Page 9 - ARUBA TODAY

A9
WORLD NEWS Wednesday 26 July 2017

Polish president signs 1 of 3 contested laws on judiciary

By MONIKA SCISLOWSKA rejection of the other bills.
Associated Press One of them would have
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — allowed the justice minis-
The office of Poland’s presi- ter to immediately fire all
dent said Tuesday that he Supreme Court justices
has signed into law one of and choose their replace-
three contested bills that ments.
critics say limit the inde- The ruling party says not all
pendence of the judiciary. judges meet professional
President Andrzej Duda and ethical standards.
announced Monday after In announcing his decision
days of protests that he Monday Duda said the law
would veto two of the bills. gave excessive power to
His office said early Tues- the prosecutor general.
day he signed the third “In Poland’s Constitution, in
one, the constitutional tradition,
despite demonstrations the the prosecutor general
previous evening in several never had any supervision
cities urging him to block over the Supreme Court,”
that one, too. Duda said.
The law allows the justice A prominent member of
minister, who is also the the ruling Law and Justice
prosecutor general, to party, which seemed to be
name the heads of all low- Polish President Andrzej Duda makes a statement in Warsaw, Poland, Monday, July 24, 2017. taken by surprise by Duda’s
er courts. Duda announced that he will veto two contentious bills widely seen as assaults on the indepen- veto, said the party was “a
dence of the judicial system.
Critics say it is unconstitu- (AP Photo/Alik Keplicz) little worried” that Duda lis-
tional, but welcomed his tened to the protesters. q

Greek bond issue marks milestone in recovery from bailout

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — ends in August 2018. uptick in growth. Greece had been under-reported. cy, and subjected Greeks
Greece’s first attempt to Finance Minister Euclid lost market access in 2010 The ensuing financial cri- to deep income cuts and
finance itself on bond mar- Tsakalotos called the result when its credit rating was sis shook global markets, massive job losses amid a
kets since 2014 raised 3 bil- satisfactory, and added downgraded to junk sta- brought the country to the depression that burned up
lion euros ($3.5 billion) Tues- that Greece would pro- tus following revelations brink of bankruptcy and exit more than a quarter of the
day from investors attract- ceed with further bond is- that key data on debts from Europe’s euro curren- economy.q
ed by a high rate of return, sues before the end of its
in an encouraging sign that bailout program in little
the country will be able to over a year. “I think what’s
smoothly exit its bailout era important is the quality and
next year. number of investors who WE ARE CELEBRATING
The left-led government showed interest in this is- 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY
ST
said the five-year bond is- sue,” he said. A govern-
sue was more than twice ment announcement said
oversubscribed, with the most of the buyers were
yield set at 4.62 percent — global institutional inves-
showing slightly improved tors and not speculative
investor confidence since traders looking for a quick
the 2014 issue, where the profit. Prime Minister Alexis
yield was 4.95 percent. Tsipras’ government had
The bond issue is a mile- pinned much on Tuesday’s
stone in the country’s sev- issue, as it seeks to cement
en-year financial crisis, as improvements to the econ-
Greece will only be able to omy. Though the country’s
end its dependence on in- stock of debt remains very
ternational rescue loans if it high at around 175 percent TO CELEBRATE WE ARE GIVING OUR GUEST A
can borrow money directly of annual GDP, the bud-
from international markets get is much improved and FREE BOTTLE OF WINE* *OFFER VALID ONLY WITH MAIN COURSES AND PER TABLE.
when the bailout program most forecasters predict an PLEASE ASK WAITER FOR MORE INFO.