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WORLD NEWSFriday 29 January 2016
Puerto Rico power company reaches new deal with creditors
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico The Puerto Rico Electric the deal requires bond- company’s debt. cash by summer, possibly
(AP) — Puerto Rico’s pow- Power Authority bondhold- holders and monoline insur- “We have a long way to leading to power cuts.
er company said Thursday er group said it and other ers to buy 50 percent of the go, and there remain many Puerto Rico is struggling
that it reached a new deal creditors would provide bonds once the bill is ap- uncertainties, but if imple- with $72 billion in public
with bondholders as it seeks $111 million through the proved. mented PREPA’s transfor- debt that the governor
to restructure roughly $9 bil- purchase of new bonds. It The announcement comes mation will have a positive, has said is unpayable and
lion in debt. said half the notes would just days after the origi- lasting impact on its financ- needs restructuring. The
The agreement calls for be issued once the bill is nal deal collapsed when es, operations and culture,” power company’s deal has
legislators to approve a passed and the other half legislators missed a Friday said Chief Restructuring Of- been considered a poten-
measure by Feb. 16 need- once the securitization deadline to approve the ficer Lisa Donahue. tial model for other debt re-
ed to launch the restructur- structure is submitted to an bill. The agreement still in- Officials have warned that structuring negotiations in-
ing of the largest U.S. public energy commission. volves only those holding without debt restructuring, volving Puerto Rico’s public
power utility. The power company said 70 percent of the power the company will run out of agencies.q
OAS to send special mission to Haiti amid political crisis
DAVID McFADDEN Demonstrators burn tires under campaign poster of presidential candidate Jovenel Moise of the may be killings if the au-
Associated Press PHTK political party during a street protest in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. thorities don’t get a so-
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) lution worked out,” said
— The threat of instabil- (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery) Reginald Poteau, who has
ity in Haiti prompted the been unemployed since
Organization of American said their intention was to leaders and others with in- tive runoff elections set for losing his job as a ware-
States late Wednesday to “not to interfere, but to be fluence have been work- last weekend were called house laborer last year.
authorize a special mis- helpful.” ing to find a way out of the off less than 48 hours be- But hardware store man-
sion to help the troubled Haiti’s ambassador to the impasse. Business, religious fore the vote amid a surge ager Rony Mathieux,
nation find a way out of OAS, Bocchit Edmond, and civil society leaders of violent protests and whose car windows were
a simmering political crisis said the request was not have offered possible solu- deep suspicions of elec- smashed during recent
and set a new date for a an invitation to “meddle” tions along with various po- toral fraud. Many Haitians violent protests in Port-au-
runoff election. In Washing- in Haitian affairs but was in- litical factions. have been growing anx- Prince, said he did not like
ton, the OAS permanent tended to help the country But Martelly is scheduled to ious since elections were the idea of having foreign-
council reached consen- avoid “falling into an institu- depart Feb. 7 and political aborted in the perennially ers help resolve Haiti’s po-
sus on sending the mission tional vacuum and chaos.” compromise is rare in Haiti. volatile country. litical problems.
to Haiti to assist with resolv- For days, Haiti’s political Presidential and legisla- “I’m concerned that there Sandra Honore, the top
ing a stalemate now that United Nations envoy to
elections have been post- Haiti, told The Associated
poned indefinitely and the Press this week that it’s im-
country’s president is due portant for the suspended
to leave office in 10 days. electoral cycle to be re-
The regional body, which solved as quickly as pos-
Haiti belongs to, took up sible “given the tense mo-
the measure after receiv- ments that the country is
ing an urgent request from living right now.”
outgoing President Michel
Martelly. The OAS council For 12 years, the world
had only been scheduled body has kept a mission in
to receive a report on Haiti Haiti designed to focus on
from electoral observers. security and stability.
Antigua Ambassador Ron- “I would hope that reason
ald Sanders, who holds the will prevail and that the
rotating chair of the coun- best possible solution will
cil, raised the specter of be arrived at to prevent
“utter bloodshed” in Haiti the country from regress-
unless a political agree- ing,” she told AP in an inter-
ment was reached. He view at the headquarters
of the U.N. mission.q
Colombia’s human rights boss resigns amid harassment scandal
JOSHUA GOODMAN unaccustomed to seeing lasted more than a year, in- age the institution he rep- not to wait as long as she
Associated Press mostly male bosses pun- volving travel and even dis- resents. did before taking action.
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) ished for unwanted sexual cussion of having a family. Cristancho, who resigned “I call on all women and
— Colombia’s top human advances at work. “If I’m guilty of anything it’s last year in protest over men who have been vic-
rights official resigned Thurs- Otalara has acknowl- having fallen in love with a Otalara’s actions, has de- tims of any type of harass-
day amid a sexual harass- edged sending his secre- woman with whom I shared nied ever having a rela- ment to speak up,” Cristan-
ment scandal that includ- tary Astrid Cristancho, a important moments of my tionship with her former cho told journalists while fil-
ed nude selfies sent to his former beauty queen, a life,” Otalara told journalists boss, whom she has called ing the complaint. She was
secretary. picture of himself reclining on Monday. “sick” and in need of help. dressed in a T-shirt embla-
The leaking of the photos nude in a hammock. He He was defiant while resign- On Thursday, she filed a zoned with an anti-harass-
and text messages sent defended himself by saying ing Thursday, attributing complaint with the chief ment slogan that has been
by Ombudsman Jorge Ar- the private photos and flirty what he called a media- prosecutor’s office alleg- trending on Colombian
mando Otalara caused an text messages were part of hyped scandal to political ing harassment and urged social media: “No Means
uproar among Colombians a romantic relationship that enemies wanting to dam- women in similar situations No.”q
