Category Archives: Portugal

‘A devastating force’: how recent Mediterranean storms turned to tragedies

Posted on by

Atmospheric machine-gun has fired storm after deadly storm at the region this year, leaving a trail of widespread destruction

For Andrés Sánchez Barea, in Spain, it was the fear that arose when water started to spurt from plug sockets. For Nelson Duarte, in Portugal, it was the helplessness that hit as violent winds smacked down trees and tore tiles from roofs. For Amal Essuide, in Morocco, it was the reality that dawned when a corpse was pulled onboard a boat in the flooded medina.

Each moment of horror is a fragment of the destruction wrought by an atmospheric machine-gun that in recent weeks has fired storm after storm at the western Mediterranean. Scientists do not know if climate breakdown helped pull the trigger, but research suggests it loaded the chamber with bigger bullets.

Continue reading...

Faulty cable caused Lisbon funicular crash, inquiry finds

Posted on by

Report says snapped cable between cabins was substandard and city’s other funiculars should fix risk before reopening

The funicular that crashed in Lisbon killing 16 people in early September had a faulty cable, the official inquiry said on Monday as it recommended the city’s vehicles stay out of service until their safety can be confirmed.

The accident, which saw the picture-postcard 19th-century Elevador da Glória hurtle into a building after careering off the rails, shocked the Portuguese capital and laid bare fears over the safety of the popular yet ageing tourist attraction.

Continue reading...

Burqa ban bill approved by Portugal’s parliament seen as targeting Muslim women

Posted on by

If signed into law, the bill proposed by far-right party would follow other European countries in banning face veils

Portugal’s parliament has approved a bill banning face veils worn for “gender or religious” reasons in public, in a move seen as targeting Muslim women who wear face coverings.

The measure was proposed by the far-right Chega party and would prohibit coverings such as burqas (a full-body garment that covers a woman from head to foot) and niqabs (the full-face Islamic veil with space around the eyes) from being worn in most public places. Face veils would still be allowed in airplanes, diplomatic premises and places of worship.

Continue reading...

Portugal’s far-right Chega falls well short of expectations in local elections

Posted on by

Party hoped to take 30 municipalities but secured three after share of vote halved from parliamentary elections

Portugal’s far-right Chega party has won its first mayoral seats in local elections, final results showed, but fell well short of expectations as its vote share halved from parliamentary elections in May.

The six-year-old nationalist party, whose name means “Enough”, took control of three city halls: São Vicente on the island of Madeira; the central town of Entroncamento; and Albufeira in the south. It won an 11.86% share of the overall vote.

Continue reading...

Judge quashes Home Office’s decision on US extradition of vulnerable man

Posted on by

Portugal has also made extradition request for Diogo Santos Coelho, who is facing cybercrime charges

A high court judge has quashed a Home Office decision that paved the way for a vulnerable autistic man to be extradited to the US on cybercrime charges carrying a possible 52-year sentence.

The UK government has accepted that Diogo Santos Coelho, 25, a Portuguese national, was groomed and exploited online by adults from the age of 14, leading to him setting up the website RaidForums, to which the alleged crimes relate.

Continue reading...

UK to explore extraditing Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brückner

Posted on by

Met chief Mark Rowley says many questions remain and detectives are liaising with German and Portuguese police

Mark Rowley has said the British police investigation into Madeleine McCann will explore extraditing the German national Christian Brückner to the UK to stand trial over the three-year-old’s disappearance.

Brückner was released from a German prison on Wednesday after serving a seven-year jail term for the rape of an elderly woman in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in 2005, two years before Madeleine disappeared while on holiday with her family in the same town.

Continue reading...

Prime Madeleine McCann suspect refuses Met interview before German prison release

Posted on by

Scotland Yard made formal request to interview Christian Brückner, due for release from seven-year rape sentence

The prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has refused to be interviewed by the Metropolitan police before his pending release from prison in Germany, the force has said.

The Met confirmed it had submitted a formal international request to question Christian Brückner, the 49-year-old German national who has long been under investigation in connection with Madeleine’s disappearance, but the suspect declined.

Continue reading...

Lisbon funicular cable snapped before deadly crash, report finds

Posted on by

Investigators say it had not been possible to visually inspect section of cable that separated before incident

A cable linking two carriages snapped shortly before Wednesday’s funicular crash in Lisbon that killed 16 people, accident inspectors have said in a report.

An operator tried to apply emergency brakes but failed to prevent the derailment, investigators added.

Continue reading...

Families of British couple killed in Lisbon funicular crash ‘heartbroken’

Posted on by

Relatives pay tribute to Kayleigh Smith, 36, and William Nelson, 44, who died when the Elevador da Glória derailed

The families of a British couple killed in Lisbon after a funicular streetcar derailed have paid tribute to them and have said they are “heartbroken”.

Kayleigh Smith, 36, and William Nelson, 44, died alongside 14 other people after the Elevador da Glória hurtled down a hill and careered into a building on Wednesday night.

Continue reading...

Families of British couple killed in Lisbon funicular crash ‘heartbroken’

Posted on by

Relatives pay tribute to Kayleigh Smith, 36, and William Nelson, 44, who died when the Elevador da Glória derailed

The families of a British couple killed in Lisbon after a funicular streetcar derailed have paid tribute to them and have said they are “heartbroken”.

Kayleigh Smith, 36, and William Nelson, 44, died alongside 14 other people after the Elevador da Glória hurtled down a hill and careered into a building on Wednesday night.

Continue reading...

Spain and Portugal wildfire weather made 40 times more likely by climate crisis, study finds

Posted on by

Wildfires were 30% more intense than would have been expected without global heating, scientists say

The extreme weather that fuelled “astonishing” blazes across Spain and Portugal last month was made 40 times more likely by climate breakdown, early analysis suggests.

The deadly wildfires, which torched 500,000 hectares (1.2m acres) of the Iberian peninsula in a matter of weeks, were also 30% more intense than scientists would have expected in a world without climate change, according to researchers from the World Weather Attribution network.

Continue reading...

Portugal declares day of mourning for 15 people killed in Lisbon funicular railway crash

Posted on by

Another 18 people injured when Gloria funicular railway car derails and apparently crashed into a building

A day of national mourning has been declared in Portugal after at least 15 people were killed when Lisbon’s well-known Gloria funicular railway car derailed and crashed on Wednesday.

An emergency services spokesperson said some foreign nationals were among the dead but would not identify the victims or disclose their nationalities. At least 18 people, including a child, were injured, five of them seriously.

Continue reading...

Thousands evacuated in Spain amid deadly wildfires and new heatwave

Posted on by

Temperatures of 44C predicted as blazes rage across Europe

Almost 6,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in northern, central and southern Spain as wildfires continue to burn amid a heatwave that could bring temperatures of 44C to some parts of the country.

The deadly heat across large parts of Europe has created what scientists have called a “molotov cocktail” of climatic conditions that is fuelling vast wildfires.

Continue reading...

UK family killed in car crash on holiday in southern Portugal

Posted on by

Four members of family from Thetford, Norfolk, died after car collided with another vehicle in Alentejo region

A UK family have been killed in a car accident while holidaying in southern Portugal, local authorities have confirmed.

Domingos Serrano, 55, his wife, Maria, 51, and their 20-year-old twin sons, Afonso and Domingos, died when their car collided with another vehicle on Saturday on the IP2 motorway near Castro Verde, in the Alentejo region.

Continue reading...

Mourners gather in Portugal for Diogo Jota’s wake as Salah and Robertson pay tribute

Posted on by

Mourners gathered on Friday morning to honour Liverpool footballer Diogo Jota at a wake in Portugal

Mourners have gathered at a wake in Portugal to commemorate Diogo Jota and his brother, André Silva, following their deaths in a car accident.

Jota and his 25-year-old sibling died when the Lamborghini they were travelling in careered off a road in north-western Spain in the early hours of Thursday. The bodies of the two professional footballers were returned to Portugal later that day. Jota was 28 and had married his long-term partner, Rute Cardoso, 11 days before his death. They had three young children.

Continue reading...

Campaigners mount coordinated protests across Europe against ‘touristification’

Posted on by

Protesters take to streets in a dozen cities to march against an industry they say is wrecking communities

Campaigners in at least a dozen tourist hotspots across southern Europe have taken to the streets to protest against “touristification”.

It is the most widespread joint action to date against what they see as the steady reshaping of their cities to meet the needs of tourists rather than people who live and work there.

Continue reading...

Weather tracker: Europe and China in midst of record-breaking heat

Posted on by

Temperatures over 40C recorded in Portugal and Spain, while China endures heatwave conditions in high 40s

Temperature records for early June are being broken across large parts of Europe, with the mercury reaching 40.5C (104.9F) in Mértola, Portugal, on Sunday. On the same day, several weather stations in Spain recorded temperatures in excess of 42C, with dozens of sites at record levels for early summer. Across the Balkans, temperatures reached 37C. On Monday, 37.6C was recorded in Tirana, Albania, while in Greece night-time minimum temperatures have stayed mostly over 30C for much of this week.

Hot conditions are to intensify across central and western Europe over the next few days, with temperatures across large parts of France, Benelux, Italy and west Germany expected to reach the low to mid 30s celsius. Highs of up to 35C are expected in Paris on Friday, with up to 38C forecast in Rome. Conditions will ease somewhat, but a heatwave will soon develop across Iberia, with Madrid expected to reach the high-30s celsius each day next week.

Continue reading...

Far-right Chega party becomes main opposition in Portugal’s parliament

Posted on by

Party takes second place in election after overseas votes counted, overturning decades of bipartisan politics

The far-right Chega party has overturned decades of bipartisan politics in Portugal by squeaking into second place in the country’s third snap election in three years, edging out the socialists to become the biggest opposition party in parliament.

The centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD), led by the prime minister, Luís Montenegro, finished first in the election 10 days ago, but once again fell well short of a majority, taking 31.2% of the vote and winning 91 seats in Portugal’s 230-seat assembly. But the race for second place was a closely fought contest between the Socialist party (PS) and Chega.

Continue reading...

Centre-right party wins Portuguese election as far right makes record gains

Posted on by

Incumbent Democratic Alliance, led by caretaker prime minister Luís Montenegro, falls well short of majority

Portugal’s incumbent, centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD) has won the country’s third snap general election in three years – but once again fallen well short of a majority – as the underperforming socialists were left vying for second place with the far-right Chega party, which took a record 22% of the vote.

By midnight on Sunday, with 99% of the votes counted, the AD – led by the prime minister, Luís Montenegro – had won 32.1% of the vote and taken 86 seats in Portugal’s 230-seat assembly, leaving it far shy of the 116 needed for a majority. The Socialist party (PS) had taken 23.4% of the vote t0 Chega’s 22.6%, and the two were tied on 58 seats each.

Continue reading...

Portuguese far-right leader taken to hospital after second collapse

Posted on by

André Ventura taken ill at campaign event less than 48 hours after first collapse and three days before election

The leader of Portugal’s far-right Chega party has been taken to hospital after another collapse during a rally days before the country votes in its third snap election since 2022.

André Ventura, whose brash, blunt leadership style has helped make the populist, anti-immigration party Portugal’s third biggest political force, was taken ill at an event in the southern town of Odemira on Thursday, two days after a similar episode.

Continue reading...