Barrel scrapping? Measure sequestering public entities' reserves passes

A majority of Parliament MPs late on Friday approved the leftist government's urgently tabled legislative act ordering roughly 1,500 state-run entities - local governments, universities etc. - to transfer their cash reserves to the Bank of Greece - a decision linked directly to dwindling money in state coffers.

One-hundred and six MPs from leftist SYRIZA and its junior party coalition, the rightist-populist AN.EL party, voted in favor, with 104 deputies against.

The vote came after an extremely acrimonious day of debate, with tempers flaying between the aisles and between ministers and opposition back-benchers.

Top ministers admitted this week that the measures aims to give the cash-strapped Greek government a "cushion" of liquidity as it tries to hammer out an agreement for bailout financing with its institutional creditors - eurozone partners, the ECB and the IMF.