Strikes over cost of living disrupt trains and flights in Greece and Belgium

Riot police operate during clashes outside the Greek parliament in Athens, Greece (Petros Giannakouris/AP)

Workers have walked off the job in Greece and Belgium during nationwide strikes against increasing consumer prices, disrupting transportation, forcing flight cancellations and shutting down public services in the latest European protests over the rising cost of living.

In Greece, where workers were holding a 24-hour general strike, thousands of protesters marched through the streets of Athens and the northern city of Thessaloniki.