Tensions explode: A riot policeman is engulfed by flames after being hit by a Molotov cocktail in Athens
Onslaught: Missiles litter the street as crowds of rioters, many of them masked, surge up a hill to confront police in the centre of Athens yesterday. At least 18 people were hurt
Running from the mob: A policeman flees protesters in the northern city of Thessaloniki
Under attack: Riot police react to a Molotov cocktail as it explodes on a bridge during the demonstrations
Britain was given an election wake-up call today after Greece's battle with massive debt erupted in blood and anarchy.
Three bank workers died yesterday after a mob protesting against spending cuts set their building ablaze.
As polling stations around Britain opened at 7am today, latest UK opinion polls suggest David Cameron is within touching distance of achieving a working majority.
But while polls still pointed to a hung Parliament, economists warned that Britain could ill-afford a period of political uncertainty.
The need for decisive leadership was underlined by official figures showing the UK's budget shortfall will be the biggest in the EU this year - even overtaking Greece.
With 'contagion' from Athens threatening to spread through other debt-laden economies, David Cameron made a last-ditch plea to voters to back a strong Tory government.
He told the Daily Mail that unless Britain 'rolled up its sleeves' and got on with paying off its deficit, it risked an economic crisis.
The anniversary was a test of resolve for Greece’s two-month-old socialist government which, unlike its conservative predecessor, has ordered the police to take a zero-tolerance stand
Police clashed with hooded demonstrators in central Athens as protesters marked the first anniversary of a teenager’s fatal shooting that triggered riots in the city a year ago
A marble memorial to Alexandros Grigoropoulos at the spot where he was killed last year
More than 6,500 policemen fended off stone-throwing demonstrators with teargas
Athens has seen a spike in militant far-left attacks on police in the past year, sometimes with bombs, pistols and Kalashnikov machine guns
A demonstrator taunts riot police near a burning barricade. Despite the minister’s tough words, Exarchia remained tense at nightfall
Protesters occupied the headquarters of Athens University, seriously injuring the university rector and a janitor, who were taken to hospital with head wounds
"We will not allow a commemoration of the youth’s death to turn into mass violence," Mr Chrysochoidis warned last week, amid reports that foreign youths were heading for Athens to join the protests
On December 6 last year Alexis Grigoropoulos, 15, was killed by a police bullet during a late-night standoff between a group of hooded youths and two policemen in the Exarchia district
Michalis Chrysochoidis, the Minister for Citizens’ Protection and administrative head of Greece’s law enforcement agencies, said that this year street violence would be suppressed before it developed into wider mayhem
There were moments when the cordoned-off streets around Syntagma Square in the centre of the city became battlegrounds
More than 60 people were arrested and several officers were injured
The shooting sparked two weeks of destruction in central Athens as the police were ordered to maintain a passive stance so as not to enrage the rioters further
Hooded youths broke from the march of more than 3,000 people to smash shop windows, set fire to garbage bins and hurl stones at police
Residents stand next to a memorial for Alexandros Grigoropoulos on the spot where he was shot dead by a policeman a year ago in central Athens, on Saturday, Dec. 5, 2009. More than 6,000 police officers will be deployed in Athens this weekend in an attempt to quell violence that might be associated with the first anniversary of the fatal police shooting of a 15-year-old Grigoropoulos. The memorial reads in Greek "in memory of young Alexandros he was only 15 years old".
Residents stand next to a memorial for Alexandros Grigoropoulos on the spot where he was shot dead by a policeman a year ago in central Athens, on Saturday, Dec. 5, 2009. More than 6,000 police officers will be deployed in Athens this weekend in an attempt to quell violence that might be associated with the first anniversary of the fatal police shooting of a 15-year-old Grigoropoulos. The memorial reads in Greek "in memory of young Alexandros he was only 15 years old".
In this Dec. 12, 2008 file photo riot police face protesters in Athens' main Syntagma Square, after the fatal police shooting of a teenager on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2008. Police announced plans on Friday, Dec. 3, 2009 to deploy thousands of officers in Athens at the weekend, as protests got under way to mark the Dec. 6 anniversary of major riots sparked by the police shooting of a teenage boy. Authorities said up to 6,500 police will be on duty Saturday through Monday
Protesters hurled rocks and burning garbage at police Sunday as violence erupted during a march to mark the first anniversary of the police shooting of a teenager, whose death sparked massive riots.
Police fired tear gas at scores of hooded youths in central Athens, as several thousand demonstrators marched to commemorate the death of 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos.
The rioters smashed bank windows, overturned trash bins and hurled rocks and fire crackers at riot police. Authorities said 48 people were detained for public-order offenses. At least five protesters were injured in the clashes.
Police on motorcycles chased rioters amid scenes of chaos at Athens' main Syntagma Square, with youths punching and kicking officers pushed off their bikes.
At Athens University, masked protesters broke into the building and pulled down a Greek flag, replacing it with a black-and-red anarchist banner.
Violence also broke out in Thessaloniki, Greece's second-largest city, where youths threw petrol bombs at police, set fire to several cars and smashed 10 storefronts, including a Starbucks cafe. At least 20 people were detained in the northern city.
More than 6,000 police had been deployed across greater Athens in anticipation that demonstrations would turn violent. Protests were held in the capital and several other Greek cities.
Concern was heightened by reports that far-left groups and anarchists from other European countries have traveled to Greece to join the marches.
Ahead of Sunday's clashes, police detained 160 people following minor clashes in central Athens and a raid on a cafe, where police seized sledgehammers and firebomb-making equipment.
Grigoropoulos was killed by a policeman's bullet on the evening of Dec. 6, 2008. Within a few hours of his death, riots spread from the Greek capital to several cities across the country, with police apparently powerless to prevent youths from smashing, looting and burning stores in violence that continued for two weeks.
The new Socialist government, which came to power in October and has been confronted with a surge in armed attacks by far-left and anarchist groups after last year's shooting, and had vowed a zero-tolerance approach to violence at Sunday's commemorations.
Several thousand residents of Athens' northern suburbs have evacuated their homes as several wildfires continue to blaze around the Greek capital.
Almost the entire population of Agios Stefanos, 23km (14 miles) north-east of Athens, fled by vehicle or on foot.
Multiple fires have been burning across an area some 50km wide, fanned by strong and unpredictable winds.
Firefighting efforts were suspended as darkness fell on Sunday, with several major blazes still burning into the night, although no casualties have been reported.
"The constant shift in the wind's direction is rekindling the flames," fire brigade spokesman Giannis Kapakis told Reuters news agency. "We must all remain calm through this night."
Dozens of homes were burnt down and a state of emergency was declared in the Athens area.
Gale-force winds hampered firefighting efforts for a second day as the flames encroached on the city's outer suburbs. Officials appealed to residents to evacuate but some Athenians remained in their homes to try to battle the inferno with hoses and buckets.
The Greek government has appealed for help from Italy, France and Cyprus. State-run institutions, including the children's hospital in Pendeli, were abandoned as the flames spread.
"What we are facing is a huge ordeal," said prime minister Kostas Karamanlis. "A massive effort by authorities is taking place to deal with this very difficult challenge."
Environmentalists said that the blazes had caused "biblical damage" to an estimated 120,000 hectares of virgin fir and prime forest. Scores of homes in well-heeled north-eastern Athens were also reported to have been gutted. The scenes evoked memories of the devastating fires of 2007, in which up to 70 people were killed. Greeks are now asking how their country could still appear so unprepared for a similar disaster.
"There is no coordination between the police, fire fighters or local authorities. It's chaos," said Yiannis Nikitopoulos, the mayor of Anixi, one of the affected suburbs. He added that he had "no doubt" that most of the fires now afflicting Athens were the work of arsonists determined to clear land for developers.
Residenst in shock over the fire spread.
Smoke blanket out the normal sunny Athens.
Fireplanes are used intensively to sent water to hotspots all over Athens.
Fireplane trying to stop the firespread.
Map show the fire hotspots all over Athens Greek
A plane drops water over a fire in Varnava village
An elderly woman stands in the middle of a street in Grammatiko
A resident on a water wagon at Mount Penteli, east of Athens
Fire illuminates the sky behind the Acropolis in Athens
Thick smoke over the Acropolis
Citizens of Anthusa inspect the damage caused by the fire
A firefighter trains a hose on the flames outside Marathon village
Houses threatened by the Kaletzi fire
A fireman waits for help during a fire that broke out at the village of Kaletzi. Authorities have declared a state of emergency and order residents to evacuate
A firefighting helicopter flies over Kaletzi
A helicopter drops water over Grammatiko
Locals run to escape a forest fire at Grammatiko village. Fires broke out late on Friday, fanned by strong winds
Residents cover their faces as they flee the flames in Pedeli, north of Athens
Smoke hovers above the north-east suburbs of Athens
The smouldering remnants of a house after a blaze in the north Athens suburb of Drafi
The sun rises in the smoky sky over Athens
Volunteers battle blazes in Pallini
Thick smoke above Athens
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Massive forest fire that broke out friday night blazed into its third day near Athens Απευθείας σύνδεση: Η μεγάλη πυρκαγιά στην Αττική. live stream from www.zougla.
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Russian plane at Athens fire
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This is the CL 215 or 415 aka Super Scooper, the suck water from the sea and used in to doze fire. Able to scoop (suck ) 6,400 liters of water in 12 seconds , mix it foam if required and then drop it at firespot..all without going to airport to refill. Notice it is able to do it while guiding on the water. Mininum of 410 meter of water streth is required. Able to suck at even 2 meter deep of water only..It is still flying while sucking water hence not necessary straigh water source is required it can flying around while sucking water.
