Campaigning in Greece has ended ahead of a crucial election on Sunday which could determine its future in the eurozone.

At a final rally, the head of the conservative New Democracy Party billed the vote as a choice between keeping the euro and returning to the drachma.

Rival party Syriza says it wants to stay in the euro, but opposes the terms of an international bailout.

Unofficial polls have put the two parties neck and neck.

Striking coal miners have clashed with police in northern Spain, in some of the worst disturbances since the government imposed austerity measures.

The interior ministry said at least seven people had been injured in the clashes outside a mine in Asturias.

Miners fired sky rockets and ball-bearings at riot police who responded with rubber bullets and tear gas.

The miners are protesting at plans to cut government subsidies from 300m euros (£242m; $376m) to 110m euros.

Thousands of miners have been on strike across northern Spain for weeks.

(Reuters) - Whether the euro lives or dies, the chaotic way Europe has tackled the crisis could undermine the region's geopolitical clout for years to come and leave it at a distinct disadvantage in a rapidly changing world.

With an apparently never-ending series of last-minute summits and telephone calls, Europe's leaders and finance ministers have held the bloc together in the face of growing strains between states, a rising political backlash and market alarm.

But with hindsight, outsiders say each measure proved too little, too late. US officials in particular complain European leaders have either failed to grasp the scale of the problem or proved unwilling to countenance the awkward political decisions necessary to fix it.

As a result, they say, what should have been one of the most stable parts of the world has now become one of the most unpredictable.

(Reuters) - Britain's wall of cash built with new offers of cheap funding to banks will limit the threats from the raging euro zone crisis, economists said On Friday, although the economy may need more action to engineer a proper recovery.

The Bank of England and government coordinated scheme announced on Thursday to get credit flowing through the recession-hit economy by lowering banks' funding costs cheered markets and drew praise from most economists.

But Chancellor George Osborne in particular remains under pressure to spend money directly on infrastructure to create jobs as many companies and households lack the confidence to borrow for investment or consumption.

"Such schemes can stop a meltdown in your banking system in times of very severe stress," said Jonathan Portes, head of macro-economic think tank NIESR. "This is time of stress, so it's absolutely right to put them in place now."

Together with the mayors and the councillors of the MoVimento 5 Stelle {5 Star MoVement} the citizens have been elected. By making this decision, the people who voted for them, became jointly responsible for the management of their town. The vote for M5S is an act of participation, and of active citizenship. The lads and lasses in the councils, can do nothing without the help of their electorate. Thus no one can just stand and stare. None must stay asleep. The time for delegating, for abstaining and for not giving a damn, is over. That time has lasted decades and it has delivered us into the economic catastrophe and the indifference relating to public affairs. The MoVimento 5 Stelle is a tool of direct democracy available to the Italians. Transparency and participation are its key words. With the M5S, transparency walks into the Town Halls because there's access to discussions about spending, about the quality of the process of making investments, about the items on the balance sheet. With the M5S, participation walks into the Town Halls. The mayors and the councillors are the connecting point, by means of the Internet, for proposals, for the problems and the requests of the citizens. The M5S is a cultural revolution. It is not a party. "The citizen in power", this is its prime objective. A question that people ask me is "What will you decide in relation to the most important topics that are not in your manifesto if you get a position of power in the Government?" Nothing! Each decision will be the outcome of a referendum. Only the sovereign people can choose whether or not to remain in the Euro, for example, certainly not a group of politicians closed inside a room. They will never give up (but is it in their interests?). Neither will we.

There's a possibility of having PIGS semifinals: Portugal may qualify in second place from group B and beat the Czech Republic. Spain and Italy might qualify from group C and beat the qualifiers from group D. And Greece may beat Germany to the satisfaction of all fans of underdogs and people of good will.

So I'll make that my prediction, just for kicks.

If you are not convinced, try it on someone who has not been entirely debauched by economics. — Piero Sraffa

Philip Hammond, the Defence Secretary, will reveal the scheme to build a new nuclear deterrent in a move which will cause tensions with the Liberal Democrats.

He will announce a deal ordering nuclear reactors for a new class of submarines to replace the current Vanguard fleet, which carries Britain's Trident nuclear arsenal.

The decision is the most public statement yet that the Government is committed to a full-scale replacement of Trident - something opposed by the Lib Dems, who want a cheaper way of maintaining nuclear weapons.

The Lib Dems had a manifesto commitment against renewing Trident, so this announcement is going to annoy them. But another £1 billion to be wasted on pointless phallic symbols of defence while actual defence forces are being wound down. I think polticians priorities are madness.

keep to the Fen Causeway

apologies for link to Daily Mail

The judge leading the probe into media behaviour threatened to quit after he was publicly criticised by a Cabinet Minister, senior Government sources claimed last night.

Lord Justice Leveson phoned Whitehall's most senior mandarin and demanded that Education Secretary Michael Gove - who claimed the inquiry had created a `chilling atmosphere' towards freedom of speech - should be gagged. In the angry call to Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood, the judge claimed that if Ministers were not silenced, his inquiry, set up to investigate phone-hacking by Rupert Murdoch's newspapers, would be rendered worthless.

He also summoned Mr Gove to give evidence to the inquiry to explain himself. An alarmed Sir Jeremy informed David Cameron of the judge's ultimatum

It should be noted that Michael Gove is a wholly owned subsidiary of News International, a noted slavish apologist for Murdoch's sleazy trawl through the sewers, slime and voicemails of Britain.

keep to the Fen Causeway

On the G20 summit: Los líderes mundiales presionan a Merkel para impedir otra recesión (World leaders press Merkel to prevent another recession)

which comes on the heels of yesterday's chess metaphor: Alemania se enroca frente a Europa

Berlín se niega a transigir con Grecia y con las `soluciones fáciles' a la crisis europea
La falta de impulso político en Bruselas anticipa semanas de tensión

Berlin refuses to compromise on Greece and with 'easy solutions' to the European Crisis
The lack of political thrust in Brussels foreshadows weeks of tension

And then an Op-Ed from former El Pais editor in chief Juan Luis Cebrian: Una libra de carne fresca

Hay que exigir al Banco Central Europeo que garantice la sostenibilidad de la deuda pública española, con compras ilimitadas de la misma

It must be demanded that the ECB guarantee the sustainability of Spanish public debt, with unlimited purchases of it

11h particiaption is only 21.41%, so one of the lowest numbers ever for this kind of election.

Wind power