PORTUGAL: Poorest Fire Prevention Record in Southern Europe

When fires break out in southern Europe in the hot summer months, the highest price is paid by Portugal, where the total forest area that has gone up in flames is 24 times greater than that of France, four times that of Spain and three times that of Greece and Italy.

PORTUGAL: 25 Percent of Forests Lost in Five Years

While Portugal is already facing its worst drought in three centuries, the environmental outlook was made even bleaker this week by a stunning announcement: almost 25 percent of the country's forest cover has been lost to fire in the past five years.

PORTUGAL: "Foreigners" in Their Land of Birth No More

Africans who have never set foot in Africa, Brazilians whose only knowledge of Brazil comes from TV or the stories of their parents and grandparents: these are Portugal's so-called second- and third-generation immigrants, who are not actually immigrants at all.

PORTUGAL: Economic Woes Could Spur New Boom in Emigration

Cheap textiles from China and India are flooding Portugal, while multinational textile firms are moving their Portuguese operations to countries like Romania, Bulgaria and Morocco to boost profit margins - a combination that is triggering a new wave of emigration.

PORTUGAL: New Campaign Debunks Immigration Myths

"Thank you, Vassily. Immigrant Portugal, Tolerant Portugal." "We are grateful, and so are they." These slogans, accompanied by a picture of a Ukrainian worker, are part of a campaign launched in Portugal to debunk the myth that the arrival of foreigners has a negative impact on the country.

PORTUGAL: Last Surviving ‘Secret’ Jewish Community Still Wary of Outsiders

The residents of Europe's last surviving crypto-Jewish community, who live in this village in Portugal's central mountains, are still averse to talking to outsiders.

EAST TIMOR: Catholic Authorities Demand Removal of Muslim Prime Minister

The insistence of Catholic Church authorities in East Timor on the immediate removal of Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri, a Muslim, could trigger a new civil war in this former Portuguese colony, warn analysts in Portugal.

PORTUGAL: Experts Predict Worst Drought in 300 Years

April showers bring May flowers, according to the old proverb. But this year in Portugal, April showers are desperately needed to prevent what could develop into the country's worst drought in 300 years.

HEALTH-ANGOLA: Marburg Virus Death Toll Continues to Rise

-Marburg haemorrhagic fever has claimed 126 lives in Angola so far, but specialists fear this figure could rise dramatically in coming days.

ENVIRONMENT-EU: Portugal Exposed as Gateway for Illegal Timber

Environmental activists dealt a blow to the trade in illegal Amazon timber destined for the wealthy markets of the European Union (EU) with a daring stunt in the northern Portuguese port of Leixoes.

EUROPEAN UNION: Iberia’s Socialists Tilt Political Balance Back Towards the Middle

The socialists' landslide victory in Portugal's legislative elections and the substantial increase in the support garnered by the rest of the left indicate that the political balance in the European Union (EU) may be starting to tilt back towards equilibrium and away from conservative domination.

POLITICS-PORTUGAL: Church Ruffles Feathers with Comments on ‘Right to Life’

In the 1965 film "Signore e signori" (released in the U.S. as the Birds, the Bees and the Italians) by Italian director Pietro Germi, a Catholic priest gives assurances in his sermon that "The Church doesn't get involved in politics, but it urges you to vote for a party that is both Democratic and Christian."

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: Original Venue, New Approach for Giant Meet

The fifth World Social Forum (WSF) opened Wednesday in this southern Brazilian city, returning to the birthplace of this gigantic annual civil society meet.
     But this time around, organisers rolled out a new approach for making order out of potential chaos as 120,000 participants gear up for five days of conferences, workshops and panel discussions about a vast spectrum of issues.

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: Original Venue, New and Improved Methodology for Giant Meet

The fifth World Social Forum (WSF) opened Wednesday in this southern Brazilian city, returning to the birthplace of this gigantic annual civil society meet.

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: Fighting for the Right to Information

The control wielded by big media and the need for strategies to challenge that power were among the central themes addressed at the First Information and Communication World Forum (ICWF).

MACAU: Tourism Has Grown, but Gambling Is Still the Name of the Game

A glance at Macau on the fifth anniversary of its handover by Portugal shows that the economy of this special administrative region of China has grown, regional integration has been strengthened, and the tourism industry has expanded.

ENVIRONMENT-EUROPE: Invaders Strike Again

It had been half a century since they last invaded Europe. But they have once again crossed the Strait of Gibraltar in search of food in the southern part of the Iberian peninsula.

POLITICS-PORTUGAL: Crisis Damages Durao Barroso’s Image in EU

By deciding not to comment on the political crisis that has broken out in Portugal, the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Durao Barroso, chose to elude the responsibility he assumed in July when he named Pedro Santana Lopes as his successor at the head of the Portuguese government.

PORTUGAL: Prominent Figures in the Dock on Pedophilia Charges

Eight people implicated in a high profile child sex abuse scandal that has shaken Portuguese society to the core since late 2002 finally came to trial Thursday.

ENVIRONMENT-PORTUGAL: Red Alert in Lisbon

According to official figures, 600,000 people live in the Portuguese capital. That is true, however, only at night and on the weekends. During the workday, the population actually increases threefold.

CULTURE: Portugal Surrenders to Brazil

Both the rapid modernisation of Portugal since it joined the European Union (EU, or European Economic Community at the time) in 1986 and the fact that Brazil is now among the world's ten largest economies have increased the mutual respect between the two countries.