General strike, political crisis in Greece over state TV closure

ATHENS, Greece – Unions in Greece are holding a general strike following the closure of state-run TV and radio which has divided the government coalition.

Thursday's protest called by Greece's two largest unions disrupted public transport and left state hospitals running on skeleton staff, while flights are to be grounded between 3:00 and 5:00 p.m. (1200-1400GMT).

Conservative Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has insisted the Hellenic Broadcasting Corp. ERT will remain closed and all 2,600 staff be made redundant before a new public broadcaster opens at the end of the summer. But his center-left coalition partners have submitted legislation to parliament to cancel ERT's closure.

The Geneva, Switzerland-based European Broadcasting Union, representing Europe's public TV channels, began streaming online broadcasts by fired ERT staff who are occupying the building's headquarters for a third day.