Canada's elite troops and their families are struggling to take advantage of social support from the military and in some cases implement their own programs to cope with hardship and uncertainty in their lives.

Prime Minister Lucas Papademos called a general election in Greece for May 6, after his coalition government pushed through landmark financial relief deals that rescued the country from the threat of bankruptcy but doomed Greeks to more hardship.

Leading European Union finance officials have pleaded with Greece not to renege on its bailout terms and to stay the course of its painful austerity program to prevent even worse economic hardship.