Aleksandar Vasovic & Matt Robinson | Belgrade | May 20

Reuters - * Pro-Western incumbent Tadic bidding for 5 more years
* Opposition alleges fraud, threatens street protests
* Low turnout favours opposition challenger Nikolic
* Economy stalling, unemployment at 24 percent

Voter apathy and accusations of fraud marred a presidential run-off in Serbia on Sunday, where pro-Western incumbent Boris Tadic is vying with rightist Tomislav Nikolic for the right to lead the nation into talks on joining the EU.

Seven hours after polls opened, just 23.2 percent of the 6.7 million Serbs eligible to vote had done so.

Tadic began the day as the frontrunner, but analysts have said a low turnout might favour Nikolic, whose supporters are considered more disciplined voters.

Twice elected president since 2004, Tadic, 54, was part of the reformist bloc that ousted strongman Slobodan Milosevic in 2000 after a decade of war and isolation during the collapse of Yugoslavia.

Under Tadic, Serbia in March became an official candidate for EU membership, but there is deep frustration among Serbs over the grinding transition from socialism to capitalism and an economic slowdown that has driven unemployment up to 24 percent.

Nikolic, 60, was an ultranationalist ally of Milosevic when Serbia was bombed by NATO in 1999. But, since losing to Tadic in 2008, he has tried to rebrand himself as a pro-European conservative, accusing his opponent of presiding over a creeping culture of elitism.

Athens | May 15

AP - Greece will hold a new election in June after days of talks failed to resolve the country’s political deadlock, party leaders said Tuesday.

The Athens Stock Exchange plunged on the news, diving 4.86 percent minutes after the announcement before recovering somewhat.

The May 6 election left no party with enough votes for a majority in parliament and repeated efforts over nine days to cobble together a coalition government proved fruitless.

Athens | April 4

BBC - Protesters have clashed with riot police in Athens hours after a pensioner shot himself dead outside the Greek parliament.

The man, named in the Greek media as 77-year-old Dimitris Christoulas, killed himself in the city's busy Syntagma Square on Wednesday morning.

In a suicide note reported by Greek media, he accused the government of reducing his pension to nothing.

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in the square outside parliament on Wednesday evening, the scene of many large protests in recent months. Violence erupted, with petrol bombs hurled at police, who fired tear gas in response.

March 23

BBC - Kazakhstan's shooting team has been left stunned after a comedy national anthem from the film Borat was played at a medal ceremony at championships in Kuwait instead of the real one.

The team asked for an apology and the medal ceremony was later rerun.

The team's coach told Kazakh media the organisers had downloaded the parody from the internet by mistake.

The song was produced by UK comedian Sacha Baron Cohen for the film, which shows Kazakhs as backward and bigoted.

Jon Henley | Volos, Greece | March 16

The Guardian - A determination to 'move beyond anger to creativity' is driving a strong barter economy in some places

In recent weeks, Theodoros Mavridis has bought fresh eggs, tsipourou (the local brandy: beware), fruit, olives, olive oil, jam, and soap. He has also had some legal advice, and enjoyed the services of an accountant to help fill in his tax return.

None of it has cost him a euro, because he had previously done a spot of electrical work – repairing a TV, sorting out a dodgy light – for some of the 800-odd members of a fast-growing exchange network in the port town of Volos, midway between Athens and Thessaloniki.

Harry Papachristou & Yannis Behrakis | Athens | February 12

Reuters - Greece's parliament approved a deeply unpopular austerity bill on Monday to secure a second EU/IMF bailout and avoid national bankruptcy, as buildings burned across central Athens and violence spread around the country.

Cinemas, cafes, shops and banks were set ablaze in central Athens and black-masked protesters fought riot police outside parliament before lawmakers voted on the package that demands deep pay, pension and job cuts -- the price of a 130 billion euro ($172 billion) bailout needed to keep the country afloat.

State television reported the violence spread to the tourist islands of Corfu and Crete, the northern city of Thessaloniki and towns in central Greece. Police said 150 shops were looted in the capital and 34 buildings set ablaze.

. . . inspired confidence fairy is working her miracles on Greece! What's next, Green Shoots?

Damien McElroy | Athens | November 6

The Telegraph - George Papandreou, Greece's embattled prime minister, will resign as soon as a deal for an interim coalition government is agreed, perhaps as early as Sunday night, a senior member from his party said.

The main goal, duration and leader of such an administration must be agreed before Mr Papandreou resigns,

"We only have to wait for the prime minister's announcements in the cabinet," he said. "Everything must be done within the day, otherwise tomorrow it will be hell," Pasok party member Telemachos Hitiris told Greek state television.

Greece is going to abandon the Euro. I said as much months ago. The masters of the universe in Europe prevented a lesser crisis for the entire Eurozone by their stupid austerity intention. Had they taken a fair haircut on the bondholdings, instead of making the peasantry pay, things would not be now so grim. Now they are going to get shit-canned and take huge losses. You can't teach stupid a damn thing and one should never underestimate stupid, either.

Also, I note that Occupy Oakland is calling for a general strike. The Longshoreman are on board. This will hurt the elite. And it is necessary. As Ian quoted a while back, "power concedes nothing without a demand." Good for Occupy Oakland, but they should prepare for the worst. They haven't seen the worst of the brutality yet.

None of this should come as a surprise to anyone. The writing has been on the wall for at least ten years. And when Obama used the millennials the way he did, by upping their expectations and then delivering nothing it was clear this would all happen soon.

Addendum: After reading Krugman I've decided to turn the computer off and go drink. Jaysus effing Kee-raist, things are bad.

Addendum Two: Bankers not acting in good faith? Who knew?

From the story:

Charles Dallara, negotiating on behalf of the bankers, agreed to a 50 percent reduction in the amount of Greek government debt held by banks (a “haircut”), but the bankers are already trying to take a much smaller loss by monkeying with the fine print. By varying the details of interest rates and payback periods, bankers could end up losing a lot less than 50 percent—and Greece could end up getting a lot less than 50 percent debt relief.

The Davos Set is going to have to take a shellacking until they realize they have to negotiate in good faith. Why else would they? For thirty years they've been the masters of the universe. This could get very ugly.

Athens | September 17

BBC - Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou has cancelled a visit to the US because of the seriousness of the country's debt crisis, Greek media reported, quoting government sources.

State TV said he decided to return home after consultations with Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos.

Anthee Carassava | Athens | September 11

LAT - Under intense pressure from international lenders, Greece on Sunday announced a new set of austerity measures to meet deficit reduction targets and stamp out speculation that it would be forced out of the European single-currency zone.

The measures, which include a two-year property tax, are intended to make up for revenue shortfalls that come to about $3 billion this year alone.

Though designed to target mainly high earners, the new tariff could further anger the crisis-weary middle class and pose political risks for the socialist government, which repeatedly has pledged to protect Greek households from being hurt by further austerity measures.

Thessaloniki, Greece | September 10

BBC - Clashes have erupted between Greek police and anti-cuts protesters in Thessaloniki as the prime minister prepared to make an important speech.

Thousands angry over austerity measures rallied in the country's second city as George Papandreou prepared to speak on the debt-laden economy.

Trade unionists, students, anarchists, taxi drivers and football fans were among those holding protests.

Athens | August 2

AP - They descended by the hundreds -- black-shirted, bat-wielding youths chasing down dark-skinned immigrants through the streets of Athens and beating them senseless in an unprecedented show of force by Greece's far-right extremists.

In Greece, alarm is rising that the twin crises of financial meltdown and soaring illegal immigration are creating the conditions for a right-wing rise -- and the Norway massacre on Monday drove authorities to beef up security.

Helen Pidd | Berlin | July 5

The Guardian - Germany's constitutional court has begun hearing a case that will decide whether Angela Merkel's government was right to agree to last year's multimillion-euro bailout of Greece and the accompanying rescue package for other faltering EU countries.

In the unlikely event that the complainants win, the payments will be blocked, an outcome experts say would shake the foundations of the European Union. "If the court were to restrict the government's leeway to act, the consequences for the EU and the financial markets could be extremely serious," said Commerzbank analyst Eckart Tuchtfeld.

The mountains look on Marathon - / And Marathon looks on the sea; / And musing there an hour alone, / I dreamed that Greece might yet be free. - Lord Byron

The Greek parliament voted to approve this week what might justly be titled “The Debt Enslavement Act of 2011”. Under this act, everyone in Greece gets to be a helot, and how bad could that be? It’s not like the old days. In ancient Greece the youth of Sparta participated every autumn in the Krypteia, a sort of military training exercise in which Spartans would hunt down and kill helots without fear of legal reprisal. The helots were Greeks too, just the wrong kind of Greeks – lower class, servile, tied to the land. Slaves, in effect.

Elena Becatoros & Menelaos Hadjicostis | Athens | June 28

AP - Riot police fired tear gas at youths hurling rocks near the Greek finance ministry Tuesday, trying to quell the anger unleashed by a general strike as parliament debated new cost-cutting measures.

The latest austerity measures must pass in two parliamentary votes Wednesday and Thursday if Greece is to receive bailout funds from the EU and the IMF that will keep it from becoming the first eurozone nation to default on its debts.

Rachel Donadio & Niki Kitsantonis | Athens | June 21

NYT - Parliament has begun voting on Prime Minister George Papandreou’s new cabinet, formed last week to push through a fresh package of austerity measures required to receive international financing to stave off default.

The crucial confidence vote will not only determine the unity of his fractious Socialist party but also the cohesion of the euro zone. Most analysts expected Mr. Papandreou to prevail. Global traders seemed to agree, with financial markets up strongly throughout the world.

Before the vote, Mr. Papandreou called on Parliament and the people to show responsibility and seize "a critical opportunity to save the country from default."

Athens | June 15

BBC - Greek police have fired teargas at protesters outside parliament as MPs prepare to debate new austerity measures required for the EU and IMF bail-out package.

Demonstrators around Syntagma Square in Athens responded by throwing yoghurt and stones.

Thousands are taking part in a general strike, the third in Greece this year.

Athens | June 4

RFI - Greece's two main trade union federations, GSEE and Adedy, held a protest rally on Saturday in Athens after the government won a new bailout deal from international lenders.

They called for a change in policy to safeguard jobs and improve social services.

On Friday the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank agreed to extend the next tranche of funds under Greece's debt rescue accord package, probably in July.

Colum Lynch | New York | May 26

WaPo - Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb general charged with orchestrating the largest mass killing of civilians in Europe since World War II, was arrested Thursday in Serbia, ending a nearly 16-year manhunt that stood as a test of the West’s commitment to hold accused war criminals accountable.

Mladic, 69, was indicted twice, first in 1995 by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, on more than a dozen counts of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity during Bosnia’s 1992-95 war. He was charged with commanding troops responsible for enforcing the 46-month siege of Sarajevo and for slaughtering about 8,000 Bosnian Muslims near the town of Srebrenica in July 1995.

After Thursday’s arrest, Serbian President Boris Tadic told reporters in Belgrade that Mladic was picked up by the Serbian Security Intelligence Agency and will be extradited to the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague.

Helena Smith | Andritsaina, Arcadia, Greece | May 13

The Guardian - Debt, unemployment and poverty is causing mass unrest and thousands to seek a cheaper lifestyle outside the capital

High in the hills of Arcadia, in a big stone house on the edge of this village overlooking verdant pastures and a valley beyond, a group of young Athenians are busy rebuilding their lives.

Until recently Andritsaina was not much of a prospect for urban Greeks.

"But that," said Yiannis Dikiakos, "was before Athens turned into the explosive cauldron that it has become. We woke up one day and thought we've had enough. We want to live the real Greece and we want to live it somewhere else."

Belgrade | February 5

AP - Tens of thousands of nationalist supporters rallied against Serbia's pro-Western government on Saturday, demanding early elections amid the Balkan country's deepening economic crisis.

About 10,000 police officers gathered near the rally in front of the state parliament in downtown Belgrade to prevent it from turning violent, as similar protests by right-wing protesters have in the past.

January 27

Croatian Times - Croatia could be left short of 1.5 billion Euros from European Union cohesion funds if it fails to finish its EU membership negotiations by June this year. The head of the National Committee for Monitoring of the Accession Negotiations Vesna Pusic warned that Croatia must meet this deadline if it is to factor into the next EU budget period and participate in decision-making. EU budget is made for a six-year period. If Croatia does not hop onto this bandwagon, later entrance could mean temporary financing that is likely to be lower than if the country were a full-fledged member.

Tirana | January 21

BBC - Three people have been killed in the Albanian capital Tirana during clashes between police and thousands of opposition supporters.

An estimated 20,000 people rallied outside government buildings calling on the conservative government to resign.

The protests follow the resignation of deputy prime minister Ilir Meta who is at the centre of a fraud scandal.

The socialist opposition accuses the government of corruption, abuse of power and rigging the last election.

[...]

More than 30 protesters and 17 policemen were wounded. A civilian and a policeman were in a critical condition, Mr Gega added.

Athens | December 15

The Telegraph - About 200 leftist protesters chased Kostis Hatzidakis as he left parliament, shouting: "Thieves! Shame on you!" They threw stones and beat him with sticks, until he took flight into a nearby building.

Striking Greek workers grounded flights, shut down schools and paralysed public transport on Wednesday as protests against austerity measures to dig Greece out of a debt crisis culminated in a nationwide walkout.