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A firefighter takes position at a a forest fire in southwestern France

Warning of 'heat apocalypse' in southwestern France

A heatwave sweeping southern Europe that has caused hundreds of deaths and huge wildfires showed some signs of abating today but continued to move north, including towards Britain where authorities issued an extreme weather warning.

World • 18 Jul 22

Madeleine McCann went missing from Portugal's Praia da Luz seaside resort in 2007, aged three

McCanns' plea for truth as Madeleine missing 15 years

The parents of Madeleine McCann have said that finding the truth about her disappearance while on holiday in Portugal was "essential", 15 years after the "truly horrific crime".

UK • 03 May 22

Portugal's economy expanded by 4.9% last year as it bounced back from the Covid-19 crisis

Portugal posts strongest growth in over 30 years

Portugal recorded its strongest economic growth in more than three decades last year, official data showed today, boosting Socialist Prime Minister Antonio Costa's credentials after his weekend election triumph.

Business • 31 Jan 22

The results pave the way for a stronger government under Prime Minister Antonio Costa as the country tries to boost its tourism-dependent economy

Portugal's Socialists re-elected with majority

Portugal's ruling Socialists unexpectedly won an outright majority to govern solo after snap elections yesterday that also saw the far right make huge gains.

World • 31 Jan 22

Antonio Costa talking to members of the media following legislative elections today

Portugal election won by Socialists, exit poll suggests

Portugal's ruling Socialists won today's early election by a wide margin but may still fall short of an outright majority while the far right made huge gains, exit polls suggested.

World • 30 Jan 22

Fans are being urged not to buy match tickets from third-party websites or unauthorised sellers

Aviva Stadium a 'designated venue' under ticketing laws

The Aviva Stadium has been confirmed as a designated venue under the Sale of Tickets Act 2021.

Ireland • 27 Oct 21

Portugal's tourism-dependent economy contracted by 7.6% in 2020, in its steepest recession since 1936

EU approves Portugal's recovery plan

Portugal has today become the first EU country to have its recovery plan rubber-stamped by the European Commission.

Business • 16 Jun 21

TAP said its total operating income dropped 74% between January and March from a year ago and passenger revenue fell 83%

Covid-hit Portuguese airline TAP posts quarterly loss

Portugal's ailing airline TAP has today posted a first quarter loss of €365.1m due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on global travel and the depreciation of the euro against the US dollar.

Business • 31 May 21

Travellers from EU countries with coronavirus rates below 500 cases per 100,000 residents can make 'all types of visits to Portugal' from Monday

Portugal to begin reopening to EU tourists from Monday

Portugal is to resume admitting tourists from most European countries on Monday, the interior ministry said, following months of restrictions to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Coronavirus • 15 May 21

A bridge too far for the faint-hearted

The world's longest pedestrian suspension bridge has opened near Arouca in northern Portugal. A see-through metal grid pathway traverses the 516-metre-long span, hidden between rock-strewn mountains inside the UNESCO-recognised Arouca Geopark.

News Lens • 30 Apr 21

Under a new decree, the Portuguese government can impose limits to decibel levels within residential buildings during the working day, so as not to disturb remote workers

Portuguese noise ban lifts remote workers' hopes

The construction site outside Brazilian journalist Giuliana Miranda's suburban Lisbon apartment didn't bother her much - until remote working kicked in and the drilling noise drowned out her interviewees on Zoom. Soon, she moved house.

News Lens • 15 Feb 21

The bill legalises access to assisted suicide for adult patients in a situation of 'extreme suffering and irreversible damage'

Portuguese parliament votes to legalise euthanasia

Portugal's parliament has passed a law allowing medically assisted dying, putting the Catholic-majority country on course to become the fourth in Europe to legalise euthanasia.

World • 29 Jan 21

Portugal is currently seeing a new surge in infections, with a record 10,027 cases recorded over the past 24 hours

Portugal reports record 10,000 new Covid-19 cases

Portugal has reported a record 10,000 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours, and the government warned that its hospitals were under "enormous pressure" from the resurgence of the pandemic.

Coronavirus • 06 Jan 21

The canoe had drifted from another beach and then capsized in strong tides

Portuguese president turns hero in Algarve rescue

Portugal's president has been hailed a hero after he rescued two girls whose canoe had capsized off an Algarve beach at the weekend.

Europe • 18 Aug 20

Portugal will increase its stake in TAP to 72.5% from the current 50%

Portugal seals deal with TAP's private shareholders

Portugal's government said it has sealed a final deal with private shareholders of ailing flag carrier TAP to take a controlling stake in the airline while avoiding nationalisation.

Business • 03 Jul 20

Madeline McCann vanished in Portugal in 2007

German prosecutors believe Madeleine McCann is dead

German public prosecutors have said they are investigating a 43-year-old German man on suspicion of murder and believe that Madeleine McCann, the British girl who disappeared in Portugal in 2007 aged just three, is dead.

UK • 04 Jun 20

Portugal has so far recorded 1,000 Covid-19 deaths and some 25,000 cases

Portugal announces gradual lockdown exit plan

Portugal's government has announced a plan for a gradual exit from coronavirus lockdown, starting on Monday with the opening of some shops and businesses.

Coronavirus • 30 Apr 20

Compulsory masks and beach controls mooted in Portugal

Portugal may make face mask use compulsory on public transport and impose beach restrictions during the summer months as part of a plan to ease the coronavirus lockdown, while Spain's death toll from the pandemic has risen to over 20,000.

Coronavirus • 18 Apr 20

Strong winds from Storm Fabien brought down trees, like this one in Valencia in Spain

Nine dead as storms batter Spain, Portugal and France

The death toll from storms that have battered Spain, Portugal and France has risen to nine as the region braced for more violent winds and heavy rain.

World • 22 Dec 19

Greta Thunberg set sail from Virginia on 13 November

Greta Thunberg sails in for climate summit

Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg has arrived at a port in Portugal after crossing the Atlantic in a catamaran to attend a UN climate change summit in Madrid.

Environment • 03 Dec 19

The payments were stopped when the nuns returned to live in Ireland

Ombudsman's European link resolves nuns' pension issue

Ombudsman Peter Tyndall has liaised with his Portuguese opposite number to restore pension payments to three Irish nuns that were stopped when the sisters returned from Portugal to live in Ireland.

Ireland • 10 Oct 19

A woman casts her vote at a polling station near Lisbon

Exit polls show Portugal's Socialists lead in election

Portugal's incumbent Prime Minister Antonio Costa's Socialists have taken the lead in a general election, exit polls have shown, after presiding over a period of solid economic growth following years of austerity.

Europe • 06 Oct 19

As petrol stations were starting to run dry, the government declared an energy crisis

Portugal declares energy crisis amid fuel shortages

Portugal's government has declared an energy crisis following significant fuel shortages caused by a tanker drivers' strike. Motorists have been filling up in the run-up to the strike causing some 15% of the country's service stations to run completely dry.

World • 12 Aug 19

Nearly 1,300 firefighters backed by 17 water-dropping aircraft were deployed to fight the blazes

Winds revive Portugal wildfires

Portugal has requested the loan of two water-bombing planes as winds revived massive wildfires in a central region where dozens of people were killed in huge blazes in 2017.

World • 23 Jul 19

Five regions of central and southern Portugal are on maximum fire alert

1,300 firefighters tackling wildfires in Portugal

Planes and helicopters have joined more than a thousand firefighters in central Portugal to battle huge wildfires in a mountainous region where over 100 people died in huge blazes in 2017.

World • 21 Jul 19