curfew and attacked police vehicles in Italy’s third-largest city of Naples. The anger was sparked by the governor’s call for a new lockdown after the spread of Covid-19 hit a new daily record.

The governor of the south-western Campania region didn’t mince his words as he lashed out at those defying social distancing rules to enjoy nightlife, and vowed to stop Halloween celebrations he called “American stupidity.”