Today's front pages

More than 50,000 people marched in Athens and other major cities yesterday to protest new austerity measures that the government is preparing to adopt at the behest of the EU-ECB-IMF troika. This was first general strike since the June 17 elections.

Country paralysed by general strike – I Kathimerini

After the lull of the last few weeks, the Madrid Stock Exchange lost 3.9% yesterday, and the risk premium on 10-year bonds reached 460 points, a 4.6% difference with the German bund. This came after Germany, the Netherlands and Finland declare that any rescue of Spain's failing banks was a matter for national institutions.

Market gets impatient – Cinco Días

Mass anti-austerity demonstrations in Spain have sparked fear on the markets again. The Milan stock exchange lost 3.3%, the yield on 10-year bonds reached a 370 point difference (3.7%) with the benchmark German bund.

Spread bites again – Corriere della Sera

The Czech government is about to announce a gradual and conditional lifting of the ban on spirits sales. It was imposed on September 14 after a series of methanol poisoning cases led to twenty five deaths. Only bottles of spirits produced before January 1 2012 will be put into circulation, the rest are to be destroyed or tested. New government stamps will also be introduced.

Prohibition ends, drinking allowed as early as today – Mladá Fronta DNES

“Instead of talking about how to tackle the crisis, we are in for another debate about the government’s incompetence,”, laments the Warsaw daily. Two and a half years after the Smoleńsk air crash which killed Poland’s president Lech Kaczyński and 95 political and military notables, the Polish parliament is to hear the government explain the swap that led to the burial of Solidarity heroine Anna Walentynowicz and Katyń families activist Teresa Walewska-Przyjałkowska in the wrong graves. 15 more exhumations may be ordered.

Smoleńsk trap – Rzeczpospolita

In an interview, the head of MUST, Sweden's Military Intelligence and Security Service, has revealed that Swedish high-tech industries, especially aircraft, radar systems artillery and submarines are increasingly subject to espionage. The Stockholm daily hints that Russia is behind these activities.

MUST sees increased threat from East – Svenska Dagbladet

Danish foreign minister Villy Søvndal has refused to take in former inmates of the U.S. prison at Guantánamo. In 2009, the Danish government promised to "help to solve a problem Obama inherited from his predecessor".

Søvndal refuses to help United States – Politiken