Greece pays public sector wages to avert fresh economic crisis

Mid-May payment of a500m-worth of wages and pensions comes as country's credit rating plunges further into junk status

Greece avoided another financial crisis by paying about a500m (360m) in wages to public sector workers, but suffered another downgrade of its credit rating.

"The mid-May payments of wages and pensions ... were made within the scheduled time frame," the finance ministry said. They had been due on Friday.