Greece reels from new strikes against austerity

Page last updated at 11:11 GMT, Thursday, January 31, 2013 - 16:11 EST

AFP:

Buses are parked at the Athens depot during a strike on January 31, 2013

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ATHENS — Greece reeled on Thursday from fresh strikes against austerity measures, with walkouts by groups ranging from sailors to doctors to transport workers causing disruptions.

Greeks also held scattered protests against the measures the coalition government enacted in return for vital EU-IMF funds to avoid bankruptcy.

Sailors kicked off a two-day walkout, buses and trains were at a standstill and civil servants held a three-hour work stoppage against the government's cutbacks.

Public sector union ADEDY, which denounced the "closures of hospitals" and their "underfunding", said 5,000 people demonstrated in central Athens Thursday. The police estimated the number at 1,000.

Doctors in hospitals also walked off their jobs to protest against ongoing sector spending cuts.

Farmers in various parts of the country were also in an uproar, warning that the rising cost of fuel and electricity owing to higher taxation was driving them to ruin.

Read the whole story: AFP