Much of Greece is expected to grind to a halt, with the country’s trade unions staging another 24-hour general strike against planned austerity measures. There are fears of renewed violence after protests in Athens two weeks ago led to the deaths of three people.

From BBC News

Organisers are hoping that up to 100,000 people will join the protests.

There are fears of renewed violence after protests in Athens two weeks ago led to the deaths of three people.

Many Greeks are angered by spending cuts and tax and pension-age rises planned, in return for a 110bn-euro (£95bn) bail-out from the EU and IMF.

The measures aim to achieve billions of euros in budget cuts over three years, with the goal of cutting Greece’s public deficit to less than 3% of GDP by 2014. It currently stands at 13.6%.

‘Mood barometer’

The strike officially began at midnight on Wednesday local time.

It is expected to force the closure of government buildings, schools and banks, and to reduce hospitals to emergency staff later in the day.

Train services, shipping and domestic flights are also expected to be severely disrupted.

The country’s main civil service and public sector unions say they represent some 2.5 million workers.

FULL STORY

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