Portugal Agrees to a $116 Billion Bailout

Mr. Sócrates said in a televised broadcast on Tuesday night that the creditors had agreed to give Portugal more time to cut its budget deficit than initially foreseen by his government. He described the outcome of the negotiations as “a good deal that defends Portugal.”

Still, he provided few details about the agreement, which will still require endorsement from opposition parties. Mr. Sócrates resigned in March after the Parliament refused to endorse additional austerity measures. To break the political deadlock, Portugal is set to hold another general election on June 5.

The political standoff was followed by Portugal’s bailout request in early April after the government also failed to meet its 2010 deficit target and after investors sent its borrowing costs to record highs, heightening concerns about its ability to meet forthcoming refinancing obligations.

Officials from the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank then arrived in Lisbon to discuss an aid program that would allow Portugal to receive European Union-led rescue money by June, the month when it faces its toughest refinancing hurdles of this year.

Simonetta Nardin, a spokeswoman for the I.M.F., confirmed that officials representing the international creditors had reached agreement with the Portuguese government “on a comprehensive economic program that could be supported by the E.C., the E.C.B. and the I.M.F.” She added: “We have said from the beginning that it is important that any program should have broad cross-party support and we will continue our engagement with the opposition parties to establish that this is the case.”

The deal will still require approval by the European Union. The European Commission, the executive of the 27-nation union, is hoping to get the measures ready for Europe’s finance ministers to discuss at a meeting on May 16.

However, even if the deal is blessed by the Portuguese opposition, other obstacles remain, most notably in Finland, where a party critical of euro zone bailouts won 19 percent of the vote in an election last month. It has said that it cannot support a Portuguese bailout and it remains unclear when a new Finnish government will be in place.

On Tuesday evening, meanwhile, Mr. Sócrates said he would present the deal to opposition parties and called on them to show “a sense of responsibility and a superior sense of national interest” to ensure Portugal receives emergency financing swiftly.

Mr. Sócrates said that, under the three-year plan, the deficit would need to be lowered to 5.9 percent of gross domestic product this year, 4.5 percent in 2012 and 3 percent in 2013. Last year, his government vowed to stick to a tougher schedule to lower the gap to 4.6 percent this year, 3 percent in 2012 and 2 percent in 2013.

He suggested that creditors had recognized that Portugal faced a less critical situation than other ailing euro economies. “Knowing other external aid programs, Portugal can feel reassured,” he said. Last year, Greece secured a bailout package worth 110 billion euros and Ireland 85 billion euros.

As examples of the relatively lenient terms granted to Portugal, he said the three-year program did not involve more cuts in public sector wages or in the minimum wage, or additional layoffs of state employees.

When the government requested a bailout early last month, Pedro Passos Coelho, the leader of the main Social Democratic opposition party, said that he backed the decision to seek outside help. However, in the run-up to next month’s general election, center-right opposition parties, who are leading in opinion polls, are unlikely to want Mr. Sócrates to reap the political benefit for negotiating a bailout that they blame his government for in the first place.

Stephen Castle contributed reporting.

 

Government in Yemen Agrees to Talk Transition

The governing party, the General People’s Congress, known as the G.P.C., gave its official consent even though a coalition of opposition political leaders balked on Monday over one of the proposal’s conditions, that protests end immediately.

“The G.P.C. approved,” said Mohamed Al-Tayeb, a prominent member of the governing party. “Both sides will go on Monday to Riyadh.”

Mr. Tayeb said the parties had received an invitation from the six-nation Persian Gulf bloc that had formulated and promoted the proposal for the transition of power from President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

“So far, so good,” Mr. Tayeb said, adding that the governing party and the opposition had each sent letters to the regional bloc, called the Gulf Cooperation Council, agreeing to the initiative.

But a leading member of Yemen’s opposition coalition said that the opposition had given only oral approval to the proposal and that it would not send a delegation to Riyadh, the Saudi capital, until Mr. Saleh formally signed the plan for the transition. Mr. Saleh will not go to Riyadh.

“First, the president, he should officially sign the agreement,” the opposition leader, Mohammed Abdulmalik al-Mutawakil, said. “Because he is not going to Saudi Arabia, therefore he has to sign it before we leave.”

The back and forth between the two sides has been a trademark of the political impasse over the past few months in Yemen, as tens of thousands of protesters in cities throughout the country have called for Mr. Saleh’s ouster.

Under the proposal, once both sides sign the agreement, a national unity government will be formed and the opposition will select a prime minister, who will govern with Mr. Saleh for 30 days, at which point the president will step down.

In another development on Tuesday, a protester was shot to death in the central city of Taiz, according to a local doctor. Taiz has endured significant violence between security forces and protesters over the past month. A YouTube video posted online Tuesday from Taiz showed a protester being hit in the head by live gunfire from what appeared to be a military vehicle.

 

Yemeni President Agrees to Plan to Step Down

 VOA News ?April 23, 2011

Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh adjusts his glasses during a rally in Sana'a, April 22, 2011

Yemeni government officials say President Ali Abdullah Saleh has agreed to a proposal from Gulf Arab mediators that calls for him to transfer power and resign within 30 days.

Officials said Saturday that the government had informed the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) of President Saleh's acceptance of the plan, which calls for him to leave office after 30 years of rule.? In exchange, Mr. Saleh, his family and senior aides will be granted immunity from prosecution. ?

The plan also calls for President Saleh to transfer power to a deputy, who would then call presidential elections.? The plan also sought to form a unity government in which ruling party members would hold half the seats, 40 percent would be held by an opposition coalition, with the rest made up of unaffiliated parties.

GCC Secretary-General Abdullatif al-Zayani presented the plan to Mr. Saleh on Thursday, in a bid to end Yemen's anti-government unrest.

A coalition of seven opposition parties said they also accepted the deal but with reservations.? The opposition leaders refused to join the unity government while Mr. Saleh was still in office.

Meanwhile, many Yemenis across the country observed a general strike on Saturday to protest against President Saleh's rule.? Some gathered for peaceful protests. ?

U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Washington welcomes the proposal for ending the crisis and called for immediate dialogue by all sides on a transfer of power.

On Friday, thousands of opposition activists rallied across Yemen, where they repeated calls for President Saleh's immediate resignation.

On Saturday, President Saleh accused his opponents of trying to drag the country into civil war.? He also called former ruling party members who had resigned and joined the opposition "symbols of corruption."

He commented during a speech to armed forces academy students in Sana'a.

Some information for this report was provided by AP.

Follow our Middle East reports on Twitter
and discuss them on our Facebook page. 23-04-2011 Al (USA)

Did I hear that Saudi Arabia and othe Gulf states brokered a deal which allows Yemenis' President to step down and go with impunity? Did they mention "election"? Well, it is a mockery of democracy that Saudi Arabia and gulf states talk about elections and democrcy. They should conduct elections in their respective countries and forget about others. The are tyranical like President Saleh.

23-04-2011 Citizen (Cyber Space, W.W.W.)

The man agrees to PLAN to step down? I have never seen or heard such a statement, to plan to step down. The fact is he is transferring his money around. An individual from Swiss major bank told they have never been as busy as since the eruption of the Uprising in the Arab world. Some are withdrawing their money others are tranferring to smaller banks, while some are looking for more security to their money. President Saleh and his antourage are doing their level best to avoid getting caught.

24-04-2011 Al (USA)

For so long the western world has deluded the world in their drive for democracy for all. At the same time the west has allowed dictators from all corners of the world to steal and personalize resources of their improvished peoples and stashed those stolen wealths in western banks. Does the west have any moral standing or credibility? I doubt that the west's noise about democracy is really about democracy. It is all about Interest .

24-04-2011

Good decision Mr. Ali Abdullah Saleh......now you can prepare to leave Yemen for a comfortable exile in a warm and friendly country with your ill gotten gains! So what if your are years late? And as your legacy you leave political prisoners, dead bodies, broken families, chaos and a Al Qaida takeover! Congratulations!!

24-04-2011 Al (USA)

President Obama, there is need to be unequivocal about protests in Libya and Syria. Why you don't say anything daily protests in Saudi arabia and Bahrain. I don't understand why we hold Saudi Arabia in different standard. Saudi Arabia and bahrain have the most political prisoners in the middle east. Saudi Arabia does not have citizens but rather subjects of the king.

24-04-2011 Edwin Kaliku, PhD. FSI (USA / AFRICA)

AI (USA) You are very correct The west just has interest not exactly democrazy. The West give the poor countries just a little fro the interest they make from our money and call it AID or assistance. If only they can return our money, we do not need public aid or assistance from them.

24-04-2011 umsomi olomnyathi (zimbabwe)

yes it is an insult for saudi arabia to talk of democracy, it is like mugabe talking of democracy, it is double stabdards. mugabe, yemeni gadaffi should just leave power, period. at least some mps in zanu pf have seen sense and are now turning against the octagenerian. they should see sense, they are young and have a life, mugabe is gone and teurai is a better devil.

24-04-2011 sebale robert (uganda)

Mr Saleh deserves not only prosecution immunity but also approse for such a great leason he has offered to other notorious african presidents like Museveni of uganda and that of libya who wait to step down redicurously.

24-04-2011 Yamani (Yemen)

Where is the turn of Gulf Countries? it seems that plan is imposed by president Saleh not by them and it gives save exit for Saleh and his family as well as his allies, with no guarantee from Gulf countries if Saleh violates the plan. They are just mediators and U.S is a witness.

24-04-2011 culture

Tunis' fire is burning more and more fierce across Africa and the Middle East.Many of dictators cannot sit on their chairs firmly. more and more people ruled by dictatorship are awaking.

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Going Green
Watch Rebecca Ward's report on the BP?Gulf oil spill - one year later.

 

BP Agrees to Pay $1 Billion for Start of Gulf Restoration

The agreement, the largest of its kind in an oil pollution case, does not absolve BP of legal liability for the explosion and spill that occurred April 20, 2010, or from the costs of any additional economic and environmental damages. The company faces fines and penalties of as much as $21 billion as a result of the disaster, the worst offshore drilling accident in United States history. The company could face additional penalties under a Justice Department criminal and civil investigation.

The advance payment, to be divided among the states and the two lead federal agencies overseeing restoration efforts, will be used to rebuild coastal marshes, replenish damaged beaches, conserve ocean habitat and restore barrier islands.

The $1 billion does not represent the governments’ estimate of the ultimate environmental cost of the explosion and spill, which poured nearly five million barrels of oil into the gulf over 87 days last year. Federal and state officials are conducting a review known as a natural resource damage assessment to measure the injury to the gulf habitat and devise a plan for restoring it, a process that generally takes years. Any restoration efforts financed by the $1 billion will count toward the company’s final liability, officials said.

As the leaseholder on the well and the party responsible for the spill, BP is responsible for the entire cost, although this week it filed suit against its drilling partners, Transocean, Halliburton and Cameron International, blaming them for the accident and seeking to recover tens of billions of dollars in compensation.

The agreement announced Thursday allows the complex work of environmental restoration to proceed more quickly and ends some of the squabbling over financing among states and the federal government.

The five states involved — Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas — will each get $100 million, as will the Department of the Interior and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The remaining $300 million will be used for projects proposed by the states and selected by the federal agencies.

“This agreement is a great first step toward restoring our natural resources destroyed by the BP oil spill,” Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana said in a statement. “We are eager to continue working with public, state and federal co-trustees and BP to quickly convert this down payment into projects to restore our damaged coast and replace our lost wildlife.”

Jane Lubchenco, the NOAA administrator, said the BP spill posed unusual challenges because it affected not only beaches, marshes and wildlife, but also the deep-sea environment and the ocean floor.

“We need to be thinking not only about the coastal portions of the gulf, but also the open water and deep sea habitat,” Dr. Lubchenco said in an interview. “They are all part of an integrated system and we believe there was damage to all of that system.”

She said that it was impossible today to estimate the total harm to the gulf but that the $1 billion pledged by BP would allow repair work to begin sooner and create cleanup jobs in the region.

Lamar McKay, president of BP America, said that the company was not legally obligated to make such payments until the full assessment was complete, but that financing restoration projects would speed healing in the gulf.

“BP believes early restoration will result in identified improvements to wildlife, habitat and related recreational uses in the gulf and our voluntary commitment to that process is the best way to get restoration projects moving as soon as possible,” Mr. McKay said.