Greek lawyers launched their defence of a prominent journalist on Thursday charged with breaking private data rules after he published the names of more than 2,000 wealthy Greeks believed to be holding Swiss bank accounts.
The Greek government on Wednesday predicted worse-than-expected recession next year and downgraded a rare positive note in its budget, highlighting the toll of repeated rounds of austerity.
Greek police fired teargas to disperse anti-austerity protesters hurling stones and petrol bombs on the day of a general strike that brought much of the near-bankrupt country to a standstill.
Tens of thousands of angry Greek protesters filled the streets of Athens to greet German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who offered sympathy but no promise of further aid. Police fired teargas and stun grenades to hold back crowds chanting anti-austerity slogans and waving Nazi flags while Merkel’s host, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, welcomed her as a “friend” of Greece.
Germany’s Angela Merkel arrived in Greece on her first visit since Europe’s debt crisis erupted, braving protests to deliver a message of support to a nation hammered by recession.
