Athens- Hundreds of demonstrators clashed Friday with police in front of the Greek parliament in central Athens, with protesters hurling firebombs and riot police retaliating with teargas.

The clashes came as 5,000 students marched in further anti- government protests in Athens and thousands more across Greece to protest government education reforms and well as Israeli attacks in Gaza.

Rallies by students and teachers also took place in the western port city of Patras and the northern port city of Thessaloniki.

Athens - Athens braced Friday for another protest demonstration as violence continued with a molotov cocktail attack against a French language institute.

Eyewitnesses reported how some 20 masked protesters hurled molotov cocktails at the institute in central Athens and then escaped down a narrow street.

There were no injuries and damage to the building was slight. The language institute was already closed for Christmas holidays.

The incident continued nearly two weeks of severe unrest which was triggered by the shooting death of a 15-year-old youth by police on December 6.

Athens - Hundreds of demonstrators battled rain on Thursday to march through the Greek capital and cities across the country against the conservative government's reforms and the recent police shooting of a teenager.

All flights to and from Athens' International Airport were halted for several hours due to a strike by air traffic controllers demanding a pay rise and greater job protection.

Airport employees were joined by civil service trade unions and students who rallied through Athens.

Athens, Nicosia - Cyprus' justice minister resigned on Wednesday after a convicted murderer serving two life terms escaped custody, reports said.

Justice Minister Kypros Chrysostomides submitted his resignation on Wednesday to Cypriot President Dimitris Christofiaswho accepted it.

The prisoner, a Greek Cypriot, was jailed for life for the rape and murders of a Swedish housewife and Ukrainian dancer in 1994. He escaped on December 12 from a private hospital where he was being treated ahead of surgery.

Reports said the prisoner would regularly leave his hospital room through an unguarded window.

Athens - Protesters in Athens hung two giant banners from the ancient Acropolis on Wednesday with the words "resistance" in five different languages, calling for mass demonstrations after days of Greece's worst riots in decades.

Dozens of protesters could be seen holding the banners over the ancient walls of the Acropolis. On one of the banners, the word "resistance" is written in Greek, Italian, Spanish, German and English.

The other banner calls for demonstrations to march across Greece on Thursday.

Athens/Nicosia - Leaders seeking a solution to reunify the divided Mediterranean island of Cyprus tackled "thorny" issues on Tuesday in the latest round of UN-sponsored peace talks, officials said.

"The talks took place in a positive climate but focused on a number of thorny issues," said Alexander Downer, a former Australian foreign minister and UN special envoy to the talks.

He said the 13th meeting between Greek Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias and his Turkish Cypriot counterpart Mehmet Ali Talat would take place on December 22.