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A Regional Civil Protection Service helicopter fights the blaze on Madeira

Portugal seeks EU help as fire threatens UNESCO forest

Portugal has appealed to European Union partners for assistance in fighting a wildfire on the island of Madeira that has raged for a week and threatened a UNESCO-listed forest.

Europe • 21 Aug 24

Guilherme Peixoto entertains a crowd in Laundos

Portuguese 'DJ priest' plays upbeat tunes to spread hope

Portuguese priest Guilherme Peixoto rose to fame playing electronic dance music near his church in a tiny Portuguese village.

News Lens • 13 Jul 24

Primark to open four new stores in Portugal

Retailer Primark, which trades as Penneys here, is to invest over €40m in its stores in Portugal.

Business • 20 Jun 24

The southern Algarve is dependent on tourism

Portugal vows to deal with 'systemic drought' in Algarve

Portugal's government has said it will speed up investments worth €366 million to combat a "systemic drought" in the tourism-dependent southern Algarve and quickly provide water equivalent to one year's urban usage in the region.

Europe • 06 Jun 24

Madeleine McCann disappeared 17 years ago while on holiday in Portugal

Madeleine absence 'still aches' 17 years on, say parents

The parents of Madeleine McCann have released a statement on the 17th anniversary of her disappearance, saying "the absence still aches".

World • 03 May 24

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa had said Portugal could use several methods to pay reparations, such as cancelling the debt of former colonies

Portugal's government rejects paying slavery reparations

Portugal's government has said it refuses to initiate any process to pay reparations for atrocities committed during transatlantic slavery and the colonial era, contrary to earlier comments from President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

World • 28 Apr 24

The incident occurred near Albufeira (File image)

Irish man dies in incident off Algarve beach

An Irish man has died after getting into difficulties while swimming in Portugal.

Ireland • 21 Apr 24

Luis Montenegro's Democratic Alliance won a parliamentary election on 10 March

Centre-right leader Montenegro named Portugal PM

Portugal's President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has invited Luis Montenegro, whose centre-right Democratic Alliance won a parliamentary election on 10 March by a slim margin, to form a minority government.

Europe • 21 Mar 24

Democratic Alliance (AD) leader Luis Montenegro celebrating his party's election win

Portugal faces uncertainty after knife-edge election

Portugal looks set for a period of political uncertainty after no party won a majority in a general election at the weekend that has left the far-right in the role of potential kingmaker.

Europe • 11 Mar 24

The announcement was made by Portugal's President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa

Election called in Portugal amid corruption scandal

Portugal will hold a snap parliamentary election on 10 March, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has said, after the abrupt resignation of Prime Minister Antonio Costa amid a corruption investigation.

Europe • 09 Nov 23

Antonio Costa has resigned as Portugal's Prime Minister

Portugal PM Costa resigns over corruption investigation

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa has resigned, just hours after prosecutors detained his chief of staff in a probe into alleged corruption in his administration's handling of lithium mining and hydrogen projects.

Europe • 08 Nov 23

President Michael D Higgins is greeted by President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa of Portugal

President calls for climate action at meeting in Porto

President Michael D Higgins is in Portugal to attend an annual meeting of EU presidents known as the Arraiolos Group.

Ireland • 06 Oct 23

Smoke from the wildfires pictured billowing over the Catholic shrine of Fatima yesterday

1,000 firefighters battle blazes in Portugal

More than 1,000 firefighters battled a wildfire in central Portugal as officials warned that thousands of hectares were at risk amid soaring temperatures across the country.

World • 06 Aug 23

Pope Francis urged the young people to take the fraternal experiences of the six-day event back home and apply them to their daily lives

Crowd of 1.5 million brave heat to see Pope in Portugal

Pope Francis has closed an international festival of Catholic youth with a huge outdoor Mass and his own "I have a dream" speech, saying it was for world peace, especially for Ukraine.

World • 06 Aug 23

Pope Francis greeted thousands of pilgrims in Lisbon from the Popemobile

Pope preaches climate action at World Youth Day opening

Half a million young people chanted, cheered and shouted as they packed a Lisbon park today to give Pope Francis a rock star welcome at the official opening ceremony of a global Catholic youth festival.

World • 03 Aug 23

The fire has swept across a natural park near the popular holiday destination of Cascais

Firefighters scramble to put out Portugal wildfire

Local residents have been helping hundreds of Portuguese firefighters who have scrambled to put out flames sweeping across a natural park near the popular holiday destination of Cascais, with strong winds complicating efforts to tackle the blaze.

Europe • 26 Jul 23

A large section of the Barragem do Arade reservoir had been cordoned off since Tuesday morning

Portugal search in Madeleine McCann investigation ends

Police have completed the latest search effort in the16-year-old hunt for missing British girl Madeleine McCann after collecting unspecified samples by a reservoir in Portugal.

Europe • 25 May 23

Portuguese authorities from the Judicial Police criminal investigation unit searching the Arade dam area

Madeleine McCann search focuses on Portugese reservoir

Police investigating the disappearance of British girl Madeleine McCann in 2007 have searched in and around a reservoir in southern Portugal.

Europe • 24 May 23

People aged over 18 will be allowed to request assistance in dying if they are terminally ill and in intolerable suffering

Euthanasia legalised by Portuguese parliament

After a long battle, Portugal has passed a law legalising euthanasia for people in great suffering and with incurable diseases, joining just a handful of countries around the world.

Europe • 12 May 23

The number of evictions has also been increasing, jumping 13% in Lisbon last year compared to pre-pandemic 2019, according to government data (stock image)

Portuguese youth defer dreams as housing crisis bites

Portugal ranks as one of western Europe's poorest nations. But its capital was last year ranked the world's third least financially viable city, thanks to its punishing combination of low wages and high rents.

World • 26 Mar 23

The Independent Commission for the Study of Sexual Abuse against Children in the Portuguese Catholic Church published its report

Portugal clergy abused nearly 5,000 children - inquiry

Almost 5,000 children were sexually abused by members of the Portuguese Catholic Church - mostly priests - over the past 70 years, a commission investigating the issue said in its final report.

World • 13 Feb 23

Portugal's Galp said its adjusted profit almost doubled to €881m, surpassing the previous record of €707m set in 2018

Galp posts record profit in 2022 on soaring oil prices

Portuguese oil and gas company Galp Energia has today reported a record adjusted net profit for 2022, due to soaring oil prices and wider refining margins in the fourth quarter.

Business • 13 Feb 23

Vodafone said it would own 51% and Hutchison 49% under the deal being discussed

Vodafone, Three UK in talks for merger of operations

Vodafone said today it was in talks with CK Hutchison about merging their businesses in Britain, to create a market leading operator that could accelerate the roll-out of 5G and expand broadband connectivity.

Business • 03 Oct 22

Madeleine McCann was reported missing during a family holiday to Praia da Luz, Portugal, on 3 May 2007

European court rules against McCann parents

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled against the parents of missing British child Madeleine McCann, saying that Portugal did give the parents a fair hearing in their libel case against a former Portuguese policeman.

World • 20 Sep 22

Polish firefighters arrive at Hostens to help battle wildfires in southwestern France

Virulent fire reignites near Toulouse as 130 evacuated

French firefighters tackled wildfires raging in the country's southeast today as officials kept a wary eye on a huge blaze that appeared to be contained further west.

World • 13 Aug 22