Cyprus President Asks Cabinet to Resign; Credit Rating Downgraded

Posted July 27th, 2011 at 5:40 pm (UTC-5)
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Cyprus President Dimitris Christofias has asked his ministers to resign as part of a major Cabinet reshuffling prompted by a deadly munitions blast and sour economy.

The president plans to announce details of his new Cabinet Thursday. His defense and foreign ministers have already resigned and the junior partner in the coalition government has ordered its Cabinet ministers to step down.

Cyprus is still reeling from a huge munitions explosion at a naval base earlier this month that killed 13 people, including the chief of the Cypriot navy.

The explosion also severely damaged a major power plant, causing electricity shortages to about half the country. Experts say it will take at least one year to fix at a cost of more than $1 billion.

The munitions were seized from an Iranian ship headed to Syria. Cyprus media say authorities knew the munitions were not being stored safely but failed to take precautions.

Also Wednesday, the Moody's credit rating agency downgraded Cypriot government bonds two levels and said the outlook for the country is negative.

Moody's cites what it calls the fiscal and economic conditions caused by the damaged power plant along with Cyprus' fractious political climate.