German Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged Ukrainian leaders to allow jailed ex-Premier Yulia Tymoshenko “proper treatment” for her ailments, as more top officials announced they would boycott the Euro 2012 football championship co-hosted by Ukraine.

Banging drums and waving flags, tens of thousands of workers marked May Day in European cities today with a mix of anger and gloom over austerity measures imposed by leaders trying to contain the eurozone’s intractable debt crisis.