World Briefs February 12, 2012
Greek premier defends bailout deal, painful cuts
ATHENS, Greece - Warning of a "catastrophe" that would leave Greeks subsisting on food stamps and the country wallowing in bankruptcy, Greek leaders urged lawmakers Saturday to pass more painful spending cuts on the eve of a crucial vote to qualify for a massive bailout.
In a televised address Saturday, Prime Minister Lucas Papademos defended the thousands of job cuts, drop in the minimum wage and other austerity measures that would earn the country a $171.6 billion bailout deal and stave off bankruptcy.
He and the leaders of parties backing Greece's coalition government - socialist George Papandreou and conservative Antonis Samaras - as well as Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos, a socialist - used stark images of a country under bankruptcy to convince the public and, more importantly, persuade Parliament members debating the measures to vote for the deal.
Iraqi dissidents form new opposition
BAGHDAD - A group of political dissidents created a new Iraqi opposition party Saturday, vowing to act as a check on the government as the prime minister warned that a push for regional autonomy could tear the country apart.
About 45 activists announced the creation of the Union of Patriotic Figures and described it as a secular political group of Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds from about 27 mostly minor Iraqi parties.
Iraq has been mired in a political crisis for months. It was galvanized mostly by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's pursuit of suspected terrorists and resulted in charges filed against hundreds of Sunnis, including a vice president. In turn, many Sunnis are threatening to break away from the central Shiite-led government and create their own state in Iraq.
Faces of protest are as varied as Russia itself
MOSCOW - The faces of the Russian protesters who braved brutal cold to express their discontent were as varied as the vast country itself: youthful and aged, unshaven and elegantly made up, self-confident and shy.
Wearing the white ribbons that have become a symbol of the peaceful pro-democracy protest movement, tens of thousands of people turned out in Moscow on Feb. 4 for the third big demonstration against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
As the protesters marched to Bolotnaya Square, just across a frozen river from the Kremlin, thousands of police kept order but did not intervene.
The Kremlin hoped that temperatures of minus-4 degrees would keep many people at home, but they came in furs and sheepskins, or ready for Alpine ski slopes. Their rosy faces were framed by bulky hoods, elegant fur hats or hats with goofy ear flaps.
For all their variety, the protesters had one thing in common: excitement over the new political energy that has taken Russia by surprise.
- The Associated Press