ATHENS/BERLIN (Reuters) – European policymakers warned of the risk of “contagion” spreading the euro zone debt crisis beyond Greece, as unrest in Athens claimed its first lives and investors fled to the safe haven of the dollar.

Three people burned to death when protesters set a central Athens bank ablaze on Wednesday during a demonstration against austerity measures that are the price of the 110 billion euro ($146.5 billion) EU/IMF bailout agreed on Sunday.

ATHENS/BERLIN (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the head of the IMF warned of financial contagion on Wednesday unless a euro zone debt crisis is stopped in Greece, while investors fled to the safe havens of the dollar and gold.

Greek public and private sector workers shut down airports, tourist sites and public services in a general strike against harsher austerity, accepted by the government as the price for a 110 billion euro ($146.5 billion) EU/IMF bailout on Sunday.

BERLIN, May 5 (Reuters) – An international rescue plan for
debt-stricken Greece must succeed or other European countries
may suffer the same fate, threatening the bloc’s future, German
Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday.

In an impassioned speech to the Bundestag lower house of
parliament, Merkel said Germany was now convinced of the need to
bail out Greece and confident the Greek government would carry
out the swingeing cuts it had pledged to tackle its deficit.

BERLIN (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday Greece’s international bailout must be accelerated for the sake of the entire euro zone, as the far bigger Spanish economy suffered a credit rating downgrade.

U.S. President Barack Obama joined expressions of concern about how a debt crisis which began in Greece might affect economies across Europe and beyond, tempering optimism from reports that the rescue would be much bigger than expected.

BERLIN (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday that Greece’s international bailout must be accelerated for the sake of the entire euro zone, as the far bigger Spanish economy suffered a credit rating downgrade.

U.S. President Barack Obama joined expressions of concern about how a debt crisis which began in Greece might affect economies across Europe and beyond, tempering optimism from reports that the rescue would be much bigger than expected.

BERLIN (Reuters) – The international bailout of Greece is likely to total up to 120 billion euros, a German lawmaker said on Wednesday after International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn held talks in Berlin.

Germany has been reluctant to help debt-riddled Greece and Strauss-Kahn said it was too soon to give details as the rescue package was not yet finalized.

ATHENS/BERLIN (Reuters) – Rating agency Standard and Poor’s slashed Greek debt to junk status on Tuesday and also downgraded Portugal, as investors worried political pressures could block a multi-billion euro bailout of Greece.

Markets in Europe and the United States tumbled in reaction to signs that the Greek debt crisis was spreading to other highly indebted states on the periphery of the euro zone.

WUPPERTAL, Germany, April 25 (Reuters) – Wuppertal’s theatre
was a beacon of hope for a new age of creativity when built in
West Germany’s post-war boom. Today it is in trouble, a symbol
of the bankruptcy threatening cities in Germany’s biggest state.

North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), home to more than one in five
Germans, holds a state election on May 9 which is increasingly
overshadowed by debt worries that could create serious problems
for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s centre-right government.

BERLIN (Reuters) – Facing domestic opposition to a Greek rescue, German Chancellor Angela Merkel will push hard to ensure Greece’s appeal for financial aid from the International Monetary Fund and the euro zone remains a one-off.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou’s call for help out of Greece’s debt crisis puts pressure on Merkel, who has sought to delay any financial support until the last minute. According to people familiar with the plans, conditions for the bailout are largely set in stone for 2010, but it is not clear how aid could work from next year or for other nations.