Greece's largest private and public-sector unions on Thursday kicked off a general strike against fresh austerity measures, marking the first nationwide protest action under the leftist government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

The strike against tax hikes and an upcoming pension overhaul shut down public services, hit ship and train transports and also forced the cancellation of dozens of domestic flights.

Hospitals said they would run on emergency staff and some state schools closed as teachers and students signaled they'd join the strike.

Trying to impress lenders

The protests came as senior representatives of the European Commission, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund plus the European Stability Fund were holding a review of reforms pledged by Athens in return for a third bailout of 86 billion euros ($93 billion).

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