Rio de Janeiro: About 1,000 protesters have gathered in Brazil's biggest metropolis of Sao Paulo, demonstrating against the billions of dollars being spent to host this year's World Cup while the nation's public services remain in a woeful state.
The protest started peacefully, but adherents to the Black Block anarchist tactics vandalized banks and clashed with police, who used tear gas and stun grenades to disperse the violent demonstrators.
Several demonstrators were arrested. Local journalists complained of police knocking cameras from their hands and roughing them up.
It was the latest in a series of protests to hit Brazil since last June. The demonstrations have shrunk in size but remain violent. At least seven people have been killed during protests — most run over by motorists while marching in crowded streets.
