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Portugal's Socialist Prime Minister Jose Socrates won a second term in a general election on Sunday but his centre-Left party lost its absolute majority in parliament. Jose Socrates was elected in a landslide in 2005 Mr Socrates, who won about 37 per cent of the vote, has pledged to continue plans to spend his way out of the recession, promising big budget public works projects to stimulate growth as Portugal struggles with the highest unemployment rate in decades. "The people voted and they spoke very clearly, the Socialist Party was chosen again to govern Portugal," Mr Socrates said, adding it...

LISBON, Portugal (AP) -- Senior officials from the European Union, three U.S. states, Canada, Norway and New Zealand launched an international effort Monday to fight climate change by building a global carbon trading market. The International Carbon Action Partnership aims to add momentum toward low-carbon economies by grouping countries and regions that cap and trade environmentally damaging carbon dioxide emissions. Under the scheme, local authorities place an annual ceiling on carbon dioxide emissions and issue "pollution permits" to companies, which can then buy and sell them. ICAP intends to push for a worldwide marketplace that will allow cross-border trading in...

Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates warned against preaching to Russia about democracy, and President Vladimir Putin promised not to preach to the European Union about Polish meat at a summit next week. Then Putin sternly told a Portuguese reporter that Russia was not the devil. The two leaders spoke at a joint news conference in the Kremlin's Malachite Foyer that capped a two-day visit by Socrates, whose country takes over the revolving EU presidency in July. In sharp contrast to a recent Russian-EU summit outside Samara, the atmosphere at Tuesday's news conference was warm and friendly. "The task is to...

LISBON (Reuters) - Portugal's opposition Socialists scored their biggest-ever electoral victory on Sunday as voters ousted centre-right Prime Minister Pedro Santana Lopes after only seven months in power, exit polls showed. Western Europe's poorest nation swung to the left in giving Socialist leader Jose Socrates an absolute majority in parliament needed to implement a platform the party said would boost the lagging economy. Analysts said the resounding win amid a large turnout was a welcome sign of stability for the nation of 10 million people. Socrates's government will be Portugal's fourth in three years. President Jorge Sampaio dissolved parliament...