Protests over austerity measures

ATHENS (AP):

Hundreds of youths smashed and looted stores in central Athens and clashed with riot police during a massive anti-government rally against painful new austerity measures that won initial parliamentary approval in a vote yesterday.

The rioting came on the first day of a 48-hour nationwide general strike that brought services in much of Greece to a standstill, grounding flights for hours, leaving ferries tied up in port and shutting down customs offices, stores and banks.

More than 100,000 people took to the streets of the Greek capital to demonstrate against the austerity bill, which includes new tax hikes, further pension and salary cuts, the suspension on reduced pay of 30,000 public servants and the suspension of collective labour contracts.

Possible bankruptcy

Creditors have demanded the measures before they give Greece more funds from a €110 billion (US$152.11 billion) package of bailout loans from other Eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund. Greece says it will run out of money in mid-November without the €8 billion (US$11 billion) instalment.

But Greek citizens said they already are reeling from more than one-and-a-half years of austerity measures.

"We just can't take it any more. There is desperation, anger and bitterness," said Nikos Anastasopoulos, head of a workers' union for an Athens municipality, as he joined the demonstration early in the day.

The bill won initial approval in the 300-member Parliament late yesterday. with 154 deputies voting in favour on principle and 141 against. A second vote, on the bill's articles, is due today.