GUINEA-BISSAU: The Military Is Mortgaging the Country’s Future

The pressure that the military frequently applies on Guinea-Bissau's democratic leaders threatens to mortgage the future and international credibility of the small West African nation that won its independence from Portugal in 1974.

EU-MERCOSUR: Hopes for Trade Deal Dashed – for Now

It took just an eight-hour meeting in the Portuguese capital and a 25-line communique to destroy the last remaining vestiges of hope, after five years of efforts, of reaching a free trade agreement between the European Union and South America's Mercosur trade bloc before the current members of the European Commission step down.

GUINEA-BISSAU: Fragile Democracy Jeopardised by Military Revolt

A mutiny by army troops and the murders of Guinea-Bissau armed forces commander General Veríssimo Correia de Seabra and the director of military information Colonel Domingos Barros highlighted the fragility of the democratic institutions in that small West African nation.

LABOUR-PORTUGAL: Business Prefers Immigrant Workers Undocumented

Six months after a decree aimed at regulating the inflow of immigrant workers into Portugal went into effect, the measure has turned out to be a complete flop.

DEVELOPMENT-PORTUGAL: Lagging Further and Further Behind the Rest of the EU

Economic and social indicators periodically released by the European Union (EU) reveal levels of poverty and social injustice in Portugal that are inadmissible in a country that has belonged to the continent's "rich nations' club" since 1986.

RIGHTS: ‘Abortion Ship’ Heads Back Home after Stand-Off with Portugal

The so-called "abortion ship" belonging to the Dutch pro-choice foundation "Women on Waves" (WoW) is on its way home after spending two weeks in international waters off the Portuguese coast.

SPORTS-MIGRATION: Wanted – Talented Foreign Athletes

Any anonymous foreign national seeking a better life in the European Union (EU) endures nightmarish situations just to obtain a temporary residency permit. But if they show great talent in sports, the barriers disappear as if by magic.

TOURISM: Southern Europe Loses Its Edge

Tempting and affordable offers of vacations in "paradise" settings in developing countries are causing serious harm to the powerful tourism industries of southern Europe.

RIGHTS: EU Accused of Violating Commitments on Refugees

A proposed European Union (EU) directive imposing tighter restrictions on granting political asylum is causing major concern to refugee councils across the 15 nations that comprised the EU until the bloc's May 1 expansion to 25 countries.

EUROPEAN UNION: From Mao to Bush – The Long March of Portugal’s PM

The spirited Maoist student leader at the University of Lisbon, José Manuel Durão Barroso, never imagined during the turbulent years of the Portuguese revolution that three decades later he would become president of the European Commission, where conservative parties prevail.

EUROPEAN UNION: From Mao to Bush – The Long March of Portugal’s PM

The spirited Maoist student leader at the University of Lisbon, José Manuel Durão Barroso, never imagined during the turbulent years of the Portuguese revolution that three decades later he would become president of the European Commission, where conservative parties prevail.

FOOTBALL-PORTUGAL: Beer Overflows Eurocup

In the Portuguese resort town of Albufeira, the owners of bars along the Sá Carneiro coastal strip and downtown Da Oura avenue say their receipts have averaged 22,000 dollars a day since the start of the Euro 2004 football tournament on Jun. 12.

PORTUGAL: Controversy Rages Over Sexist Remarks by Health Authorities

A storm of indignation was set off in Portugal by public remarks from the heads of medical institutions calling for measures to revert the growing majority of female students in medical schools.

ECONOMY-PORTUGAL: Soaring Eurocup Prices Could Hurt Tourism Industry

Perusing a multilingual menu in a restaurant in downtown Lisbon, IPS found that prices were significantly lower in the Portuguese section than in the pages printed in German, Spanish, French, English and Italian.

EAST TIMOR: Two Years Later, Independence Remains a Challenge

East Timor, the world's youngest republic, celebrated its second anniversary Thursday, though continues a fight for independence that has marked its violent history since the Portuguese galleons of Don Afonso de Albuquerque first arrived at this island of the Java archipelago in 1520.

PORTUGAL: Fatima Moves Mountains, Terrorist Fear Moves Security

Even after 87 years the question marks surrounding Fátima remain. Was it the Virgin Mary who appeared before the astonished eyes of three young Portuguese shepherds, as the Roman Catholic Church claims? Or was it a tall, blond Englishwoman, whose fair traits had never been in those isolated rural parts, as the non-believers maintain?

EUROPEAN UNION: The World’s New Leading Economic Power

Even the most far-sighted observers probably did not imagine in 1952, when six countries created the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), that the treaty would be the embryo of a bloc that is becoming the world's leading economic power, even slightly surpassing the size of the U.S. economy.

EUROPEAN UNION: The World’s New Leading Economic Power

Even the most far-sighted observers probably did not imagine in 1952, when six countries created the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), that the treaty would be the embryo of a bloc that is becoming the world's leading economic power, even slightly surpassing the size of the U.S. economy.

PORTUGAL: Evolution or Revolution? 30 Years On

When the Santarem armoured regiment took the Terreiro do Paço plaza, a symbol of Portugal's four-decade iron-fisted dictatorship, 30 years ago on Apr. 25, it was the start of one of the most unique coup d'etats in history: soldiers rising up to impose democracy by force.

PORTUGAL: Evolution or Revolution? 30 Years On

When the Santarem armoured regiment took the Terreiro do Paço plaza, a symbol of Portugal's four-decade iron-fisted dictatorship, 30 years ago on Apr. 25, it was the start of one of the most unique coup d'etats in history: soldiers rising up to impose democracy by force.

ENVIRONMENT-PORTUGAL: New World Capital of Solar Energy

The sunny valley of Baldio das Ferrarías in southern Portugal, where the village of Ameraleja is located, is the spot that has been chosen for the construction of what is to be the world's largest solar energy plant.