Protesters reach fever point in Quito, as demonstrators clash with riot police

Protesters in Quito, Ecuador clashed with police in the capital's colonial district on Wednesday. Ecuadorean protesters held a national strike and clashed with security forces after President Lenin Moreno refused to step down or overturn anti-austerity measures that have triggered the worst unrest in a decade. Businesses were closed from early in Quito and other cities during the shutdown, in Latin America's latest flare-up over unpopular structural reforms.

Violent demonstrations erupted in the Andean nation of 17 million people a week ago when Moreno cut fuel subsidies as part of a package of measures in line with a $4.2 billion International Monetary Fund loan.