Berlusconi surrenders to the pain
"Sacrifices are needed", leads Corriere della Sera quoting PM Silvio Berlusconi. After clinging for months to the idea that Italy would avoid the budgetary pain doled out across Europe by the economic crisis, the Calvaliere has finally thrown in the towel. Recent whispers about massive spending cuts have been made real, with the government announcing details of a €24 billion austerity package – wage freezes, spending cuts and even the elimination of some provincial administrations. While unions now threaten a general strike, the President of the EU Commission, José Manuel Barroso, has intoned that "Italy is on the right path". The bad news comes along with the publication of a report by ISTAT (National Institute of Statistics) showing that 15 per cent of Italian families live in "economic deprivation". Worse, two million members of the 15-29 year old “neet” generation (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) and a staggering 29 per cent of 30 to 34 year olds, still live with their parents.
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.