According to NET TV, the election will take place on June 17, with supreme court judge Panagiotis Pikramenos to occupy the position of caretaker PM.

Greece’s governmental problems came about as a result of deadlock over whether to continue with the austerity measures required by an international bailout agreement, with the uncertainty further disrupting a troubled Eurozone.

Austerity measures due to be imposed on Greece by international lenders have been met with strong opposition from certain factions in the government, and there is a fear among EU officials is that this will lead to an anti-bailout government – causing Greece to exit the Euro.

However, unless Greece can satisfy the demands of the EU and the IMF, Greece’s last remaining lines of credit will be cut off. Without this credit, Greece will not be able to pay its bills and could drop out of the euro altogether.

Michael Arghyrou, a senior economics lecturer at Cardiff Business School, was cautious about the consequences of Greece exiting the Euro, saying to the BBC: “The country would end up in a volatile period. There would be institutional weakness.”

“The worst case scenario would be a social and economic breakdown, perhaps even leading to a totalitarian regime.”

By Matthew Cox

[Image courtesy of vas vas]

The trial of Ratko Mladic, Serbian forces commander during the Bosnian war for independence, will begin today. Mladic is charged with commanding atrocities throughout the 1192-1995 conflict.

It is 20 years since Serbian forces began their campaign, and Mladic, now 70 years old, will face the International Criminal Court’s Yugoslav war crimes tribunal. A wanted fugitive after the war, Serbian forces finally arrested Mladic in 2011 in Belgrade, where he has been awaiting trial in The Hague.

Former political leader, Radovan Karadzic, has been kept in the same prison. He was arrested in 2008 and charged with similar allegations.

The court’s chief prosecutor, Serge Brammertz, said: “We would of course have preferred having both before the same judges, one being the political architect of the crimes allegedly committed, the other the military leader of this policy.”

Mladic and Karadzic are accused of commanding the Bosnian Serb forces which executed a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing from 1992 onwards. The charges include the 1995 massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica, still the worst massacre recorded in Europe since the Second World War. The men are also charged with orchestrating the fierce 44-day shelling campaign to seize the Bosnian capital Sarajevo, the longest siege of a city in modern warfare.

Prosecutors will present the tribunal with testimonies from 400 witnesses over a total of 200 hours before Mladic begins his defence case. If convicted, Mladic will face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

Mladic denies any wrongdoing, but has refused to enter pleas to the 11 charges against him, saying that his army was defending the Serbs in Bosnia.

By Jo Powell

[Image courtesy of Evstafiev Mikhail]

The Scot had been expected to depart on holiday, but he postponed that and is still on Merseyside.

Speculation has mounted over the last several days over Dalglish’s future amid a turbulent season at Anfield.

Dalglish achieved huge success at Liverpool in the past as both a player and a manager. He won nine league titles with the club in total but he has been unable to replicate that success this time around. Liverpool finished in eighth place in the league, four points below rivals Everton and level with ninth-placed Fulham on goal difference.

Despite winning the Carling Cup in February and reaching the FA Cup final, Dalglish has come in for strong criticism from several sources over a variety of issues including the team’s home form – they lost four league games at Anfield this season – and the form of big-money signings Andy Carroll, Stewart Downing and Jordan Henderson.

Dalglish returned to the game in January of last year after the departure of Roy Hodgson, but failed to mastermind an upturn in Liverpool’s league fortune and has now left the club.

Speculation has been rife as to a potential successor, with Wigan manager Roberto Martinez and ex-Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez considered to be in the running.

By Matthew Cox

[Image courtesy of Vincent Teeuwen]

Oxlade-Chamberlain, 18, has enjoyed an impressive first season with Arsenal and has been rewarded with a place in new manager Roy Hodgson’s squad, which will be captained by Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard.

Andy Carroll’s upturn in form in the final weeks of the season has earned him a place, but Rio Ferdinand misses out due to his recent injuries and a potential rift with John Terry involving Terry’s ongoing court case with Ferdinand’s brother, Anton.

PFA Young Player of the Year, Kyle Walker, also misses out with the toe injury that recurred during Tottenham’s win over Fulham on the last day of the season.

Norwich Goalkeeper John Ruddy also makes the squad after a strong season with the Canaries.

Elsewhere, Liverpool winger Stewart Downing will travel to England’s base in Krakow, Poland despite a disappointing season with Liverpool.

Scott Parker has been picked despite an injury, and may play with a painkilling injection.

Other surprising exclusions include Tottenham winger Aaron Lennon, Chelsea forward Danny Sturridge, Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick and Manchester City defender Micah Richards.

The tournament is to be held in Poland and the Ukraine and is set to begin on June 8, where Poland will play Greece.

England squad for Euro 2012:

Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Man City), Rob Green (West Ham), John Ruddy (Norwich)

Defenders: Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Phil Jones (Man United), John Terry (Chelsea), Joleon Lescott (Man City), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Leighton Baines (Everton)

Midfielders: Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Stewart Downing (Liverpool), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Gareth Barry (Man City), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Scott Parker (Tottenham), Ashley Young (Man United), James Milner (Man City)

Forwards: Wayne Rooney (Man United), Danny Welbeck (Man United), Andy Carroll (Liverpool), Jermain Defoe (Tottenham)

Players on Standby:

Jack Butland (Birmingham City), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Adam Johnson (Manchester City), Daniel Sturridge (Chelsea)

By Matthew Cox

[Image courtesy of Ronnie Macdonald]

A drug to treat advanced prostate cancer should be given to patients on the NHS, a health watchdog has said. The decision marks a U-turn by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) after they received new information from the manufacturer, Janssen.

Professor Alan Ashworth, chief executive of the Institute of Cancer Research, said: “We are delighted by today’s decision to allow patients with advanced prostate cancer to receive abiraterone on the NHS.

This drug was discovered at the Institute of Cancer Research and is the result of more than two decades of dedicated work by our scientists and collaborators.

“In clinical trials of men with advanced prostate cancer who have already tried chemotherapy, it has been shown to extend life by an average of four months and improve quality of life.”

Owen Sharp, chief executive of the charity, said: “This announcement represents a resounding triumph for each of the thousands of men with advanced prostate cancer in England and Wales, who know just how much the prospect of precious extra time with their loved ones really means.

“Although today marks a very welcome advancement, it has to be remembered that abiraterone remains out of reach to men in Scotland on the NHS. We need to see every man who needs this drug receive it on the NHS, regardless of where they live in the UK.”

By Talia Hughes

[Image courtesy of Derek K. Miller]

US doctors took healthy nerves from the man and used them to bridge the damaged wiring that stopped signals getting from the man’s brain to his hands.

The 71-year-old broke his neck in a car crash in 2008 that left him unable to walk. Though he could still move his arms, he had lost the ability to grasp or hold things in either hand.

“To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of thumb and finger flexor reinnervation after a spinal cord injury. While the results in this patient are usually modest, due to the severe joint stiffness, his function has improved significantly with his ability to feed himself,” the team writes in the Journal of Neurosurgery.

“The use of nerve transfers may represent a significant breakthrough toward improved independent function in select patients with cervical spinal cord injuries,” the authors said.

Doctors said further research was needed to work out how reliable the procedure was in patients and the best time to perform surgery.

Doctors said the procedure would never restore normal function to patients. The limited improvement came after the patient learned to use a nerve that normally bends the arm at the elbow to make hand grasping movements.

By Talia Hughes

[Image courtesy of Phil.Chillsofa.de]

The purpose of the Dalai Lama’s visit was to collect the prestigious Templeton Prize for progress in religion, and David Cameron and Nick Clegg met up with the spiritual leader on Monday in St. Paul’s Cathedral.

The Chinese foreign ministry said that they were “hurt” by the prime minister’s decision to meet with the Dalai Lama, and that the meeting “seriously interfered with China’s internal affairs”. The vice foreign minister of China, Mr Song Tao, warned the British ambassador in Beijing that there would be “serious consequences”.

The Dalai Lama fled his home country in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, and now travels the world seeking support for the rights of Tibetan people.

David Cameron’s decision to meet with the spiritual leader was defended by his official spokesman: “The Dalai Lama travels all over the world and has visited the UK several times in the past, and I believe that former prime ministers also met with him when they were in office.”

Downing Street has said that it does not wish to see any disruption to its relationship with China.

By Sophie Yeo

[Image courtesy of Serjao Carvalho]

Her husband, Charlie, is also set to be charged – along with Mrs Brooks’ PA, Cheryl Carter, her chauffeur, Paul Edwards, security staff member Daryl Jorsling and News International security head Mark Hanna.

These arrests are the first since the inquiry was launched 18 months ago and the couple responded to the news by saying the decision was “weak and unjust,” and that the Crown Prosecution Service were guilty of “unprecedented posturing”, before promising a further statement when they left the police station.

Mrs Books faces three charges of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice while her husband faces two. Perversion of justice recommends a minimum jail sentence of four months and a maximum of one to two years.

The phone hacking scandal has already led to the closure of the News of the World last year, a newspaper Mrs Brooks became the editor of in 2000.

Mrs Brooks was chief executive of News International between 2009 and 2011, but resigned in July of that year over the ongoing scandal. She recently disclosed information about the nature of her relationship with Prime Minister David Cameron, who she claims signed texts to her with “lots of love”.

By Matthew Cox

[Image courtesy of Ben Sutherland]

The plans will give parents their own “personal budget”, for their children, should the new assessment deem it necessary. Under this proposal, parents will be able to acquire services for their children independently, rather than relying on options provided by local authorities.

However, the move could see thousands of children struck off the special needs list, with children’s minister Sarah Teather declaring the current system “outdated and not fit for purpose”.

Rigorous screening measures are to be introduced to keep the number of children classified as having special needs down.

Almost 1.7 million schoolchildren in England – more than one in five – have some form of special needs requiring particular attention from teachers.

In some schools, more than half of pupils are registered as suffering from problems, and it has been claimed that many difficulties are exaggerated to explain poor exam results or bad behaviour.

However, Ms Teather denied the government are bringing in the reforms purely to reduce the number of children recorded as having special educational needs.

“For me this is not about numbers, it is about getting the right children identified and getting the support in place. We do not have a target.”

By Matthew Cox

[Image courtesy of James F Clay]

Analysts had predicted a 0.2% contraction in GDP following a 0.3% contraction in the previous quarter. A second consecutive quarter of negative growth would have meant the eurozone had dipped into recession.

The stronger than expected figures for the eurozone are largely due to Germany reporting 0.5% growth in the first quarter of 2012. The French economy recorded zero growth, while the Italian economy contracted by 0.8%. Spain also shrank by 0.3%.

Year on year growth for the 17-member eurozone was also zero according to data released by the EU statistics agency Eurostat. Growth in the EU27 remained unchanged for the first quarter of 2012 and year on year.

New French President François Hollande was sworn in at the Elysée palace on Tuesday morning before flying to Berlin to hold talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. In his first presidential speech, President Hollande said he wanted other European leaders to sign a pact that “ties the necessary reduction of deficit to the indispensable stimulation of the economy”.

By Anna Foden

[Image courtesy of mammal]