A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Greece unions set to step up protests
ATHENS – Trade unions in Greece have vowed to step up the protests that have paralysed the debt-stricken country in the run-up to Christmas, after parliament approved an austerity budget described as the toughest since the second World war.
The spectre of yet more strikes came as prime minister George Papandreou pledged to push ahead with the unprecedented economic reforms dictated by the EU and IMF as part of the €110bn bailout. In a display of his determination to override growing dissent within his own party over the measures, he insisted he would not waver: “We will do whatever it takes to succeed. We will change this country.” – (Guardian service)
Two hurt in Rome parcel explosions
ROME – Italian police checked foreign embassies in Rome yesterday after two people were wounded in separate explosions at the Swiss and Chilean missions that the government suggested could be the work of anarchist groups.
There was no claim of responsibility but the incidents bore similarities to an episode in Greece last month in which far-left militants sent parcel bombs to foreign governments and embassies in Athens.
The two victims were working in the mailrooms of their embassies when the packages blew up in their hands, seriously wounding the Swiss man. The Chilean employee was less seriously hurt. – (Reuters)
Bush memoir sells over 2m copies
LOS ANGELES – The memoir of former president George W Bush, Decision Points, has sold more than two million hardcover and e-book copies since its release in early November, the Crown Publishing Group said. By contrast, former president Bill Clinton's memoir, My Life, has logged sales of 2.2m copies since it was first published in 2004.
A spokesman for Crown called the performance remarkable, saying he could not immediately think of any other hardcover non-fiction books in 2010 that had sold more than one million copies. – (Reuters)