On their sixth day of protests Jan. 24, Greek farmers continued their blockades on the borders with Bulgaria, Macedonia and Turkey, cutting off key roads including the Athens-Thessaloniki express highway with barricades of tractors and farm equipment. The farmers are demanding the government provide relief for inflated fuel prices and depressed crop prices. Bulgarian authorities protested that a group of some 100 farmers attempted to cross the border. (Radio Bulgaria, BBC World Service, Jan. 24; Sofia Echo, Jan. 23)

About a dozen members of the new leadership of the Basque political opposition were arrested in several towns across Spain's País Vasco Jan. 23. The arrests follow a court order by the Spanish High Court magistrate Baltasar Garzón, who claims that 3DM and Askatasuna, two new parties fielding candidates in the forthcoming local elections, are fronts for the outlawed Batasuna party.

The worst street disturbances for 50 years struck Reykjavik, Iceland, Jan. 22, as police used tear gas against hundreds protesters after an earlier crowd of some 2,000 gathered outside the Althingi, the country's parliament, to demand the government resign. The crowds surrounded the building, banging pots and pans, shooting off fireworks, lobbing paving stones, rolls of toilet paper and shoes. A day earlier, protesters jostled Minister Geir Haarde's limousine, pummelling it with cans of soft drinks and eggs. (EU Observer, Jan. 22)

Days after violent protests in Latvia, riots broke out in neighboring Lithuania Jan. 16, with some 7,000 gathering in the capital Vilnius to protest planned economic austerity measures. Some began throwing eggs and stones through the windows of government buildings, and police responded with tear gas and rubber bullets. (NYT, Jan. 17)

Violent protests over mounting economic woes shook the Latvian capital, Riga, late Jan. 13, leaving some 25 injured and leading to 106 arrests. In the wake of the demonstrations, President Valdis Zatlers threatened to call for a referendum that would allow voters to dissolve parliament, saying trust in the government had "collapsed catastrophically." (NYT, Jan. 14)

Greek journalists Jan. 9 harshly criticized police conduct at a protest in central Athens. Fourteen lawyers were among those detained after an estimated 3,000 people, chiefly teachers and students, took part in the demonstration to commemorate the 1991 murder of Nikos Temponeras, a teacher who was bludgeoned to death by a right-wing unionist. Police used tear gas in clashes with protesters who erected burning barricades. The Athens journalists' union, ESHEA, protested to the interior ministry about "the brutal attacks and beatings" to which reporters and camera crews had been subjected. Said Interior Minister Procopis Pavolopoulos: "There may have been excesses to be condemned, we are looking into the issue, but the police did their job." (AFP, Jan. 10)

The head of the Basque government and his chief opponent went on trial Jan. 8 over alleged past contacts with Batasuna, banned political wing of the armed separatist group ETA—just weeks before they are to face off in regional elections. Juan José Ibarretxe of the region's ruling Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), and Patxi Lopez, regional leader of Spain's ruling Socialist Party, face possible prison terms and bans on political activity if found guilty. (AFP, Jan. 10)

A Greek government official's car was firebombed Dec. 26 while a petrol bomb was thrown at a bank and another group attacked a police car, authorities said. The car, used by a junior environment minister, Stavros Kaloyannis, was hit in front of his home in the northwestern city of Ioanina. The attack on a branch of the Greek Farm Bank in Psychiko, a suburb of Athens, caused minor damage. In the evening, youths attacked a police car passing in front of an Athens hospital. No injuries were reported.