Thousands of Students Protest Across Italy

Thousands of angry students protested government austerity measures across Italy today and injured up to six policemen in Rome, hitting them with stones while hiding behind homemade shields, Reuters reports. The students also tried rushing a Rome police van but were driven back by batons. Other protests against the policies of Prime Minister Mario Monti's government were staged in major cities like Naples, Milan, and Rome.

"The protest is to renew the political class, to get rid of those who are corrupt," said a high school student in Rome. "The politicians make the ordinary people pay. These are heavy sacrifices, and it is a risky policy to keep imposing them." Meanwhile in Verona, a bomb detonated outside a tax collection office and another one failed to go off—but no one got hurt. The office, called Equitalia, has been hit and threatened several times this year for being associated with government tax hikes, reports Reuters. (More austerity measures stories.)