About 5,000 anti-government protesters have fought police near a stadium that hosted a semi-final at the Confederations Cup football tournament, Belfast Telegraph said.

The protesters marched peacefully on Thursday, June 27 night but clashed with police as they neared a security zone about a mile from the stadium in Fortaleza, where Spain beat Italy on penalties in the warm-up tournament to the 2014 World Cup. In Rio de Janeiro, about 2,000 protesters marched but did not clash with police.

They are the latest in a series of massive, nationwide protests that have hit Brazil since June 17. Demonstrators are angry about corruption and poor public services despite a heavy tax burden. They are also denouncing the billions of pounds spent on hosting the World Cup and the 2016 Olympics in Rio - money they say should be going toward better hospitals, schools, transportation projects and schools.

In Brasilia, President Dilma Rousseff met union leaders and politicians as the government continued to scramble to meet protester demands over anti-corruption measures and improved public services.

She was preparing the ground for a proposal she is expected to deliver to congress on Monday for a vote on political reform that she wants to put before the Brazilian population in the coming months.