Ski town becomes 'fortress' as riots spread

Protests against globalisation spread across Switzerland last night after police beat back demonstrators at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in the ski resort of Davos.

Four cars were set on fire in Zurich as up to 1,000 people were prevented from getting to the resort by police firing tear gas and rubber bullets.

Earlier, several hundred demonstrators were confronted by riot police firing water cannon in the country's biggest security operation since the Second World War. Inside, behind the barricades, the leaders of the international business community talked of a soft landing for the US economy,

They did their best to convince themselves that collateral damage to the rest of the world from the US slowdown could be contained.

For several days the 'Spirit of Davos' trumpeted by the organisers of the elite international business and political gathering resembled East Germany in the 1980s. A corner of the Alps was turned into a fortress, with roads blocked and train services suspended, while travellers faced repeated identity checks and searches.

At least 140 people were turned back at the Swiss border over the past week, many because they were carrying 'propaganda material'. Hundreds more were turned back on roads to Davos yesterday.

Inside delegates heard the International Monetary Fund's first deputy managing director, Stanley Fischer, assert that 'we are a long way from a global recession'. He added that 'aggressive action by the Fed' in cutting interest rates was welcome.