Greece stands on the "edge of the abyss," Karolos Papoulias, the country's president, warned on Wednesday, after a day of violent protests against budget cuts and tax hikes left three people dead.<br /><br />As a general strike - called to vent public fury at the planned measures to avert national bankruptcy - paralysed the nation, demonstrators tried to storm the parliament in Athens, the Greek capital.<br /><br />The protest became violent, with petrol bombs thrown at police, who responded with pepper spray and tear gas.<br /><br />Tens of thousands of people took to the streets across the country, angered by spending cuts and tax rises planned in return for a $146bn bailout for Greece.<br /><br />Al Jazeera's Barnaby Phillips reports.<br /><br />[May, 05, 2010]
