First cuts, and more pain to come
“First swing of the axe,” headlines the Daily Telegraph, on the morning that new Chancellor George Osborne unveiled plans to cut the British deficit by £6 billion (€7 billion). “Whitehall officials and other bureaucrats will be among the first to feel the effects of the cuts, with the end of perks such as first class air and rail travel to save £10million”, the London daily reports. A civil service recruitment freeze is also projected, with the probable loss of more than 3,000 jobs. Quangos – those unpopular state-funded decision bodies that proliferated under New Labour – are also targeted, with half a billion in cuts planned. There will also be a reduction of up to £1billion in the budget for consultants and advertising. In a radio interview Osborne warned of a more painful spending round this summer, maintaining he wants “the size of the state to shrink while people take more responsibility for themselves”. Meanwhile Deputy PM Nick Clegg admitted that the cuts will be controversial, with ministers prepared for public anger. “The age of plenty is over,” he declared.
In a time of crisis with high unemployment, young Lithuanians are following in the footsteps of their emigrant ancestors. Tens of thousands have left the country in search of a better life, mainly in the British Isles and Scandinavia. The weekly Veidas reports: 
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.