Greek political parties and unions battled Wednesday to reverse the shock shutdown of state broadcaster ERT as a storm erupted over the government's latest austerity cutback. ERT's television and radio stations were abruptly taken off the air on Tuesday and its 2,700 staff suspended after the conservative-led government branded the broadcaster a "haven of public waste". The shutdown caused uproar in Greece, where journalists were staging a 24-hour strike on Wednesday while defiant staff staged sit-ins at ERT offices in Athens and the second city of Thessaloniki.

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece said it was temporarily closing state broadcaster ERT on Tuesday to lay off staff and slim down the organization as part of budget cuts, drawing protests from workers and junior partners in the ruling coalition. The announcement was one of the most drastic measures yet to pare down the country's public institutions as part of austerity measures imposed on Greece as a condition of its bailout.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's state auditor warned on Monday that debt levels among local governments are rising and the financial burdens and risks are not being properly managed, adding to concerns over the health of the country's financial system. The National Audit Office, responsible for overseeing state finances, said in a report that the total debt at 36 local governments had risen 13 percent to stand at 3.85 trillion yuan ($627.70 billion) at the end of 2012 from two years before.

Portugal's parliament adopted Friday a revised budget aiming to keep its finances on track as part of its international bailout after the country's top court rejected several measures in the initial plan. "This revised budget includes measures which will permit us to respect the target of a public deficit of 5.5 percent of GDP at the end of the year," Finance Minister Vitor Gaspar. The budget passed easily thanks to the solid majority the centre-right government holds in parliament, with opposition parties voting against.