Portugal

Portugal’s nightclubs and bars allowed to reopen but with restrictions

Clubbers in Portugal eager to shake off the coronavirus blues will have to wait a little longer to dance the night away, as nightclubs were given the green light…

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Portugal’s TAP to resume 40% of pre-COVID flights in September

Portuguese airline TAP said on Monday it would resume 40% of its pre-coronavirus crisis operations in September, gradually restoring flights after travel demand collapsed in the pandemic. TAP was forced…

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Portugal blaze under control, but firefighters on alert

More than 850 firefighters brought a huge wildfire sweeping across part of central Portugal under control on Monday as the country entered a state of alert due to the high…

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Portugal on high alert as firefighters battle blaze

Portugal will go on high alert as more than 850 firefighters struggle to put out a fire sweeping across part of the country’s central region on Sunday, with strong winds…

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Cash-strapped Algarve fights for survival

In his near-empty pub in the Algarve in southern Portugal, Samuel Tilley is fuming that coronavirus regulations in his home country Britain are keeping tourists away, further jeopardizing an already…

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Madeleine McCann suspect investigated over rape link

Portuguese police are investigating whether a suspect in the Madeleine McCann case may also be linked to a rape in the Algarve three years before. Child sex offender Christian B…

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Benfica keep slim title hopes alive with 2-0 win over Guimaraes

Benfica kept their slim hopes of winning the Portuguese title alive as a first-half goal from midfielder Chiquinho and a late second from substitute Haris Seferovic gave them a hard-fought…

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Searches in three wells in Portugal for evidence in Madeleine McCann disappearance

Portuguese police and firefighters have explored three old, disused wells in their search for the body of missing Madeleine McCann. The operation in a remote corner of the Algarve coast…

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Madeleine McCann murder suspect paedophile past, slipped through net of investigators

The main suspect in the Madeleine McCann case twice slipped through the net of Portuguese investigators, court documents and witness testimony suggest. Sky News reports that Court documents from the suspect's…

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Talks between Portugal and UK about tourism underway

Talks between Portuguese and British authorities are under way ahead of the UK's reevaluation of its decision to keep Portugal off its list for coronavirus restriction-free travel, Prime Minister Antonio…

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Anger in Portugal at exclusion from UK safe travel list

Portugal's tourism sector reacted with fury and disbelief at Britain's decision to maintain a quarantine regime for travellers coming from Portugal despite having a higher number of coronavirus cases and…

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Portugal seals final deal with TAP’s private shareholders

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

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Talks on rescue loan for Portugal’s TAP airline ongoing

Portugal said it was negotiating with the private shareholders of airline TAP on a proposal to support the company and was prepared for all scenarios, following a media report the…

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Photo Story: Spain and Portugal reopen their common borders

(L-R) Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa, Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and Spain's King Felipe VI wave as they go for a walk along…

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Diplomatic row between UK and Portugal over quarantine

The UK is embroiled in a diplomatic row with Portugal over quarantine, as its home affairs minister denied it is high risk, and claimed the UK was in a…

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Parts of Greater Lisbon to reintroduce lockdown in an attempt to deal with worrying new wave of coronavirus cases

People in several parts of Greater Lisbon will have to go back to staying at home from next week as Portuguese authorities deal with a worrying wave of coronavirus on…

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Number of unemployed triple in Portugal’s tourist-haven Algarve

Portugal's tourism-dependent Algarve region saw its number of unemployed triple in May compared with a year ago as the coronavirus crisis kept foreign visitors away, wiping out thousands of seasonal…

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As rest of Portugal re-opens, Lisbon forced to re-introduce curfews due to new outbreaks

Portugal gave the green light on Friday to the third phase of its lockdown exit, but some restrictions will remain in Lisbon due to localised outbreaks in industrial hubs and outskirts. From June 1,…

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New COVID-19 outbreaks threaten Portugal’s safe travel image

A persistent several hundred new coronavirus cases per day and a growing outbreak after a party in the Algarve region are threatening Portugal's image as a safe holiday destination and…

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Photo Story: First pilgrimage of the year with pilgrims in Fatima

The statue of Our Lady of Fatima is carried in a procession as pilgrims take part in the first pilgrimage of the year to the Cova da Iria Sanctuary with…

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Portugal’s tourism-dependant economy expected to shrink by nearly 7% due to Covid-19

Portugal's tourism-dependent economy is expected to shrink by nearly 7% this year due to the effects of the coronavirus outbreak, the government said in its economic and financial stability programme…

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Portugal’s biggest hotel chain sees slow recovery from virus

Portugal's biggest hotel chain, the Pestana Group, is ready to welcome back tourists after tightening health safety measures, but is only confident of enough demand to reopen eight of its…

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Austria, Italy, Portugal, Spain receive €279m after natural disasters in 2019

On Thursday, Budgets Committee Members approved €279 million in EU aid following extreme weather events in Austria, Italy, Portugal and Spain in 2019. The draft report by rapporteur José Manuel Fernandes, (EPP,…

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Portugal’s TAP to restore more than 200 flights from July 1

Portugal's flag carrier TAP will resume some of its international operations to hard-hit Italy, Spain and various other destinations from the beginning of July as lockdowns imposed to combat the coronavirus are…

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Portugal talking to Britain to secure ‘air bridge’ for tourism

Portugal and Britain are in talks to try and secure an air corridor for tourists that would allow British visitors to avoid a COVID-19 quarantine upon returning home, two Portuguese…

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Portugal says ready to welcome back tourists

Portugal's doors are open to tourists, the country's Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva said on Friday, one of the first European countries to welcome back visitors from elsewhere in the…

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Portugal opens kindergartens and visits to old people’s homes

In Portugal, Monday was the first day of the opening up of various emergency measures due to the pandemic situation of covid-19. Kindergarten (from 0 to 3 years) started receiving…

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Portugal suspends foreign trash imports to cope with own increased waste

Portugal, which usually attracts huge mounds of rubbish from other European states because of its low waste management fees, has suspended imports of trash until the end of 2020 to…

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Photo Story: Fatima Sanctuary without pilgrims for the first time in its history

Fatima Sanctuary is seen without pilgrims for the first time in its history during the May International Anniversary Pilgrimage in Fatima, Portugal, due to the coronavirus pandemic. The 13th May…

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New Normal – Commuting in Portugal

Workers clad in protective suits spray disinfectant inside a wagon of a Comboios de Portugal (CP) train running the Cascais line at the Cais do Sodre station in Lisbon, Portugal,…

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Photo Story: Portugal facilitates meetings for the elderly with ‘Emotion Boxes’

Isabel Barreto, a resident of the União Mutualista Nossa Senhora da Conceição (Mutualist Union Our Lady of the Conception) retirement home in Montijo, during the first visit of her relatives…

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Portugal relaxes state of emergency

Portugal has downgraded its state of emergency to a category of “calamity”, as the rate of new coronavirus infections reached its lowest since the beginning of the outbreak, six weeks…

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Portugal to ease lockdown measures ‘sector-by-sector’

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa on Thursday announced a sector-by-sector plan to gradually lift lockdown measures imposed six weeks ago to combat the coronavirus outbreak. Starting on May 4, the…

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Portugal to lift coronavirus state of emergency from May 3

Portugal's lockdown, which shut most non-essential services last month to contain the spread of the coronavirus, will be lifted gradually from May 3, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said on…

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Photo Story: Lisbon Zoo in times of coronavirus pandemic

A keeper at the Lisbon Zoo watches one of the rhinos. Life at the Lisbon Zoo in times of the COVID-19 pandemic continues with all normality for the about two…

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Lessons via TV in Portugal

An elementary student watch on television to the first class taught through the emission of the program Casa, on RTP Memoria channel, an interim teaching solution due to the current…

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Portugal extends coronavirus lockdown

Portugal extended its national coronavirus lockdown for a further 15 days on Thursday and promised to make protective gear widely available and to gradually reopen businesses if the spread of…

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Portugal’s coronavirus cases grow to over 10,000

Confirmed coronavirus cases in Portugal pushed past the 10,000 mark on Saturday, while government data showed more than half a million Portuguese workers were at risk of being temporarily laid…

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Portugal prepares to extend state of emergency

Portugal’s government cleared the way for extending the state of emergency by 15 days to combat the spread of the coronavirus as the number of deaths from the disease nears…

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Photo Story: Solidarity in the EU… Medical supplies from Greece, arrive in Porto

An Antonov An-124 cargo plane, carrying medical supplies from Greece, arrives at Francisco Sa Carneiro Airport in Porto, Portugal. The supplies will be used in Portugal to deal with the…

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Madeira to limit passengers allowed to disembark on islands to 100 per week

Madeira, an autonomous region of Portugal, said it would limit the number of people allowed to enter its islands to 100 per week from Tuesday onwards, with freed up hotel…

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Photo Story: Drones fly over Porto city

Drones operated by the Municipal Civil Protection of Porto, fly over marginal areas of the city, from Foz do Douro to Matosinhos, sending messages that recommend citizens to comply with…

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Portugal to treat migrants as ‘residents’

All foreigners in Portugal with pending applications will be treated as permanent residents from Monday until at least July 1, authorities said on Saturday, to ensure migrants have access to…

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EU approves €3 billion guarantee schemes for Portuguese SMEs affected by Coronavirus outbreak

The European Commission has found four Portuguese guarantee schemes for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and midcaps affected by the Coronavirus outbreak to be in line with EU State aid…

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Portugal steps up measures to fight CoVid19 pandemic

Portugal announced new measures to fight the coronavirus pandemic, requesting all non-essential activity outdoors to be avoided and shutting down non-essential shops. “This set of rules seeks to contribute in…

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Cristiano Ronaldo’s hotels to be transformed into hospitals story denied by player’s entourage

Cristiano Ronaldo's entourage issued a statement saying that the hotel story news was "fake news". Ronaldo has left on social media a message of support for medical staff and patients,…

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5.2 magnitude earthquake strikes Madeira Islands

An earthquake of magnitude 5.2 struck the Madeira Islands, an autonomous region of Portugal, on Saturday evening, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said. No injuries have been reported and…

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Photo Story: ‘Meet Vincent van Gogh’ exhibition in Lisbon

Moment from the press preview of the exhibition 'Meet Vincent van Gogh' in Lisbon, Portugal, 27 February 2020. The show opened on Friday 28 February. The exhibition, which has travelled…

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Golden visas in Portugal bring in €742M in 2019

The investment raised by the golden residence visa scheme for foreigners in Portugal fell by 11.4 percent in 2019, compared to the previous year, to €742 million. According to data…

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Suspected case of coronavirus infection in Portugal

Portugal’s health ministry said in a statement that doctors were monitoring and treating a patient in the Curry Cabral hospital in Lisbon, who is believed to have contracted the…

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Dos Santos’ Banker found dead in Lisbon

A banker implicated in the embezzlement and money-laundering case against Africa's richest woman, Isabel dos Santos, has been found dead in Lisbon. Nuno Ribeiro da Cunha, 45, managed the account…

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Lisbon European Green Capital 2020

The Lisbon European Green Capital 2020 initiatives will officially kick off on 10 January, and the opening of an exhibition dedicated to the sea and the planting of 20,000 trees…

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Portuguese budget set to pass thanks to abstentions

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa’s 2020 budget is set to pass in an initial vote in parliament on Friday after the Left Bloc joined other parties in announcing it will…

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Five dead as storm wreaks havoc in Spain and Portugal

A storm sweeping across Spain and Portugal has killed at least five people, damaged buildings, cut power lines and forced authorities to shut roads hit by flooding and fallen trees,…

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Storm Elsa causes deaths and floods in Portugal

According to reports, two people have died, one is missing and more than 50 are homeless after Storm Elsa hit the country. There were also about 5,400 incidents have been…

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Photo Story: Santa Claus walking and running 2019 in Portugal

The Evora Night Runners group, once again, promotes the 5th edition of the Father Christmas Run and Walk. The runs starts at Giraldo Square in Evora, Portugal, 11 December…

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Former Portuguese detective who criticised Madeleine McCann’s parents jailed for involvement in violent burglaries

A former detective who starred in the recent Netflix documentary about the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has been jailed for seven-and-a-half years for his role in two violent burglaries. Paulo…

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