Syriza party rebels as Greek government defends bailout

The Greek government has defended its new bailout programme in tumultuous parliamentary sessions, as it faced a rebellion in the governing Syriza party ahead of a vote on the deal.

The draft bill for the three-year rescue package worth about 85 billion euro in loans includes harsh spending cuts and tax hikes that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has said he has no option but to implement.