In Athens, the homeless are on the streets in growing numbers, soup kitchens feed twice as many people as a year ago, and the poor are rummaging in rubbish bins in search of scrap to sell.

A senior judge has been sworn in to head Greece's caretaker government for a month as the debt-crippled country lurches through a political crisis that threatens its membership in the 17-nation eurozone.

Greece has appointed a senior judge as prime minister of a caretaker government that will lead the country to repeat elections next month.