Athens, Greece (CNN) — Protesters clashed with police in central Athens Wednesday as thousands of transport workers went on strike against severe austerity measures the government says are needed to tackle the country’s crippling budget deficit.

CNN’s Jim Boulden said bottles and flares were thrown and small fires started in the vicinity of Athens’ Constitutional Square outside the Greek parliament building. Police responded with tear gas and cordoned off roads around the parliament.

Earlier around 35,000 people were estimated to have taken part in a march, according to unions. Boulden said violence had been limited to a small faction separate from the main protest and lasted about an hour.

All flights to and from Greece have been cancelled and nationwide disruption is forecast on bus and rail networks with trade unions rallying widespread support for the 24-hour action by public and private sector workers.

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BY SUZANNE MUCHNIC – LOS ANGELES TIMES
ATHENS — The new Acropolis Museum is proof, at last, that Greece has a safe place to display some hotly contested artworks – the marble sculptures removed from the Parthenon in the 19th century and long housed at the British Museum in London.

For Athenians who live and work near the Acropolis, the looming modern structure at the southeastern base of the hill is a mixed blessing. The $200 million, 226,000-square-foot museum has transformed the area of Makrygianni, boosting property values while dwarfing other buildings in the neighborhood.

Dimitrios Pandermalis, a classical archaeologist who presided over the building’s construction and is now president of the museum, is acutely aware of all this. But for him, the gleaming edifice is a dream come true, or at least partly so.

With 150,000 square feet of exhibition space, 10 times that of its predecessor, the museum presents layer upon layer of Acropolis history, from about 1000 B.C. to A.D. 700. Opened in June, it welcomed its millionth visitor in late October and continues to pack in about 10,000 people a day.

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Roger Boyes, Athens

Greece has been cut off from the outside world for 24 hours as angry public sector workers brought the country’s airports, ferry terminals and overland border crossings to a standstill.

Revolutionary songs blared through loudspeakers in central Athens and tens of thousands of strikers chanted “Traitors! Traitors!” in front of the Greek parliament as they protested against government austerity measures designed to cut the country’s budget deficit of 12.7 per cent to 2.7 per cent in three short years.

The moves, which will entail a hiring freeze in the public sector, a 10 per cent cut in supplementary pay and an increase in the retirement age are supposed to send a signal to the rest of the eurozone that Greece is intent on getting its house in order.

But the leftist unions are determined to make a stand against the Socialist government of George Papandreou.
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GREEK NATIONAL HOLIDAYS

• New Years Day • January 1

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• Epiphany • January 6

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• Greek National Holiday • March 25

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• Easter* • April / May*

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• Labor Day • May 1

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• Ascension Day • May / June

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• Assumption Day • August 15

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• War Memorial Day • October 28

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• Christmas Day • December 25

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• St. Stephen's Day • December 26

*Exact date varies yearly.