Protesters blockade Greek Finance Ministry ahead of creditor talks

Hundreds of angry demonstrators blockaded the Greek Finance Ministry in Athens on Thursday in a bid to prevent Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelosos from holding talks with creditors, police said. The heads of the so-called troika of the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund, will arrive in Athens for talks on the granting of an 8 billion euro tranche of funds to Greece. Without the money, Athens will be in danger of default on its state loans. The tranche will only be granted if Greece demonstrates to its creditors that it has carried out a severe reduction in government spending including pensions and public-sector wages. Greece's largest union, ADEDU, has declared that it will blockade the building and also any other ministries in protest at the "barbaric" wage and pension cuts. The police say protesters have blockaded six ministry buildings including the labor, justice, internal affairs, agriculture and health ministries.