Thousands rally against austerity across Greece

Thousands rally against austerity across Greece

ATHENS

About 20,000 people gathered in central Athens on Sunday to support the newly elected government’s push for a better deal on Greece’s debt.

Protesters carried banners denouncing economic austerity and Greece’s creditors.

Similar rallies took place in several Greek cities and about forty other solidarity gatherings were staged across Europe and in Australia, Brazil and the US.

The Greek government has enthusiastically welcomed these rallies while insisting that they are spontaneous affairs, organized through social media.

Today, a gathering of Eurozone finance ministers will consider Greece’s proposal for short-term “bridge financing” without the onerous terms previously imposed on the country, until a longer-term solution to Greece’s crushing debt is found.

So-called technical-level talks with creditor representatives ended Saturday, Greek officials say.

Carnival suspended in Brazil after deadly shooting

RIO DE JANEIRO

Authorities have suspended Carnival festivities in the Brazilian city of Paraty after gunfire killed one person and injured nine others.

The mayor’s office of the seaside colonial city says a man opened fire in a central plaza during the Bloco da Lama, or Mud Street Party, killing a 21-year-old man and injuring nine others. Police are searching for the shooter.

City officials met with Carnival representatives and decided to suspend festivities Sunday. They did not say if they would be allowed to resume today and Tuesday.

A statement from the municipality called the decision “an act against violence and to promote peace.”

Japan says economy grew 2.2 percent

TOKYO

Japan’s economy emerged from recession in the last quarter, growing at a 2.2 percent annualized rate as exports and public spending helped to offset weaker residential investment.

The preliminary data released today put growth for the world’s third-largest economy in 2014 flat at 0.0 percent, while real wages fell 0.1 percent.

They also included revisions to earlier growth figures that reflect a milder recession than earlier reported. The economy suffered two straight quarters of contraction following a sales tax hike in April.

Many economists had forecast an exit from recession in the October-December quarter thanks to stronger demand in the U.S., which is Japan’s largest export market

Resolution against Yemen rebels OK’d

UNITED NATIONS

The United Nations Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution that demands that Shiite rebels immediately relinquish control of Yemen’s government in a crisis that has pushed the Arab world’s poorest country near collapse.

Arab countries have been pressing for the use of military force against what they call the rebel group’s “illegitimate seizure of power.”

But the resolution approved at an emergency council meeting Sunday evening does not act under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which would allow it to be militarily enforced.

The resolution demands that the Houthi rebels “immediately and unconditionally” withdraw forces from government institutions.

The Houthis’ takeover has raised alarms that the world’s most dangerous branch of al-Qaida, based in Yemen, would use the chaos to its advantage. The Houthis and the militant Sunnis of the al-Qaida branch are bitter rivals.

Associated Press