100 dead soldiers
Following the death on December 7th of yet another soldier in Helmand province, British army casualties in Afghanistan have reached one hundred this year, making it the bloodiest since the engagement began in 2001. Photos of this year’s slain fill the front page of today’s Daily Telegraph, with a quote from British army Chief of staff, General Sir David Richards, enjoining the British public to remain “resolute” and to “steel” itself. “As soldiers we tend to give less weight to such milestones,” the General reveals in a further interview for the London daily. But “Each death hardens our resolve to get the job done”. What exactly this job consists in remains none too clear a week after the Obama adminstration’s decision to post a further 30,000 US troops on the country, only to leave it in 2011.
Two camps, two theories, and two visions of France: 18 years after the massacre of 800,000 Tutsis, the precise role played by Paris is still the subject of heated debate, fueled by the findings of successive criminal investigations. 
Agree to new austerity measures or risk being kicked out of the eurozone: that’s the alternative presented to Athens on the day the euro group is meeting. It’s a situation Greek politicians have failed to avoid, regrets To Vima. 
At a time when Athens is still involved in debt restructuring negotiations with its private creditors, Neelie Kroes’ recent allusions to a Greek exit from the euro are a sign that European leaders are intent on preparing the terrain for such an eventuality.