A team of around 70 Irish energy sector workers has spent the past fortnight helping restore electricity to storm-damaged communities across central Portugal, where some residents have lived without power for more than three weeks.
Portuguese authorities have carried out one of their largest anti-drug operations in recent years, arresting five foreign suspects and seizing around 1,500 kilograms of cocaine along with automatic weapons, luxury vehicles, and high-speed boats.
A young foreign tourist has gone missing in the sea after entering the water at Praia da Arrifana, in Aljezur, with authorities mounting a major search operation, according to a source from the National Maritime Authority (AMN).
Today’s parliamentary session, the first debate since a series of storms hit Portugal, causing drastic losses of life, property, and environment, was marked by tense exchanges between MPs from the opposition, Chega, and the ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD), forcing the speaker to interrupt proceedings several times to restore order.
Two earthquakes, both measuring 4.1 on the Richter scale, were felt on Thursday, 19th February, near Alenquer, followed later by two aftershocks in the same area.
Recent storms have caused “marked coastal erosion” along the Algarve’s coast, with significant sediment loss, shoreline retreat and cliff collapses, a local marine researcher warned today, 18th February, calling for urgent intervention.
A 23-year-old Portuguese man has been charged with attempted espionage after allegedly stealing a laptop and tablet from a Swedish NATO serviceman in Lisbon with the intention of selling potentially classified information to the Russian Federation.
More than 400 Atlantic puffins (Fratercula arctica) have been found dead along Portugal’s coastline in recent days, according to the Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds (SPEA BirdLife).
