ATHENS, Greece - Flights to and from Greece were grounded, trains and ferries suspended their routes and public services were paralyzed Wednesday as angry Greek workers went on strike to protest harsh new spending cuts aimed at saving their country from bankruptcy The 24-hour general strike shut down schools and customs offices and left hospitals working with emergency medical staff. The Acropolis and all other ancient sites were closed, while journalists also walked off the job, suspending television and radio news broadcasts. Two protest marches were planned for central Athens the first major demonstrations since the new measures were announced Sunday. With such marches often turning violent in Greece, more than 1,500 police were to be deployed to monitor them. Public and private sector unions concede that the cash-strapped government was forced to slash spending, including cutting salaries and pensions for civil servants, and increase consumer taxes, to secure a vital euro110 billion ($144 billion) three-year loan package from European partners and the International Monetary Fund. But they say low-income Greeks will suffer disproportionately from the measures, which aim to save euro30 billion ($40 billion) the country's current budget deficit through 2012. "There are other things the (government) can do, before taking money from a retiree who earns euro500 ($660) a month," said Spyros Papaspyros, leader of the ADEDY civil servants' union.
