How the world sees Greece
Papapetrou leads Greece to 75-61 win against Georgia at U20 European ... TexasSports.com TALLIN, Estonia -- University of Texas sophomore forward Ioannis Papapetrou posted a team-high 15 points to lead Greece to a 75-61 win against Georgia in pool play action on Friday at the Sportland Under-20 European Championship. Papapetrou ... Papapetrou Off To Hot Start |
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San Francisco Chronicle | Greek mayors to shut down halt services in protest at austerity measures Fox News Greek mayors to shut down halt services in protest at austerity measures. Published July 12, 2013. Associated Press. ATHENS, Greece – Mayors from across Greece say they will suspend municipal services for three days next week to protest planned new ... Greek mayors to halt services in austerity protest |
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The Guardian | Island-hopping: Greece's Small Cyclades The Guardian I had two reasons for coming to Greece – if it makes sense to need reasons to take a late spring break in the sunny and little-visited Small Cyclades. First, to have a few days of father/son bonding with Felix. Ten years old seemed about the perfect ... |
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Opposition head António José Seguro causes market turmoil as he calls for deal with Brussels to be renegotiated
Portugal's opposition Socialist party spooked financial markets and pushed up the government's cost of borrowing after it demanded Lisbon renegotiate the terms of its bailout deal with Brussels.
The news came as Fitch became the third ratings agency to strip France of its AAA rating, to AA+. In Portugal, the Socialist leader, António José Seguro, said he was ready to discuss a pact with the prime minister, Pedro Passos Coelho, but any coalition needed to agree that austerity measures agreed with Brussels had failed. "We have to abandon austerity politics. We have to renegotiate the terms of our adjustment programme," Seguro told parliament. "The prime minister has to recognise publicly that his austerity policies have failed."
The political turmoil has already forced Lisbon to request a delay in the eighth review of the bailout by its creditors, initially due to start on Monday, until the end of August or early September.
The delay drove up yields on Portuguese government bonds, which determine Lisbon's borrowing costs, with 10-year yields surging 90 basis points to 7.87%.
The euro stayed relatively calm, maintaining its value against sterling at just over 86p, as the markets viewed Portugal's problems as self-contained and affordable under existing bailout programmes.
The bad news coming out of Portugal was offset by Ireland's efforts to shrug off the financial crisis, which received a boost after Standard & Poor's said its debt burden may fall faster than expected.
The credit ratings agency maintained the BBB+ rating on Dublin's sovereign bonds but upgraded the outlook from stable to positive.
The upgrade comes before a planned year-end exit from its international bailout, and backs its status as Europe's strongest bailed-out economy amid the political turmoil in Portugal and Greece.
"The outlook revision reflects our view that Ireland's general government debt burden is likely to decline more rapidly, as a percentage of GDP, than we had previously expected," S&P said in a statement.
"Ireland's economic recovery is under way."
Greece is braced for a general strike next week while Portugal faces the collapse of its coalition government and a general election next year.
The president, Anibal Cavaco Silva, threw Portugal into disarray this week by refusing to allow the premier to heal a rift in the ruling coalition with a controversial cabinet reshuffle, calling for a cross-party agreement to last until the end of the bailout programme in June 2014, to be followed by early elections.
The Socialists have blamed the government's austerity drive under the €78bn (£67bn) bailout for pushing Portugal into its biggest economic slump since the 1970s and unemployment to record levels of around 18%.
"More time is something which we have always fought for. More time so our adjustment curve is not so steep and we can relieve sacrifices families and businesses have to make," Seguro, whose party leads in opinion polls, said.
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Aljazeera.com | Greece eyes investment jackpot Aljazeera.com Athens, Greece - For half a decade, this country has become notorious for its dwindling fortunes. Its stubborn recession has broken postwar European records. Its unemployment levels, the highest in the European Union, threaten political stability. It ... |
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LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Portugal's main political parties pledged Friday to try to negotiate a joint economic strategy that aims to spare the country a second international bailout.
But the obstacles to an agreement were clear during the annual State of the Nation debate in Parliament as parties traded accusations over who is to blame for the financial crisis and 10 straight quarters of economic contraction.
Portugal's president appealed to the parties Wednesday to find broad political consensus after a dispute over austerity measures tore the coalition government apart and raised questions about whether the country can abide by the terms of the 78 billion euros ($102 billion) rescue it received two years ago.
Portugal's difficulties over the past two weeks sent a chill through financial markets as investors feared that Europe's debt crisis could flare up again. In recent months, there had been signs that the 17 European Union countries that use the euro, including Portugal, had got over the worst of their three-year debt problems.
The political upheaval in Lisbon has forced the postponement of the bailout lenders' latest assessment on the country, which was due to begin next week but is now due to take place at the end of August.
As in Greece, the debt inspectors have to assess whether Portugal is complying with the terms of the bailout agreement — in return for the loan, Portugal has to enact a long list of spending cuts and economic reforms. If it doesn't, the creditors can potentially stop disbursing the money due from the bailout fund.
Though Portugal has enough cash to see it through the end of this year, it has to issue bonds worth 14 billion euros and 15 billion euros in 2014 and 2015, respectively, to service maturing loans. The three major international ratings agencies still classify Portugal's credit worthiness at junk status.
The political uncertainty took its toll on the Lisbon stock exchange which closed down 1.1 percent Friday at 5,364, after losing 2 percent the previous day. The interest rate on Portugal's 10-year bonds, an indicator of how risky investors see the country, climbed to 7.38 percent from 6.79 percent Thursday. A rate of more than 7 percent is regarded as unaffordable and exceeding that threshold compelled Portugal to seek a financial lifeline from its euro partners and International Monetary Fund.
President Anibal Cavaco Silva, who has no executive powers but is tasked by the constitution with ensuring stable government, said the ruling coalition had lost its credibility after last week's resignations of the finance and foreign ministers in a spat over the scale of planned spending cuts.
Saying a snap election would make things worse, Cavaco Silva urged the three main parties to find common ground on financial policy which would last beyond the end of the bailout program in June 2014. That, he said, would restore the political stability financial markets want.
Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho told lawmakers during Friday's debate that parties must "put Portugal first" and thrash out a cross-party agreement.
"To reach a deal we just need to focus on the country's needs and the common interests of the Portuguese," he said.
Though conceding that it "won't be easy to get a credible and long-lasting agreement," he said a lot can be achieved "if we just compromise."
Antonio Jose Seguro, leader of the main opposition Socialist Party, agreed to take part in talks but was sharply critical of the government's record and repeated his view that the best solution would be immediate elections for a new government.
He said the government "is in a state of decomposition," telling the prime minister he should "apologize to the Portuguese for the failure of his policies."
The prime minister's Social Democratic Party, the senior partner in the coalition, and Portugal's bailout creditors say spending cuts must continue.
Other parties want a bigger emphasis on growth amid a 17.6 percent unemployment rate.
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Overfishing has reduced competition for food, allowing jellyfish whose stings can cause pain and nausea, to thrive
Holidaymakers are being warned by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to take local advice in several Mediterranean countries as jellyfish numbers rise along coastlines popular with tourists in Greece, Spain and Malta. Jellyfish numbers have been rising consistently in the Mediterranean, and researchers warn that the increase in numbers poses a hazard to swimmers, fishing and the marine environment.
The FCO said: "We have been alerted to large numbers of jellyfish in the Mediterranean this summer, especially in a number of key holiday destinations for UK tourists. We have updated our travel advice for a number of Mediterranean countries to reflect this issue."
Up to 150,000 people are treated for jellyfish stings in the Mediterranean each year. The worst-hit coastlines this summer have been in Greece, Spain, Sardinia, Sicily, Malta, Israel and Lebanon. The FCO recommends that swimmers speak to local authorities and follow their advice on where and when to swim.
Barcelona Institute of Marine Sciences researcher Josep María Gili told the Guardian in June that jellyfish represented a growing problem, both in the Mediterranean and across the world.
Climate change and over-fishing have been linked to the rise in numbers. Natural predators of the jellies, such as the ocean sunfish, have been declining in one of the most heavily exploited bodies of water on Earth.
Mediterranean JellyRisk programme co-ordianor Stefano Piraino told the BBC : "We are overfishing the oceans, which means we are catching all the big fish so the fish population is being reduced and we eliminate competitors and leave more food for the jellyfish."
The problem is further compounded by jellyfish feeding on the larvae of fish species. Scientists believe that human interventions that change the shape of the coastline and affect currents could also provide ideal breeding zones that encourage blooms.
There are no deadly jellyfish in the Mediterranean, but there are a number whose stings can cause pain and mild reactions. The mauve stinger (Pelagia noctiluca), which has been detected in vast swarms off the coast of Spain, can cause pain, burning, nausea and muscle cramps.
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CITY A.M. (blog) | IMF says it is committed to financing Greece as ECB assistance drops off CITY A.M. (blog) Gerry Rice, a spokesman for the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has said that the eurozone is committed to providing finance for Greece after July 2014, and will hold a board meeting on the Greece programme later on this month. Meanwhile, the Greek ... Greece faces no funding gap before August 2014: IMF IMF: Greece faces no financing gap before August 2014 IMF: No financial gap in Greece before August 2014 |
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NorthJersey.com | Kinnelon student working on ancient Greek excavation NorthJersey.com Seen here is the Lassithi Plateau in Crete, home to several caves of archaeological interest, including Psychro Cave where Zeus was born in Greek mythology. Gournia is a Minoan, or ancient Cretan, site that dates back to 3000 B.C. It was a ... |
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