Portugal

LISBON, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on Thursday signed a decree to dismiss the government following Prime Minister Antonio Costa's resignation last month over a possible judicial investigation against him.

The dissolution allows the government to carry out only essential administrative tasks until a new government assumes office.

The president postponed the formal dismissal until the approval of the 2024 state budget by parliament to ensure stability during the transition period.

LISBON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Hundreds of police raided farms in Portugal's southern Alentejo region on Tuesday, arresting 28 people suspected of human trafficking and labour exploitation, police said.

The suspects are believed to be part of a crime ring that exploited migrants from countries including Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, India, Senegal and Pakistan after luring them to Portugal with a promise of a job as farmhands.

Police said they had carried out a total of 78 searches, which resulted in the seizure of evidence and the "identification of dozens of victims".

LISBON, Nov 11 (Reuters) - The Bank of Portugal's ethics committee will meet on Monday to evaluate the conduct of governor Mario Centeno, whose independence came into question after the departing prime minister proposed him as a potential replacement, local media said.

Antonio Costa stepped down on Tuesday over an investigation into alleged illegalities in his government's handling of green energy projects, forcing President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa to call a snap election for March 10. Costa denies wrongdoing.

LISBON, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Portugal's President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on Thursday announced snap parliamentary elections for March 10, 2024, following Tuesday's resignation of Prime Minister Antonio Costa who is under corruption investigation.

In a televised national address after a meeting with the Council of State, Rebelo de Sousa said the call for early elections comes from the need for "clarity and direction to overcome an unexpected void that surprised the Portuguese."

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa resigned Tuesday after his government was involved in a widespread corruption probe, sending a shock wave through the normally tranquil politics of the European Union member.

The 62-year-old Costa, Portugal’s Socialist leader since 2015, asserted his innocence but said in a nationally televised address that “in these circumstances, obviously, I have presented my resignation to the president of the republic.”

LISBON, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Portugal on Saturday raised its terrorism alert level from "moderate" to "significant" due to the potential threat arising from the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

The decision is endorsed by the Anti-Terrorism Coordination Unit and is being taken "mainly for preventive and precautionary reasons," said the Portuguese Security Information Service, adding that there are "no indications pointing to the development of terrorist actions on Portuguese territory."

LISBON, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Board of Directors and Strategic Council of the Portuguese-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCILC) on Monday condemned the exclusion of China's telecommunications giant Huawei from Portugal's 5G market as "unreasonable" and potentially damaging the long-standing friendship between Portugal and China.

LISBON, Aug 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Around 800 personnel attended a fire near the southern town of Odemira overnight on Monday, with more than 1,400 people having to evacuate.

At least nine firefighters have been injured tackling the fires.

Temperatures in excess of 40C (104F) are expected to hit much of the Iberian peninsula this week.

Three major fires that scorched hundreds of hectares in Spain over the weekend have been brought under control, but weather alerts remain in place across much of the country.

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Pope Francis told young people on Sunday the Catholic Church needs them and urged them to follow their dreams as he wrapped up World Youth Day in Portugal with a massive open-air Mass and an announcement that the next edition would be held in Asia for the first time in three decades.

News that Seoul, South Korea would host World Youth Day in 2027 was a reflection of the continent’s increasing importance to the Catholic Church, given the church is young and growing there, whereas it is withering in traditionally Christian lands in Europe.

FATIMA, Portugal, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Pope Francis visited the revered Catholic Shrine of Fatima in Portugal on Saturday, praying the rosary for world peace with about 200,000 people at the site where the Church says the Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children in 1917.

The 86-year-old pope skipped reading a speech that was on the programme of his two-hour visit to the world-famous shrine north of Lisbon, and which was expected to have been the centrepiece of the day.