Rioting rips through Athens on eve of vote on crucial austerity measures

Rioting rips through Athens on eve of vote on crucial austerity measures

Associated Press

ATHENS, Greece

Fireballs lit up the night sky in Greece’s capital as buildings were set ablaze amid widespread rioting and looting before a historic parliamentary vote expected to approve harsh austerity measures demanded to keep the country from going bankrupt and within the eurozone.

At least 10 buildings, including a closed cinema, a bank, a mobile phone dealership, a glassware store and a cafeteria, were on fire. There were no immediate reports of people trapped inside. Dozens of shops were also looted in the worst damage the country has seen since unrest in December 2008 following the fatal police shooting of a teenager.

Dozens of police officers and at least 37 protesters were injured in Sunday’s violence, and more than 20 suspected rioters were detained. Clashes erupted after more than 100,000 protesters marched to parliament to rally against drastic austerity cuts that will ax one in five civil service jobs and slash the minimum wage by more than a fifth.