Some Greek farmers began to lift a nationwide road blockade of roads on Thursday after accepting a government support package, but others were still blocking traffic across Greece's land borders.

The 11-day-old farmers' protests are piling pressure on the Athens government, already battered from riots last month, as it struggles to cope with the economic crisis.

The downturn has already triggered violent protests in the Baltic states and Iceland as well as Greece, and in France hundreds of thousands of workers went on strike on Thursday demanding better protection of jobs and wages.

Greece's farmers are demanding higher subsidies and tax rebates to compensate for the slump. The government has offered 500 million euros for some products such as cotton, olive oil and wheat, but not others such as oranges, fruit and rice.

Source : Herald Tribute