ATHENS. March 11. KAZINFORM A general strike starting from Wednesday midnight by workers protesting the government's new austerity measures is expected to ground planes and seriously disrupt public services and transport in the capital of Greece, Kazinform refers to Xinhua.

The 24-hour strike, the latest in a series of protests called by the two biggest trade union, the civil servants' union, ADEDY, and the country's umbrella labor union, GSEE, has been organized as a reaction to tax increases and reductions in holiday pay in the public sector that were voted through Parliament last Friday.

As on Feb. 10 and 24 when similar strikes were staged, services will be scant and the capital will be inaccessible for much of the day as three protest rallies are planned, Kazinform cites Xinhua. See www.xinhuanet.com