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WORLD NEWSFriday 28 August 2015

Greece appoints 1st female prime minister ahead of snap poll

ELENA BECATOROS Vassiliki Thanou, signs a document during a swearing in from Turkey before head- nations.
NICHOLAS PAPHITIS ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Athens, Thursday, Aug. ing to wealthier European Thanou will appoint a
Associated Press 27, 2015, to become Greece’s first female prime minister. countries. Cabinet that will be sworn
ATHENS, Greece (AP) Greece came one step closer on Thursday to early elections Tsipras was forced to step in on Friday, when the
— Greece’s first female with President Prokopis Pavlopoulos appointing the head of the down last week, barely election date will be for-
prime minister, a top country’s Supreme Court as caretaker prime minister to lead seven months into his mally confirmed.
judge, was sworn in Thurs- the country to next month’s polls. four-year term, following Greek President Procopis
day to head a caretaker a rebellion in his radical Pavlopoulos announced
government ahead of (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) left Syriza party over his her appointment after
early elections next month agreement to the new in- parliament’s three largest
in the bailout-dependent from the vote expected have to handle crucial come cuts and tax hikes. parties failed to find willing
country. on Sept. 20. matters,” Thanou said in Syriza hardliners were furi- coalition partners. The last
Supreme Court head “But, given the circum- her first public comments ous that Tsipras signed the to hold the mandate to
Vassiliki Thanou, 65, was stances ... I believe that in office, singling out for deal with even harsher form a government was
appointed after radical this government will also mention Greece’s immi- terms than those he had former energy minister
left Prime Minister Alexis gration crisis. vowed to abolish when Panagiotis Lafazanis, who
Tsipras resigned, seeking Since January, the finan- he was elected in Janu- created the new Popular
a stronger mandate to cially struggling country ary. The deal was ap- Unity party last week after
implement tough auster- has received more than proved with support from splitting from Syriza.
ity measures demanded 160,000 mainly Syrian pro-European opposition Greece has relied on
by Greece’s creditors in refugees and economic parties, who now accuse funds from two bailouts
return for a third bailout migrants — a record num- him of rushing to call elec- by other European coun-
worth 86 billion euro ($97 ber — who arrive in boats tions before voters are tries and the International
billion). hit by the full force of the Monetary Fund totaling
Her main task will be to new tax measures. nearly 240 billion euros
hold the reins until a new The 41-year-old outgoing ($270 billion) since 2010.
government emerges prime minister has argued In return for the loans,
he was left with no choice successive governments
but to accept European imposed deeply resent-
creditors’ demands, to ed spending cuts that
save Greece from de- slashed incomes by more
faulting on its debts and than a third, deepened a
being forced out of the dire recession and pushed
euro currency it shares unemployment well over
with another 18 European 25 percent.q

Ukraine reaches debt deal with creditors

MOSCOW (AP) — The economy, which has been political system but it has
Ukrainian government said battered by a separatist insisted on the need to
Thursday it has reached a war in the east. Ukraine will agree on the debt relief
deal with its international pay nothing on its bonds with private sector bond-
bondholders to lighten its if its economy grows less holders.
public debt burden, a cru- than 3 percent annually. “I am very pleased with
cial move that will help the The debt relief is part of a today’s announcement,”
country avoid default as it broader financial support said Christine Lagarde, the
tries to cope with the dev- program agreed on with managing director of the
astating costs of war. the International Monetary IMF. “The agreement will
As part of the deal, investors Fund. The IMF announced help restore debt sustain-
who own Ukraine’s bonds in February it would raise ability and — together with
will write off 20 percent of some $40 billion for Ukraine. the authorities’ policy re-
their holdings, shrinking $19 About $15.5 billion of that form efforts — will substan-
billion in sovereign debt to amounts to new loans from tively meet the objectives
$15.5 billion, Prime Minister the IMF, with smaller sums set under the IMF-support-
Arseniy Yatsenyuk told the from other sources. More ed program.”
government. The deal will than a third of the total is Ukraine’s economy con-
also extend the payment meant to be unlocked by tracted by a stunning 17.6
period on the govern- the renegotiations of debt. percent in the first quarter
ment bonds by four years Earlier this month, the IMF of the year compared with
through 2027. Payments gave Ukraine a passing a year earlier, when the
on the bonds will depend grade on its efforts to re- separatist conflict in the
on the growth rate of the form its economy and east erupted.q