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Molotov
A Greek riot police officer amid flames from molotov cocktails thrown by a protester Reuters

Anti-austerity demonstrators have rallied in Athens' streets for the second time in a matter of days, during a general strike against the next round of spending cuts due to be implemented by the government.

Police scuffled with some of the 70,000 protesters who gathered in the Greek capital to participate in two different demonstrations, part of the 20th national strike since the beginning of the national debt crisis in 2010.

Security forces fired teargas to disperse demonstrators who were throwing petrol bombs and stones near the Greek parliament building.

Authorities revealed that a 65-year-old man died of a heart attack while taking part in the demonstrations, and four people were injured after scuffling with the police.

"Enough is enough. They've dug our graves, shoved us in and we are waiting for the priest to read the last words," Konstantinos Balomenos, a 58-year-old worker who participated in the protests, told Reuters.

Balomenos said his pay as a water utility worker has been recently halved to €900, and his two sons are among the 25 per cent of Greeks currently unemployed.

The 24-hour strike was called by Greece's two biggest labour unions, ADEDY and GSEE, in conjunction with the summit of EU leaders in Brussels

The coalition government led by Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is planning to make further cuts to public spending worth €11.5bn (£9bn) and raise an extra €2.5bn in taxes, to secure the next instalment of its €130bn bailout from the EU, the International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank.

Samaras said that without the bailout funds, Greece will run out of cash by the end of November.

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