Greece facing two-day general strike

Greece's government is bracing for a 48-hour general strike that begins today as lawmakers debate a new round of austerity reforms designed to win the country additional rescue loans needed to avoid bankruptcy. Unions are angry at a new € 28 billion austerity program that would slap taxes on minimum wage earners and other struggling Greeks, following months of other cuts that have seen unemployment surge to more than 16 percent. The package and implementation law must be passed in parliamentary votes this week so the European Union and the International Monetary Fund release the next installment of Greece's € 110 billion ($156 billion) bailout loan. More than 5,000 police were to guard Athens' city center, with union protest rallies due to start in the morning and head to Parliament. The strike is set to disrupt or halt most public services, with doctors, ambulance drivers, journalists and even actors at a state-funded theater joining the 2-day protest.

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