KATE McCANN has written an emotional letter to mark the third anniversary of the disappearance of her daughter Madeleine.
In it, she vows never to give up the search, promising: "We will not be going away and will never stop looking."
And she says she and husband Gerry are still searching for the "key piece of information" that will solve the mystery of their girl's abduction.
Madeleine went missing from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on May 3, 2007, days before her fourth birthday.
Kate reveals how her twins, Sean and Amelie, who were two at the time, often talk about their "big sister".
She writes: "They are just fantastic. They are enjoying school and are incredibly happy children - and really funny.
"Madeleine remains a hugely significant person in their life. She appears in their role-play, in their conversations and in their prayers at night."
Kate also reveals details of the new life the family have settled into: "We have reached a new kind of normality. Gerry works full-time at the hospital and concentrates on 'Madeleine-work' in the evening when the children have gone to sleep.
"I have not returned to medical work but spend my 'working day' dealing with the campaign to find Madeleine. This set-up also gives me the flexibility to support Sean and Amelie as much as I can.
"The work to find Madeleine continues on a daily basis. Every day, both the investigation and the campaign go on."
Kate adds: "We will continue to request a review of all the information held and hope that in the coming months, the governments and law enforcement agencies will work together to achieve this.
"In the meantime, we will continue with our work, knowing that there's somebody out there who knows what's happened to Madeleine and where she is.
"As long a period as three years sounds, it's incredibly small when compared to a lifetime. It's those many, many years ahead with Madeleine that we long for and aim towards. The effort of perseverance pales into insignificance compared to a reward so precious.
"We will not be going away and will never stop looking. We will press on with the same commitment and tenacity, for as long as it takes."
Shocked experts have discovered a new leak at the site of the wrecked drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico – and it’s pumping out around five times more oil into the ocean than previously thought.
The news came as new aerial images showed the slick has oozed within sight of land, despite desperate efforts to limit it through controlled burning.
As the spill advances, experts have started to quarrel over the extent of the damage, with one official from BP, which leases the rig, claiming he did not believe the newly-discovered leak had increased the amount of oil spilling into the water beyond earlier estimates.
In this aerial photo taken in the Gulf of Mexico, the oil slick is seen eight miles off the Southwest Pass of the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Louisiana
But U.S. coastguard Rear Admiral Mary Landry disagreed with his statement at a news conference and said she was relying on a new estimate from the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration.
She said NOAA experts now estimated 5,000 barrels of oil a day were spilling into the gulf from the rig which exploded and sank last week. Officials had estimated the leak for days at 1,000 barrels a day.
Doug Suttle, chief operating officer for BP, said he thought the estimate of 1,000 barrels a day was accurate. He showed a diagram showing where the leaks were and said the newly-discovered leak was upstream from the previous leaks.
'Due to its location, we do not believe this changes the amount currently believed to be released,' he said.
When asked again, Rear Adm Landry stuck to the NOAA estimate and said it was based on aerial surveys, study of the trajectory of the oil slick and other factors.
The shock news came hours after crews tried a test burn on the massive spill to try to slow it from reaching the U.S. shoreline.
A graphic posted by the U.S. coastguard and the industry task force fighting the slick shows its approximate location
U.S. president Barack Obama had been briefed on the new information and the government had offered to have the Department of Defence help contain the spill and protect the shoreline and wildlife, she said.
Late last night crews started a test burn on the massive spill, which Rear Adm Landry said was successful.
BP, which operates the rig, had planned to continue the oil fires after the test, but as night fell, no more were lit. The burns were not expected to be done at night.
Crews planned to use hand-held flares to set fire to sections of the massive spill. They turned to the plan after failing to stop a 1,000-barrel-a-day leak at the spot where a Deepwater oil platform exploded and sank.
A 500ft boom was to be used to corral several thousand gallons of the thickest oil on the surface, which will then be towed to a more remote area, set on fire, and allowed to burn for about an hour.
They had estimated about 42,000 gallons of oil a day was leaking into the Gulf from the blown-out well drilled by the Deepwater Horizon oil rig.
From the air, the thickest parts of the spill resembled rust-coloured tentacles of various thickness
That would be closer to 210,000 gallons a day with the new estimates. Eleven workers are missing and presumed dead. The cause of the explosion has not been determined.
Greg Pollock, head of the oil spill division of the Texas General Land Office, which is providing equipment for crews in the Gulf, said he was not aware of a similar burn ever being done off the U.S. coast.
The last time crews with his agency used fire booms to burn oil was a 1995 spill on the San Jacinto River.
When the flames go out, Mr Pollock said, the material that is left resembles a hardened ball of tar that can be removed from the water with nets or skimmers.
A graphic posted by the coastguard and the industry task force fighting the slick showed it covering an area about 100 miles long and 45 miles across at its widest point.
Clean-up: A U.S. Coastguard cutter in the midst of the slick yesterday
Sticky mess: Boats cut a clear path through the slick during the clean-up
'It's premature to say this is catastrophic. I will say this is very serious,' said Rear Adm Mary Landry.
From the air, the thickest parts of the spill resembled rust-coloured tentacles of various thickness.
The air was thick with the acrid smell of petroleum.
More than two dozen vessels moved about in the heart of the slick pulling oil-sopping booms.
Earlier, Louisiana State Wildlife and Fisheries secretary Robert Barham said government projections showed a 'high probability' oil could reach the Pass a Loutre wildlife area by tomorrow night, Breton Sound on Saturday and the Chandeleur Islands on Sunday.
As the task force worked far offshore, local officials prepared for the worst in case the oil reached land.
The decision to burn some of the oil came after crews operating submersible robots failed to activate a shut-off device that would halt the flow of oil on the sea bottom 5,000 feet below.
BP says work will begin as early as today to drill a relief well to relieve pressure at the blowout site, but that could take months.
Another option is a dome-like device to cover oil rising to the surface and pump it to container vessels, but that would take two weeks to put in place, BP said.
Industry officials say replacing the Deepwater Horizon, owned by Transocean, would cost up to £460 million. BP has said its costs for containing the spill are running at £4 million a day.
The company said it would spend £66 million to drill the relief well.
Trainer Dawn Brancheau was taped moments before her death in a video taken by a SeaWorld visitor. SeaWorld will allow the whale who killed her to perform in shows. Mark Strassmann reports.
April 28, 2010
SeaWorld Whale's Killer Past No Secret to Staff
(CBS/ AP) Updated at 6:05 p.m. ET
A killer whale's history of harming people was known among SeaWorld employees when the whale killed a trainer in Orlando two months ago, according to a police report released Wednesday.
The whale named Tilikum dragged trainer Dawn Brancheau underwater Feb. 24, thrashing her body with such force that her hair and scalp had to be retrieved separately from the bottom of a pool after other SeaWorld employees recovered her body.
"Tilikum's past history is that when he obtains a person, he does not let them go," are the words one detective used to paraphrase part of an interview with Laura Surovik, an assistant curator of animal training at Sea World.
The incident in Orlando marked the third time Tilikum had been involved in a human death. Tilikum was one of three orcas blamed for killing a trainer in 1991 after the woman lost her balance and fell in the pool at Sealand of the Pacific near Victoria, British Columbia. Tilikum also was also involved in a 1999 death, when the body of a man who had sneaked by SeaWorld Orlando security was found draped over him.
A spotter who worked with Brancheau, Lynne Schaber, told a detective she "knew Dawn Brancheau was in trouble" when she saw the trainer pulled into the water "because Tilikum is a 'possessive' animal," the detective wrote. "He normally keeps things that he has and will not release them," the detective wrote.
Craig Thomas, a SeaWorld animal trainer who worked with Tilikum in the mid-'90s and started working with him again in 2008, told a detective that "because of an incident in Canada … there has never been any intention by any trainers of getting in the water with Tilikum."
"He has been deemed to have tendencies that make him unsafe," the detective wrote Thomas told him.
Jan Topoleski, another SeaWorld trainer, told police "no one ever goes in the pool with Tilikum because of his past history," a detective wrote.
While trainers tried to retrieve Brancheau's body from the whale, "Tilikum became agitated and he would not allow anyone near her," the detective noted Topoleski said.
Some tourists gathered in an underwater viewing area saw the brutal way Tilikum treated Brancheau's body.
Jessica Wilder, a tourist from Vermont, told a detective she saw Brancheau in the water "scrambling" to get out before Tilikum "impacted her squarely in the chest" and loop back around to come toward Brancheau with his mouth open.
Susanne DeWit, a tourist from the Netherlands, saw Tilikum swim by with Brancheau's body in his mouth, holding her by the shoulder and neck, according to the report.
"Tilikum was shaking the trainer and moving extremely fast," a detective wrote DeWit said she saw before SeaWorld employees moved the group out of the viewing area.
Police viewed security video from a camera in the underwater viewing area, according to the report. The footage showed Brancheau swimming underneath Tilikum before she made two attempts to swim to the surface of the pool. Each time the whale struck Brancheau back. Within 5 minutes of when the camera recorded a splash in the pool, Brancheau's body appeared to be lifeless in the whale's mouth.
Response crews are attempting to prevent a 2,100-square-mile oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico from reaching the shores of Louisiana with planned controlled burns. Don Teague reports.
A man-made disaster is developing in the Gulf of Mexico as a huge amount of oil leaks from the drilling rig that recently exploded and sank. As Kelly Cobiella tells us, it's headed toward land.
The oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico has now been declared an environmental disaster after thousands of gallons of oil have begun leaking from the wreckage. Jeff Glor reports.
A boat floats beside a controlled burn of leaking oil in the Gulf of Mexico April 28, 2010. (Minerals Management Service)
A worker secures ropes on a crew boat after departing from the oil skimmer Louisiana Responder, which is assisting in the collection of oil from a leaking pipeline that resulted from last week's explosion and collapse of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico near the coast of Louisiana, April 27, 2010. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
This image provided by the U.S. Coast Guard shows fire boat response crews battle the blazing remnants of the off shore oil rig Deepwater Horizon, April 21, 2010. (AP Photo/U.S. Coast Guard)
A new oil leak was discovered at the site in the Gulf of Mexico where a drilling rig exploded and sank, and experts now estimate that five times more has been spilling into the water a day than previously believed, the Coast Guard said late Wednesday.
However, an official from BP PLC, which leases the rig, said he did not believe the newly discovered leak has increased the amount of oil spilling into the water beyond earlier estimates. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Mary Landry disagreed with his statement at a news conference and said she was relying on a new estimate from the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration.
She said NOAA experts now estimate that 5,000 barrels a day of oil are spilling into the gulf. Officials had estimated the leak for days at 1,000 barrels a day.
The news came hours after crews tried a test burn on the massive spill to try to slow it from reaching the U.S. shoreline.
Doug Suttle, chief operating officer for BP, said he thinks the estimate of 1,000 barrels a day is accurate. He showed a diagram showing where the leaks are and said the newly discovered leak is upstream from the previous leaks.
"Due to its location, we do not believe this changes the amount currently believed to be released," he said.
When asked again, Landry stuck to the NOAA estimate and said it was based on aerial surveys, study of the trajectory of the oil slick and other factors.
The Secretary of Homeland Security has briefed President Barack Obama on this new information and the government has offered to have the Department of Defense help contain the spill and protect the shoreline and wildlife, she said.
"It has become clear after several unsuccessful attempts to determine the cause" that agencies must supplement what's being done by the company, she said.
Crews late Wednesday afternoon started a test burn on the massive spill, which Landry noted was successful. Rig operator BP PLC had planned to continue the oil fires after the test, but as night fell, no more were lit. The burns were not expected to be done at night. No details about when more fires would be lit were mentioned during the late night news conference.
Crews planned to use hand-held flares to set fire to sections of the massive spill. Crews turned to the plan after failing to stop a 1,000-barrel-a-day leak at the spot where a deepwater oil platform exploded and sank.
A 500-foot boom was to be used to corral several thousand gallons of the thickest oil on the surface, which will then be towed to a more remote area, set on fire, and allowed to burn for about an hour.
They had estimated about 42,000 gallons of oil a day was leaking into the Gulf from the blown-out well drilled by the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. Eleven workers are missing and presumed dead. That would be closer to 210,000 gallons a day with the new estimates. The cause of the explosion has not been determined.
Greg Pollock, head of the oil spill division of the Texas General Land Office, which is providing equipment for crews in the Gulf, said he is not aware of a similar burn ever being done off the U.S. coast. The last time crews with his agency used fire booms to burn oil was a 1995 spill on the San Jacinto River.
"When you can get oil ignited, it is an absolutely effective way of getting rid of a huge percentage of the oil," he said. "I can't overstate how important it is to get the oil off the surface of the water."
The oil has the consistency of thick roofing tar.
When the flames go out, Pollock said, the material that is left resembles a hardened ball of tar that can be removed from the water with nets or skimmers.
"I would say there is little threat to the environment because it won't coat an animal, and because all the volatiles have been consumed if it gets on a shore it can be simply picked up," he said.
Authorities also said they expect minimal impact on sea turtles and marine mammals in the burn area.
A graphic posted by the Coast Guard and the industry task force fighting the slick showed it covering an area about 100 miles long and 45 miles across at its widest point.
"It's premature to say this is catastrophic. I will say this is very serious," said Coast Guard Rear Adm. Mary Landry.
From the air, the thickest parts of the spill resembled rust-colored tentacles of various thickness. The air was thick with the acrid smell of petroleum.
Amid several of the thicker streaks, four gray whales could be seen swimming in the oil. It was not clear if the whales were in danger.
More than two dozen vessels moved about in the heart of the slick pulling oil-sopping booms.
The Deepwater Horizon tragedy has re-ignited the debate over offshore drilling, CBS News Correspondent Don Teague reports.
In the Gulf alone, there are more than 3,500 oil and gas platforms with about 35,000 offshore workers. They produce more than 1.7 million barrels of oil per day, almost 30 percent of total domestic production.
But working in the oil industry is more dangerous than in coal mines with 59 deaths, 1,300 injuries and 853 fires on rigs in the Gulf alone since 2001, Teague reports.
Environmental groups say the disaster proves offshore drilling isn't worth the risk, Teague reports.
"We've always said oil and gas drilling is a dirty and dangerous business in terms of pollution but also in terms of what damage can be done to workers and the environment," the Sierra Club's Athan Manuel said.
Earlier Wednesday, Louisiana State Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Robert Barham told lawmakers that federal government projections show a "high probability" oil could reach the Pass a Loutre wildlife area Friday night, Breton Sound on Saturday and the Chandeleur Islands on Sunday.
As the task force worked far offshore, local officials prepared for the worst in case the oil reaches land.
In Plaquemines Parish, a sliver of Louisiana that juts into the Gulf and is home to Pass a Loutre, officials hoped to deploy a fleet of volunteers in fishing boats to spread booms that could block oil from entering inlets.
"We've got oystermen and shrimpers who know this water better than anyone," said Plaquemines Paris President Billy Nungesser. "Hopefully the Coast Guard will embrace the idea."
But there was anxiety that the Gulf Coast was not prepared for the onslaught of oil.
"Our ability to deal with this would be like us having a foot of snow falling in Biloxi tomorrow," said Vincent Creel, a spokesman for the city government in Biloxi, Miss. "We don't have snow plows, and we're not equipped to deal with this."
The parish's emergency manager planned to meet in Houma on Thursday with a Coast Guard official to discuss whether volunteers can help, Nungesser said.
"We don't want to just sit by and hope this (oil) doesn't come ashore," Nungesser said.
The decision to burn some of the oil came after crews operating submersible robots failed to activate a shut-off device that would halt the flow of oil on the sea bottom 5,000 feet below.
BP says work will begin as early as Thursday to drill a relief well to relieve pressure at the blowout site, but that could take months.
Another option is a dome-like device to cover oil rising to the surface and pump it to container vessels, but that will take two weeks to put in place, BP said.
Winds and currents in the Gulf have helped crews in recent days as they try to contain the leak. The immediate threat to sandy beaches in coastal Alabama and Mississippi has eased. But the spill has moved steadily toward the mouth of the Mississippi River and the wetland areas east of the river, home to hundreds of species of wildlife and near some rich oyster grounds.
The cost of the disaster continues to rise and could easily top $1 billion.
Industry officials say replacing the Deepwater Horizon, owned by Transocean Ltd. and operated by BP, would cost up to $700 million. BP has said its costs for containing the spill are running at $6 million a day. The company said it will spend $100 million to drill the relief well. The Coast Guard has not yet reported its expenses.
Here's hoping this positive Bret Michaels news is something to believe in.
A week after suffering a brain hemorrhage likely caused by a ruptured blood vessel, the hospitalized rocker is responding well to tests and treatment, and doctors are still hoping that the 47-year-old father of two will make a full recovery.
"We thank you all for your continued support and outpouring of well wishes for Bret," read a message posted Wednesday on Michaels' official website.
"While additional studies are planned throughout the week to hopefully detect the exact cause of the rupture Bret will remain monitored closely by his medical team to make sure no further complications occur."
Michaels' camp is also awfully optimistic about just how fast the rocker will be not only back on his feet, but back onstage.
Michaels is looking to resume his Roses & Thorns tour May 26, "provided there are no further complications or setbacks," in Ft. Smith, Ark., and his people are in the process of rescheduling all of the missed shows between Michaels' hospitalization and then.
A tour with Lynyrd Skynyrd in June and July is also supposedly still on.
The statement still referred to test results indicating Michaels is suffering from a seizure-causing sodium deficiency as a "minor setback." There has been no word on whether Michaels, who has Type 1 diabetes, has had any seizures since being diagnosed.
E! News reported last night that the Arizona resident is currently receiving treatment at the Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix.
The judges and jury have diverged on American Idol.
With only six contestants left, there wasn't a whole lot of breathing room between the top and bottom three Wednesday, especially considering no one gave the despised "you're going to be in trouble" performance last night.
But it's still interesting that three of the finalists singled out by Simon Cowell, Kara DioGuardi, Ellen DeGeneres and Randy Jacksonfor offering up some of the best interpretations of Shania Twain ended up sitting through Sons of Sylvia, Lady AntebellumandShakiraand Rascal Flatts with feelings of dread in the pit of their stomachs.
First of all, Crystal Bowersox learned that being the best actually sucks if you fail to top yourself every single week, as she became the focus of much unnecessary scrutiny because the judges called her performance of "No One Needs to Know" only OK.
The judges actually reserved their most exalted praise for Casey James, calling "Don't" one of his best performances yet and encouraging him to thank Twain personally for reviving his Idol chances.
American Idol Boots a Powerhouse After Bottom Three Shocker
Michael Becker/FOX
The judges and jury have diverged on American Idol.
With only six contestants left, there wasn't a whole lot of breathing room between the top and bottom three Wednesday, especially considering no one gave the despised "you're going to be in trouble" performance last night.
But it's still interesting that three of the finalists singled out by Simon Cowell, Kara DioGuardi, Ellen DeGeneres and Randy Jacksonfor offering up some of the best interpretations of Shania Twain ended up sitting through Sons of Sylvia, Lady AntebellumandShakiraand Rascal Flatts with feelings of dread in the pit of their stomachs.
First of all, Crystal Bowersox learned that being the best actually sucks if you fail to top yourself every single week, as she became the focus of much unnecessary scrutiny because the judges called her performance of "No One Needs to Know" only OK.
The judges actually reserved their most exalted praise for Casey James, calling "Don't" one of his best performances yet and encouraging him to thank Twain personally for reviving his Idol chances.
So how did America process that information?
Well, they listened to us, at least.
Though all of the judges thought Siobhan Magnus returned to form last night as she stalked the stage blasting "Any Man of Mine," minus Simon's comparison to the sound of giving birth, we noted some major pitch issues and thought the seconds where she sounded appealing were few and far between.
And America heard it, too, because the 24-year-old glass blower who never met a fashion risk she didn't like was sent home tonight.
Ryan Seacrest asked her what sort of impact her spirited run on the show had on her little sisters, and Siobhan said, "Hopefully a big one."
"I did my best and I hope that I was able to show them what we're all capable of," she said.
"I'm going to miss you," Simon said, giving her a hug, and Ellen promised that she'd see Siobhan on tomorrow's Ellen. And we'll all see her on tour this summer.
Meanwhile, she was joined in the bottom three by Michael Lynche and, of all people, last night's golden boy, Casey. (For the record, Crystal has never been in the bottom three.)
Ryan didn't even have to ask the judges if they were surprised by this strange turn of events.
But it should be interesting to see Casey and the rest of the top five tackle the music of Frank Sinatranext week with help from jazzy crooner Harry Connick Jr.
Did America get it right this week or were you hoping to see Siobhan in the finals?
Look up in the sky! It's a bird, it's a plane...no, it's Justin Bieber!
The 16-year-old "Baby" singer showed his fearless side yesterday when he bungee jumped off of New Zealand's Auckland Bridge.
"He was excited beforehand," a source tells us. "He was joking around and dancing. After it was over, he said the experience gave him a buzz."
You won't believe who joined the pint-sized popstar for a jump...
Bieber's mom, Pattie Mallette, also went for leap, as did his bodyguard.
"Justin thought it was awesome his mom was jumping," our source says. "She did great. She got nervous at the edge, but then went for it....It was actually Justin's bodyguard who was the most scared to jump of the three of them."
It sounds like Bieber, who learned how to jump from the Auckland Bridge Bungy company, isn't done taking airborne risks.
Courtesy of Sandra Mu, Getty Images
"After he jumped, he started talking about how he wants to skydive or do a bigger bungee," our source says.
Now that Bieber has jumped off a bridge, braved overzealous fans, and endured the pain of a tattoo, we have to ask: is there anything that scares the little guy?
Originally posted Apr 28th 2010 8:10 AM PDT by TMZ Staff
Justin Bieber hung off the side of a bridge in New Zealand yesterday -- seemingly fearless as he prepared for his big bungee jump. He was brave, he was tough ... except for one little thing ...
Somebody screamed like a 5-year-old girl as Justin made his descent ... and the scream seemed to fade as Justin seemed to plummet further from the bridge.
It's possible that it could have been someone else ... but even if it was The Bieb -- props for having the cojones to get up there and jump in the first place.
Nesta quarta-feira (28), um grupo de 88 opositores e ativistas de direitos humanos em Cuba divulgou um documento pedindo que o jornalista dissidente Guillermo Fariñas desista da greve de fome iniciada há mais de dois meses.
Distribuído para a imprensa estrangeira na ilha, o documento convida Farinãs a liderar um movimento pra juntar dez mil assinaturas e exigir do Governo cubano a libertação de presos políticos.
Para os ativistas, a morte do jornalista "privaria" a ilha de "um valioso lutador pelo futuro da nação". Em entrevista à agência de notícias Efe, Farinãs disse que agradece o pedido, mas que "dolorosamente" não pode aceitá-lo.
Disgruntled applicants for civil-sector jobs block the entrance to the finance ministry in Athens Wednesday.
BERLIN—A cut to Spain's credit rating on Wednesday, just one day after downgrades to Portugal and Greece, fueled fears that the euro zone's debt crisis is widening and sent new tremors through financial markets.
Chiefs of the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank went to Berlin to exhort reluctant German lawmakers to support the IMF-European Union rescue package for Greece. According to German officials, IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn said the aid could total up to €120 billion ($158 billion) over three years—nearly three times the amount recently pledged.
A Greek official said the IMF is considering increasing loans to Greece, but expressed doubts about whether the boost would happen. Meanwhile, Europe's hopes of containing the crisis dimmed as Greece's debt woes spread to Portugal, sparking a market selloff across the globe. Charles Forelle, Thorold Barker and Evan Newmark discuss.
Mr. Strauss-Kahn wouldn't confirm or deny that, saying that negotiations with Greece were continuing and that there was no decision on the numbers. Previously, EU authorities had said only that the euro zone and the IMF would lend Greece around €45 billion in the first year of a three-year program. German lawmakers said Mr. Strauss-Kahn put the package at €100 billion to €120 billion over three years.
Meanwhile, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said an agreement with Greece on the terms of aid could be reached by this weekend, allowing Germany's parliament to pass the necessary legislation by May 7. EU leaders are expected to sign off on the aid package on May 10, so that Greece can receive funds in time for its large bond repayments due on May 19.
After Tuesday's rout in European markets, the downgrade in Spain's credit rating spurred nervous investors in Europe to unload more stocks and bonds tied to debt-laden countries on the euro-zone's periphery. The jitters spread to Europe's corporate debt markets, where the cost of insuring against debt defaults by European companies jumped. In the U.S., the news on Spain sparked a brief selloff in stocks, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average into negative territory before recovering to close up 53.28 at 11045.27 on news from the Federal Reserve that interest rates will remain low for some time.
Greece remained at the heart of market woes. The cost of insuring $10 million of Greek government debt against default for five years jumped to more than $900,000, from $824,000 on Tuesday, signaling extreme fear of a default, before falling to $760,000 by evening in London, according to CMA DataVision.
That respite was sparked by the news that the aid package for Greece could be significantly larger than expected and by assurances from senior EU and German officials that it won't involve restructuring Greece's debt.
The IMF appears to hope that signaling a willingness to offer Greece roughly three times what it and the EU have already pledged will achieve what their previous efforts have failed to do—assuage investor concerns about a default. During the global financial crisis, the U.S. and many European countries were successful with a similar strategy, pledging huge sums to backstop their banks.
A program of up to €120 billion could mean that Greece doesn't need to borrow from capital markets again until 2012, giving the country more time to convince investors that it can repair its budget deficit. However, hurdles remain: The deal will only be finalized if Greece commits to stiff austerity policies over three years, and the IMF and euro-zone governments give their approval.
Political bickering over the Greek bailout in Germany, where aid for Athens is deeply unpopular, has been a major source of the uncertainty roiling financial markets in the past week. Chancellor Angela Merkel's government, which faces an important regional election on May 9, has sought to reassure voters at home that it is being tough on Greece, dragging out EU talks on aid in recent months. Germany, Europe's biggest and financially strongest economy, is essential to a euro-zone rescue package.
Mr. Strauss-Kahn and ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet on Wednesday warned leaders of German political parties in Berlin that the euro zone could face an even bigger crisis if Germany's parliament delays the expected Greek aid package.
"Every day that is lost, the situation is growing worse and worse, not only in Greece but in the European Union," Mr. Strauss-Kahn said at a news conference.
Europe's Debt Crisis
Take a look at events that have rattled European governments and global markets.
Mr. Trichet said Greece's fiscal problems are "a very special case," but that the stability of the whole euro zone is at stake. "It is extremely important that the decision is taken extremely rapidly," Mr. Trichet said, adding: "That calls for a fast procedure in the German parliament."
EU President Herman Van Rompuy and Germany's Mr. Schäuble said a debt restructuring for Greece isn't on the table. Mr. Schäuble rejected demands from German lawmakers that banks should pay part of the cost of bailing out Greece, saying a debt restructuring would destabilize the situation further and is "not an issue" in the EU-IMF talks with Athens.
While Europe lumbers toward arranging aid for Greece, financial markets are increasingly focused on whether other euro-zone countries will be unable to cope with their fast-rising debts.
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, which cut Spain's debt rating by one notch to double-A from double-A-plus on Wednesday, said the country's poor growth outlook in coming years will make it hard for it to repair its public finances. S&P also warned of possible further downgrades.
Only on Tuesday, S&P downgraded Greece's debt to "junk" status and cut Portugal's credit rating sharply, triggering heavy selling of the euro and on bonds of other indebted euro-zone members.
Spain, unlike tiny Greece or Portugal, is a large and important part of the euro-zone economy, and a full-blown debt crisis in Spain would severely test Europe's capacity to mount a rescue.
Economists say Spain is still some way from needing a bailout like Greece, as Spain's overall public debt is relatively low despite the country's gaping budget deficit. The IMF expects Spanish public debt to reach around 67% of gross domestic product this year, compared with 124% in Greece.
German lawmaker Jürgen Trittin said IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn said the rescue plan was likely to total between €100 billion and €120 billion.
But countries' individual circumstances might count for little if the Greek mess isn't resolved quickly and decisively, economists warn. "Markets tend not to discriminate as much when there's panic," says Ken Wattret, European economist at BNP Paribas in London.
S&P said it cut Spain's credit rating because it expects the Spanish economy to grow by only 0.7% on average until 2016, lower than previous forecasts. Sluggish growth hurts tax revenues and pushes up spending on jobless benefits, making it harder for a country to balance its budget.
Spain's deputy finance minister José Manuel Campa said in an interview that S&P's growth prediction was too pessimistic and "outside the range of all the analyst forecasts I've seen." Spain'shigh bond yields are "temporary" and reflect the situation in Greece, making it vital to resolve the Greek crisis quickly, Mr. Campa said.
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Marqueteiro vitorioso do Lula-2002, Duda Mendonça avalia que há na condução da campanha de Dilma-2010. 
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