Showdown looms for Athens and Brussels

Greece prime minister Alexis Tsipras struck a defiant tone over Greece’s bailout ahead of a meeting in Brussels with European leaders, a stance broadly supported by the cash-strapped country’s citizens.

“People have asked us to put an end to austerity and bailout agreements, to begin the process of reclaiming the dignity of the nation,” Tsipras said in a speech yesterday in Athens.

“We respond today, tomorrow and on Friday in parliament by building a wall of sovereignty and dignity,”he said.