ATHENS: The Greek government on Wednesday defended its response to the crisis that has gripped the country since a teenager was fatally shot in a police confrontation last weekend, saying that officials in Athens had chosen not to crack down on a violent minority in an effort to avoid further bloodshed.Even as new clashes erupted during a general strike that disrupted transport, schools and other services across Greece, a government spokesman said that he expected the crisis to tail off."I think it's going to fade out," said Panos Livadas, general secretary of the Information Ministry. "I think reason will prevail. I also think we will keep on doing our best not to have a future risk of innocent life. No more innocent blood. It's O.K. if we have to wait a day or two."The statement coincided with an offer by Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis to compensate shopkeepers whose premises have been damaged in the riots that have swept Greece since Saturday, when the police shot and killed Alexandros Grigoropoulos, 15.Tensions remained high Wednesday in Athens and other big cities. Fighting erupted outside Parliament, where several thousand demonstrators had gathered to mark the general strike, and outside the main courthouse in the capital, where two police officers involved in the shooting that started the riots were testifying behind closed doors. The riot police reacted by firing tear gas as youths threw rocks and gasoline bombs.Meanwhile, Alexis Cougias, an attorney for the police officers, said that a ballistics examination showed that Grigoropoulos was killed by a ricochet and not a direct shot, media reported reported. One of the officers had claimed he had fired warning shots and did not shoot directly at the boy.
BEIRUT: Thousands of people converged Saturday on central Beirut to mark the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Lebanese former premier Rafiq Hariri.Waving Lebanese flags and carrying pictures of the slain leader, men, women and children gathered under sunny skies in Martyr's Square where members of the parliamentary majority were to address the crowd. The rally comes as final preparations are underway in The Hague for the launch of the international tribunal set up to bring Hariri's killers to justice. It also comes as the country prepares for legislative elections in June that will pit Western-backed political parties against a Hezbollah-led alliance backed by Syria and Iran.Hariri died in a massive car bombing on February 14, 2005 that also killed 22 others. The assassination was widely blamed on then Lebanese power-broker Syria, which has denied any involvement. The attack on the Beirut seafront was one of the worst acts of political violence to rock Lebanon since t...
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