Protests against cost of living expected in Italy under heavy security

Security forces are deploying massively in Italy on Saturday for protests planned in eight cities including Rome and Milan after some demonstrations turned violent last weekend. The demonstrations come amid a wave of protests by students, truck drivers and farmers over budget cuts and cost of living issues like housing and fuel prices. Rome's police force said in a statement it would "saturate both physical and virtual territory" and make use of drones and helicopters to monitor the demonstrations. It said it still "aimed to safeguard the full exercise of the right to express one's views, including dissent, but strictly in compliance with the law". Read moreItaly's trucker protests halt buffalo mozzarella production, cost producers €3 million In Milan, extra soldiers sent in following last weekend's protests will patrol in the city centre but Mayor Giuseppe Sala said there was no plan to shut the city. "Last weekend there weren't enough of us. We will simply try to be more numerous," he told Radio Lombardia. Sala also encouraged shops not to close on Saturday, after several boutiques in the fashion hub were looted last weekend and others closed or removed window displays. "If panic...