Greece braces for more protests

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Greece is bracing for more disruption amid protests against government policies and the death of a teenager.

All flights to and from Athens airport are expected to be halted for several hours due to a strike by air traffic controllers demanding a pay rise.

They are joining protests by civil service trade unions and students who are organising a rally in the capital.

Greece has been hit by days of riots sparked by the shooting of a 15-year-old boy by a policeman on 6 December.

Some 70 people have been injured and about 400 have been detained during the protests. Hundreds of shops and banks have been vandalised and looted.

The policeman accused of shooting Alexandros Grigoropoulos, aged 15, has been charged with murder.

Solidarity rallies

Air traffic controllers say they will go on a three-hour strike at 1200 local time (1000 GMT).

The banners went up just as the Parthenon temple reopened to tourists

The walkout is expected to ground all flights at Athens airport and disrupt public transport services in the capital.

It is part of an industrial action organised by the civil service trade union, ADEDY.

The protesters are demanding a pay rise and greater job protection.

At the same time, student demonstrators are planning to march in Athens to protest against the killing of the teenager.

Students have also called for solidarity rallies across Europe.

On Wednesday, protesters hung huge banners on the Acropolis, the ancient site that dominates Athens, calling for "resistance".

Conservative Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis has rejected calls to step down, despite growing public pressure.

But earlier this week he acknowledged some of the problems that had fuelled the anger of young people.

In a speech to parliamentary colleagues on Tuesday, he said "long-unresolved problems, such as the lack of meritocracy, corruption in everyday life and a sense of social injustice disappoint young people".