BY ALKMAN GRANITSAS
ATHENS”Flights were grounded and trains suspended amid a nationwide general strike Thursday, as Greek police fought running street battles with anarchist youths in fresh and violent signs of anger at the government’s austerity plans.
Unions called a strike to protest wage and benefit cuts being put in place to trim Greece’s swollen budget deficit as the country draws closer to a financial reckoning. An estimated 50,000 people took to the streets.
Greece must refinance a chunk of its giant debt next month, and Greek leaders are leaning hard on counterparts in richer European states to provide some measure of support …
