Newspapers shut down ahead of general strike

The strike halted television and radio news broadcasts, while media outlets were not updating their online news sites.

No newspapers were published this morning and the general strike will shut down services across the country throughout the day.

Meanwhile, the head of the junior partner in Greece's governing coalition ruled out new reforms demanded by the country's bailout creditors, which he said would "crush" labour rights in the country.

Democratic Left party president Fotis Kouvelis spoke after a meeting of the heads of the three parties in the conservative-led coalition.

Mr Kouvelis did not specify what particular demands he objected to, but a government official said that creditors were pressing for further reductions in compensation paid to laid-off workers and a freeze in automatic salary increases due to tenure.

Mr Kouvelis argued that further dilution of workers' rights was more than austerity-fatigued Greeks could take and would worsen a five-year recession and record-high unemployment which is sitting at at around 25 per cent.

"I cannot accept such demands," he insisted.

But Finance Minister Yiannis Stournaras immediately jumped in with a warning that Greece would "suffocate to death" unless it gets the next cash injection.

Mr Stournaras, who had been closeted with officials from the so-called troika of the EU, IMF and European Central Bank on Tuesday evening, claimed that "there are some unresolved issues which we expect to settle within coming days.

"I am convinced that the troika officials are doing the best they can to find solutions to the tough problems that truly exist."

A finance ministry official said that senior troika negotiators would leave Athens tomorrow to attend this week's EU summit in Brussels, but talks would continue with lower-level representatives.

The senior negotiators were not expected back in Athens.

"We hope to reach an agreement through e-mail exchanges over the next few days," another official said.