Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. Three Dead in Greek Riots VOA News 05 May 2010 A riot police officer is engulfed in flames from a fire bomb thrown by protesters in central Athens. Protesters tried to storm Greece's parliament and hurled paving stones at police, who responded with tear gas Wednesday as tens of thousands of outraged G Photo: AP A riot police officer is engulfed in flames from a fire bomb thrown by protesters in central Athens. Protesters tried to storm Greece's parliament and hurled paving stones at police, who responded with tear gas Wednesday as tens of thousands of outraged Greeks took to the streets to protest harsh new spending cuts aimed at saving their country from bankruptcy, 5 May 2010. Greek authorities say at least three people have died in central Athens in a fire during huge street demonstrations against harsh new government austerity measures. Early reports say the victims died in a burning bank building apparently set on fire by the protesters.  Across much of the central city Wednesday, riot police armed with stun grenades and tear gas fought running street battles with rock-throwing protesters angered by the looming spending cuts. Television footage showed police using tear gas to prevent some 50 protesters from storming the parliament building. Violence also erupted in the northern city of Salonika. The strike halted flights, trains and ferry services across much of the country. Schools and private offices were shut and hospitals worked with limited staffs. Socialist Prime Minister George Papandreou submitted an austerity bill to parliament Tuesday containing $40 billion in budget cuts, including pension rollbacks and tax hikes. The budget measures include cuts to civil service pensions and wage freezes which many say will disproportionately hurt the poor. Germany, which will provide a large share of the bailout, has warned that the loans could be halted if Greece fails to approve the austerity measures. Investor concerns about the Greek debt crisis continued to hurt stock markets in Europe Wednesday. Major European stock indexes were lower in late afternoon trading, with the main Greek index tumbling almost three percent. Greek share prices plunged more than six percent Tuesday. Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters. .