Category Archives: Portugal

Portugal’s far-right Chega party eyes kingmaker role as country goes to polls

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Election triggered by resignation of prime minister António Costa could see scandal-hit Socialist party ousted by rightwing coalition

The Portuguese left and right are braced for a tight race as the country votes in its second snap general election in three years, a closely fought contest that is also expected to result in huge gains and a possible kingmaker role for the far-right Chega party.

Sunday’s election was triggered by the collapse of the socialist government of António Costa, who resigned as prime minister in November amid an investigation of alleged illegalities in his administration’s handling of large green investment projects.

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‘We have never been this close’: Portuguese far right aims for election breakthrough

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André Ventura is hoping discontent with mainstream politics will hand his Chega party a kingmaker role

Tempting as the tables of savoury pastries were, and strong as the voice of the shaven-headed singer belting out Phil Collins was, they were not the lure that had drawn 200 people to a remote wedding venue in northern Portugal on a cold and ink-black Wednesday evening.

Despite the sign at the opposite end of the hall reading “Let’s get this party started”, the audience’s attention was more focused on a huge campaign poster behind the singer that offered a less hedonistic exhortation: “Portugal needs a CLEAN-UP.”

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Portugal election campaign heats up as voters prepare to go to the polls on Sunday – Europe live

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Portugal’s prime minister António Costa resigned last November amid investigation into handling of green investment projects

We’ve received a note from Miguel Barreira, a member of the Liberal Initiative party, which has polling at around 5%.

More than Chega (or, as I call it, Ventura’s one-person Party), who it seems to be losing steam and radicalising its campaign in these last few days, my party will probably be key to allow PSD to form a working majority, without accepting any kind of talks or negotiating with the far-right Chega.

Well, time to get back to the campaign trail.

We continue to believe that the most likely scenario is a right-wing coalition with the support of the far-right populist Chega. If the AD wins the most votes, there is a possibility that the PS will refrain from bringing down a centre-right minority government so as to keep Chega out of government.

This arrangement would in any case be likely to last only until the 2025 budget comes to a vote towards the end of this year. Another snap election in 2024 or early 2025 is therefore a risk.

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Serbian elections took place under ‘unjust conditions,’ international observers say – as it happened

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Day after Aleksandar Vučić’s populist ruling party declared victory, concerns raised over vote-buying and ballot box stuffing. This live blog is closed

The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has arrived in Budapest to meet Hungary’s leadership.

The relationship between Turkey and Hungary is closely watched in the west, in part because the two countries have been delaying Sweden’s accession to Nato.

One thing that is significant is the level of irregularities that was noticed … we’ll need to get a full investigation, but the large numbers of voters which were apparently bused to Belgrade, to vote especially in the local elections, is something we haven’t seen on that scale before.

And that suggests a very systematic effort of the government to ensure it gets a majority in Belgrade. So this is something which is certainly noteworthy. I mean, there’s been manipulation in the past but this seems to be more serious.

Even if it’s not clear that the opposition will be strong enough to actually be able to form a government, but at least it suggests that there’s a genuine weakness in Belgrade.

I think nobody doubted that they would win the elections, but nobody expected that they would improve on the result of last year by such a margin.

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Portugal to hold snap election – the second in two years – after PM quits

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President announces 10 March date for parliamentary election after António Costa stepped down on Tuesday

Portugal will hold a snap parliamentary election – its second in as many years – on 10 March, the president has announced after Tuesday’s abrupt resignation of the Socialist prime minister amid a corruption investigation.

In an address late on Thursday, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said he would disband parliament, where the Socialist party has a majority of seats, only after the final vote on the 2024 budget bill, due on 29 November. The house approved the bill on first reading on 31 October.

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Portuguese PM António Costa resigns amid corruption inquiry

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Police search socialist prime minister’s official residence in investigation into alleged corruption

Portugal’s socialist prime minister, António Costa, has resigned hours after prosecutors examining alleged corruption involving lithium and “green” hydrogen deals announced that he was under investigation and police searched dozens of addresses, including his official residence and the environment and infrastructure ministries.

Speaking on Tuesday afternoon after two emergency meetings with Portugal’s president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Costa said he had submitted his resignation, adding he had a “clear conscience” and “complete trust in justice” and how it worked.

Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report

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Storm Ciarán kills at least 15 across western Europe as floods strike Italy

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Tuscany is in a state of emergency and three people died when their sailing boat capsized off Portugal

At least six people have died in severe flooding in Tuscany, central Italy and three in Portugal, bringing to 15 the provisional death toll across western Europe from the torrential rain and record winds brought by Storm Ciarán.

Eugenio Giani, the president of Tuscany, announced a state of emergency on Friday, describing the situation as “really very serious”. It had been “a long and complex night for the entire regional civil protection system”, he said.

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Portuguese police apologise to Madeleine McCann’s parents

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Officers apologised to parents of missing girl earlier this year for their handling of investigation and treatment of family

Portuguese police have apologised to the family of Madeleine McCann for the handling of the unsolved case, more than 16 years after the three-year-old’s mystery disappearance in 2007.

Earlier this year, a delegation of police officers travelled from Lisbon to London to apologise for the handling of the investigation and how the family was treated, according to BBC Panorama.

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Claims about genuine age of Bobi, world’s oldest dog, to be investigated

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Guiness World Records to look into claims after scepticism over whether the Portuguese mastiff really lived to be 31

The death of Bobi the Portuguese mastiff at 31 was history-making – no dog before had ever reached such a grand old age.

But awe soon turned into scepticism, as vets wondered whether it was biologically possible for a dog to live for the equivalent of 200 human years.

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‘Pervasive and relentless’ racism on the rise in Europe, survey finds

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Poll of 6,752 people of African descent in 13 countries finds almost half have experienced discrimination

Racism is “pervasive and relentless” and on the rise in Europe, with nearly half of black people in member states surveyed by the EU reporting discrimination, from the verbal abuse of their children to being blocked by landlords from renting homes.

In every walk of life, from schools to the job market, housing and health, a survey by the EU’s rights agency of people of African descent found high levels of discrimination, with some of the worst results recorded in Austria and Germany, where far-right parties have been on the rise.

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European leaders pledge crackdown on antisemitism as incidents rise

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Bans on pro-Hamas celebrations and pro-Palestinian protests announced in several countries amid tensions

Officials across Europe are scrambling to curtail any spillover of tensions from the Israel-Hamas war, with Germany pledging a “zero tolerance” approach to antisemitism and France banning pro-Palestinian protests amid concerns for public order.

The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, told parliament on Thursday that while thousands of people had rallied in support of Israel, the country had also seen “disgraceful images on our streets in which the most brutal acts of terror have been celebrated in broad daylight”.

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Portugal to scrap ‘unjust’ tax breaks for foreign residents

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Low-tax scheme launched during financial crisis has stoked housing inflation that has drawn protests across country

Tax breaks for foreign residents in Portugal are “no longer justified”, the prime minister, Antonio Costa, has declared, promising to close the scheme for new applicants in 2024 after it stoked housing prices in one of western Europe’s poorest nations.

Launched in 2009, the scheme allows people who become residents by spending more than 183 days a year in the country to benefit from a special 20% tax rate on Portuguese-sourced income derived from “high value-added activities“”, such as doctors and university teachers.

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UK one of 32 countries facing European court action over climate stance

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Six Portuguese young people claim inadequate policies to tackle global heating breach their human rights

A key plank of the UK government’s defence against the biggest climate legal action in the world next week has fallen away as a result of the U-turn by the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, on green policies.

The UK is one of 32 countries being taken to the European court of human rights on Wednesday by a group of Portuguese young people. They will argue in the grand chamber of the Strasbourg court that the nations’ policies to tackle global heating are inadequate and in breach of their human rights obligations.

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Weather tracker: floods, storms and wildfires in Europe

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North of continent records unusually wet and windy summer conditions while Portugal and Spain battle flames

Floods struck northern and central Europe last week. Some areas of Slovenia recorded more than 200mm of rain in 12 hours on Thursday and Friday, causing extensive flooding across two-thirds of the country. Many buildings and roads were damaged, at an estimated cost of €500m (£432m), and six deaths were reported.

Storm Hans hit the Baltic region a few days later. Hans originated as an area of low pressure over eastern Europe, but quickly deepened as it travelled northwards towards the Baltic Sea. The low was unusually deep for a summer storm, and led to daily rainfall totals of 80 to 100mm in parts of southern Norway and Sweden earlier this week.

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‘Like a blowtorch’: Mediterranean gripped by wildfires as blazes spread in Croatia and Portugal

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‘There is no magical defence mechanism,’ says Greek prime minister as fires burn in northern Africa and southern Europe

Wildfires were burning in at least nine countries across the Mediterranean as blazes spread in Croatia and Portugal, with thousands of firefighters in Europe and north Africa working in extreme heat to contain flames stoked by high temperatures, dry conditions and strong winds.

High temperatures and parched ground sparked wildfires in countries on both sides of the Mediterranean, with at least 34 people killed in Algeria, where 8,000 firefighters on Tuesday battled blazes across the tinder-dry north. Fires burned in a total of 15 provinces, leading to the evacuation of more than 1,500 people.

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Weather tracker: heat dome raises temperatures in Spain and Portugal

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Phenomenon is forecast to expand as it strengthens, triggering conditions of more than 30C in parts of Europe

Parts of southern and western Europe have been experiencing unusually high temperatures. Areas of Spain and Portugal have recorded daily maximum temperatures in the high 30s celsius for more than a week, exceeding 40C in parts of southern Spain on Sunday. Italy, France, Germany and the Benelux region also reached the low- to mid-30s celsius in places at the weekend.

The heat is caused by a large area of high pressure that is stagnating over Europe and preventing the usual pattern of low pressure systems moving eastwards into Europe from the Atlantic. This is known as a blocking high and results in very dry and stable conditions, as the fronts associated with more dynamic weather patterns are forced away by the high pressure.

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Parents say baby’s sepsis death in Portugal ‘has destroyed all of us’

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Deza Powell and Paul Larochelle criticise authorities for delays in transferring Adonis to an ICU

The parents of a 10-month-old baby who died on holiday in Portugal have said their lives have been destroyed.

Deza Powell and Paul Larochelle said they wanted answers from the Portuguese authorities after their son, Adonis, died of sepsis on 19 May, 48 hours after he was first treated in hospital.

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Madeleine McCann: material found in Portugal search sent for analysis

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Police spent three days scouring reservoir after request by German authorities hoping to prove case against convicted rapist

Portuguese police have said material unearthed from a reservoir in Algarve will be sent to Germany for analysis after the first major search for Madeleine McCann in a decade came to a close.

After three days of excavation on a spit of land jutting into the Barragem do Arade reservoir in south Portugal, officers were stood down and a spokesperson for the Polícia Judiciária said the collected material would be delivered to the German authorities.

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Madeleine McCann: Portuguese and German police begin searching reservoir site

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Operation at site about 30 miles from where three-year-old went missing in 2007 is expected to last two days

Portuguese and German police launched a search of the banks of a reservoir in the Algarve for Madeleine McCann after photographs and video of the site were said to have been found in the possession of a man suspected of involvement in the child’s disappearance 16 years ago.

Officers with pickaxes, chainsaws and rakes started to examine the barren spot and surrounding woods by the Barragem do Arade reservoir in Portugal on Tuesday morning, fanning out across a piece of land roughly 500 sq metres in size.

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Portuguese police to search reservoir for Madeleine McCann, say reports

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Search reportedly to take place at behest of German authorities about 25 miles from where Madeleine went missing

An active search for Madeleine McCann is to be carried out for the first time in nearly a decade in a reservoir in Portugal, according to reports.

Police officers are to search Barragem do Arade reservoir near the town of Silves in the Algarve, according to German media, about 25 miles (40km) from Praia da Luz where Madeleine disappeared aged three from her family’s holiday apartment on 3 May 2007.

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