Portugal raises taxes to speed deficit cutting

The Portuguese government Thursday approved a series of measures, including tax increases and salary cuts for politicians and other public employees, intended to speed up the reduction of the country’s budget deficit, Prime Minister Jose Socrates said. The move follows the announcement Wednesday of similar measures in neighboring Spain, where Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero’s government has likewise been under pressure from international financial markets, the European Union and the European Central Bank to slash its budget deficit.