		<div class="wpcnt">
			<div class="wpa">
				<span class="wpa-about">Advertisements</span>
				<div class="u top_amp">
							<amp-ad width="300" height="265"
		 type="pubmine"
		 data-siteid="111265417"
		 data-section="1">
		</amp-ad>
				</div>
			</div>
		</div><p>A nationwide strike in Greece against spending cuts has disrupted public transport, state-run schools, ferries and national rail services, and left hospitals running with emergency staff.</p>
<p>More than 7,000 demonstrators marched in three separate demonstrations in the capital Athens to protest against cost cuts the government is taking to satisfy its bailout creditors.</p>
<p><i>&#8220;We can either accept our continuing descent into poverty or fight against it,&#8221;</i> theatre actor Dionysis Xenakis said.</p>
<p>He was joined at the rally by musicians playing drums, as a nearby group of demonstrators chanted: <i>&#8220;People, fight back. They&#8217;re drinking your blood.&#8221;</i></p>
<p>Protests were held in cities around Greece, with more than 5,000 at marches in the country&#8217;s second largest city, Thessaloniki.</p>
<p>Years of recession and austerity have left nearly a quarter of Greeks unemployed &#8211; with most no longer receiving any state benefits.</p>
<p>Thursday&#8217;s 24-hour strike went ahead despite a decision this week by bailout lenders to grant Greece a series of short-term debt relief measures aimed at evening out the country&#8217;s repayment schedule.</p>
<p><a href="http://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/GreeceStrikesB8Dec16_large.jpg"><img src="http://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/GreeceStrikesB8Dec16_large.jpg" alt="greecestrikesb8dec16_large" width="600" height="325" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-100619" /></a></p>
<p>Greece&#8217;s left-wing government is still negotiating a new series of cost-cutting reforms that are expected to remove protection measures for private sector jobs and distressed mortgage-holders.</p>
<p><i>&#8220;Nothing has been decided until everything is decided,&#8221;</i> finance minister Euclid Tsakalotos, referring to the ongoing negotiations, told parliament.</p>
<p>Bailout negotiators, he said, were expected to return to Athens next week, with a deal possible by the end of the month on the terms of the upcoming bailout payout.</p>
<p><i>&#8220;We&#8217;ve been at this stage before. Everyone has to stay calm.&#8221;</i></p>
<p>The reforms are part of requirements the country must meet to continue qualifying for emergency loans from its international bailout &#8211; the third such rescue package for Greece since 2010.</p>
<p>The country has been dependent on bailout funds since it became unable to borrow on the international bond market due to a deep financial crisis created by decades of poor fiscal management and overspending.</p>
<p>In return for the cash, successive governments have had to implement sweeping reforms, including deep pension cuts and steep tax hikes.</p>
<p>The crisis has wiped out a quarter of Greece&#8217;s economy.</p>
			<div style="padding-bottom:15px;" class="wordads-tag" data-slot-type="belowpost">
				<div id="atatags-dynamic-belowpost-68ed540668bdc">
					<script type="text/javascript">
						window.getAdSnippetCallback = function () {
							if ( false === ( window.isWatlV1 ?? false ) ) {
								// Use Aditude scripts.
								window.tudeMappings = window.tudeMappings || [];
								window.tudeMappings.push( {
									divId: 'atatags-dynamic-belowpost-68ed540668bdc',
									format: 'belowpost',
								} );
							}
						}

						if ( document.readyState === 'loading' ) {
							document.addEventListener( 'DOMContentLoaded', window.getAdSnippetCallback );
						} else {
							window.getAdSnippetCallback();
						}
					</script>
				</div>
			</div>
Discover more from London Glossy Post
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
