Greece comes to a halt as demonstrators protest bank bailout...

Air, rail and ferry traffic ground to a halt throughout Greece on Tuesday and public offices shut down as workers walked off the job in a general strike to protest the conservative government's economic policies.

Riot police officers fired tear gas to disperse a small group of rock-throwing youths as thousands of demonstrators marched through central Athens. Many shops along the demonstration route rolled down their shutters, and only minor damage was reported.

Throughout the country, state hospitals functioned with emergency staff and state schools, universities, post offices and tax offices were closed, as were many banks. About 200 domestic and international flights were canceled, while all ferries were confined to port and the state rail company canceled most train services. Lawyers, journalists and civil engineers were also on strike.

"The country has effectively come to a halt," said Efstathios Anestis, a spokesman for the largest umbrella union, GSEE. "Participation is very high. In many sectors it exceeds 90 percent of the work force." More...

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