Unions to strike over govt adviser's killing
Italy's three main trade unions are planning a general strike to protest at the murder of a top Italian government adviser.
Marco Biagi, who had pushed for controversial employment reforms, was shot dead steps away from his home in central Bologna. The attack reminded many of the politically motivated killings in the 1970s and 1980s.
The 52-year-old professor's reforms had been denounced by leftist parties and unions denounced, saying they would give employers too much freedom to fire workers.
He was killed by gunmen on a motorbike as he bicycled home from work last night.
The unions, which have all denounced the slaying, say they will strike for four hours in Bologna, where they are also planning a demonstration, and for two hours in the rest of Italy.
The strike was meant as "a firm and prompt response against the return of terrorism," the unions said in a statement.
There has been no claim of responsibility for the slaying. Authorities suspect a resurgence of domestic terrorism.
A five-pointed star, the trademark of the Red Brigades - the leftist terrorist group which bloodied Italy in the 1970s and 1980s - was found spray-painted on a wall by Biagi's home. Police are looking into whether or not the star was there before the killing.
At least four shots were fired, two of which hit Biagi, one in the throat and the other in the chest, according to news reports.
