Thousands of people have taken part in a one-day strike in Paraguay to protest against the government's economic policies as President Raul Cubas completed one-hundred days in office.

At least three people were injured and another ten arrested during clashes between police and demonstrators in the capital, Asuncion.

Members of trade unions and peasant organisations, who called the stoppage, are angry at the government's austerity programme, involving privatisations, greater labour market flexibility and a salary freeze for public sector workers.

The stoppage was widely observed in Asuncion, but in the rest of Paraguay the response was patchy.