MORE FROMA LUSA NEWS AGENCY

Pump prices are expected to rise by five to 12 cents a litre this coming week.  Petrol is expected go up five cents per litre and diesel by 12 cents should the current international fuel crisis continue.  

 

Parking charges in Lisbon are set to rise for the first time in 15 years.

 

The European Commission warned on Friday that the efficiency of Portugal’s law and tax courts continues to deteriorate and called for appropriate measures to be taken to reverse this trend, including introducing infrastructure and staffing improvements.

 

School pupils with marks suspended will learn their final grade results today, Sunday.

FOUR LEADING NEWS STORIES

 

 

Firefighters have been battling all week with blazing forests, mainly in the most vulnerable central areas of Portugal. The blazes have been driven by extreme heat and in some cases strong winds. A fire risk index (RCM) is published daily for every municipality in the country. A map on the IMPA website shows the wildfire locations.

 

Parliament has approved a Burqua Law bill banning the wearing of face coverings in public. Only MPs on the t opplefosed the bill which originated with the right-wing Chega party.

Parliament has approved a bill to unlock the sale of jointly inherited property at the request of a single heir. The bill was approved on Friday in a final overall parliamentary vote.

The  Salue of homes in 2025 sold at a record 41.2 billion euros. That was a 21.7% increase compared to the previous year. This was confirmed on Friday by Statistics Portugal (INE). 

RIP BONNIE TYLER

 

The Welsh pop singing legend Bonnie Tyler died yesterday in the Algarve where she lived for many years. 

 

 Her death at the age of 75 in a Faro hospital has been described as “unexpected” and has deeply shocked her family and millions of fans around the world.

 

Last month she had emergency surgery involving an induced coma.

 

Bonnie loved living permanently in the Algarve. She regarded it as a beautiful and peaceful place away from the spotlight. She adored the region’s beaches, climate, cuisine and the hospitality of the local people.  

 

   

 

Best known for her hit songs of the 70s and 80s, Bonnie’s most ico9nic ballad was “The Total Eclipse of the Heart”,

 

which she always sang with astounding vocal force.

 

She will be forever respected and missed in this part of the world and indeed globally.

THIS WEEK’S TOP HEADLINES

 

Firefighters have been battling all week with blazing forests, mainly in the most vulnerable central areas of Portugal. The blazes have been driven by extreme heat and in some cases strong winds.  

 A fire risk index (RCM) is published daily for every municipality in the country. A map on the IMPA website shows the wildfire locations.

 

Parliament has approved a Burqua Law bill banning the wearing of face coverings in public. Only MPs on the left opposed the bill which originated with the right-wing Chega party.

 

 

 

Parliament has approved a bill to unlock the sale of jointly inherited property at the request of a single heir. The bill was approved on Friday in a final overall parliamentary vote.

 

The value of homes in 2025 sold at a record 41.2 billion euros. That was a 21.7% increase compared to the previous year. This was confirmed on Friday by Statistics Portugal (INE). 

Wildfires are burning at 78 locations nationwide driven by extreme heat and strong winds.

 

The worst fires  have spread from near Vuvuzela in central across several other municipalities. Evacuation have been ordered while  2412   firefighters and many water-laden aircraft  struggle to cope with more than 7,000 hectares ablaze.

 

No major wildfires have been reported in the Algarve so far. The huge number of holiday visitors to this region can relax while paying attention to alerts and taking sensible precautions.     

EARTHQUAKES IN PORTUGAL

Portugal may one day in the future suffer a massive earthquake like the one in Venezuela according to seismologists.

 

Portugal’s worst earthquake in history caused devastation and killed 30,000-40,000 people in Lisbon and along the south-western and southern coast, and thousands more in Morocco, north Africa. It occurred on the Christian holy All Saint’s Day in 1755.

 

Earthquakes are frequent in the Portuguese Atlantic archipelago of the Azores but seldom cause too much trouble.  Unfortunately, mainland Portugal is located near the boundary of the Eurasian and African tectonic plates meaning it is exposed to significant seismic activity.

 

While another major earthquake in mainland Portugal seems likely, fear not at least for now. Seismologists say the chances are moderate. Our children and grandchildren need to know that there is only a 10% chance of a terrible earthquake wrecking their locality in the next 50 years

HEATWAVES GERRING HOTTER

What is much worse than the severe early summer heatwaves now breaking temperature records in Europe is the fact that top global leaders are much more focused on other matters such as waging war, the cost of living and immigration.

The United States is one of the worst greenhouse gas polluters causing dramatic climate  change , yet President Trump is in denial. He blandly calls the existential threat of global warming a hoax.

 Meteorologists say that the latest blistering Euopean heatwaves provide unequivocable evidence that global warming is here not only to stay but to get very much wore in the decades ahead.

In Portugal temperatures are forecast to drop in the coming days but have recently been in the high 30s nudging into the 4os, especially in central and southern inland areas. In the Algarve coastal resorts and towns, the daily highs have been generally up to 30 C ( 86 F) though it has felt warmer due to high humidity levels. Nights have cooled to around 20C or less. A record 40.3 C was set for the month of May, though no new records have been recorded this month.

The heat has been fierce in neighbouring Spain and France where temperatures have been soaring above 40 C in some places. Several June records have been smashed in France, Spain and even the United Kingdom. The UK has been experiencing historic June heat that has topped the high 30s.    

What all of this tells us is that current international concern about global warming is grossly insufficient. It is high time that full attention is focused on using renewable energy sources and totally abandoning the fossil fuels that China, the United States, India and Russia are currently so dependant on. 

Portugal has been leading the way in renewable forms of energy. It has replaced fossils such as coal and gas and now creates most of its electric with hydropower, offshore wind and solar sources. 

DEFENCE SPENDING

 

 

In the light of the resignation of Britain’s Defence Secretary John Healey claiming that Prime Minister Sir Keir Stamer is not spending enough on defence, it is worth noting that  Portugal does not publicly disagree with the UK's defence spending as both nations are bound by their history, centuries-old bilateral alliance and NATO obligations.

 

Portugal focuses on its own rearmament while actively encouraging the UK and Europe to strengthen industrial and security partnerships.

 

Portugal is committed to achieving NATO's defence spending by targeting 2% of GDP years ahead of schedule.

The Portuguese government is pursuing this through domestic capability enhancements, specifically in maritime and air defence.

 

To cooperate with EU-UK Security, Portuguese leaders have historically pushed for the European Union to establish "broad structures of partnership" with the UK, ensuring that any capability gaps are addressed through collaborative security frameworks rather than isolation.

 

While the UK's defence plans have been delayed by internal funding debates, Portugal has deepened its industrial ties with Britain. Portuguese tech and defence firms are actively investing hundreds of millions of euros into British-based manufacturing, particularly for the UK's shift toward unmanned and autonomous systems.

 

In prioritising NATO over a European Army, Portugal continues to oppose the creation of a separate European army, advocating instead for the modernisation of allied forces - including the UK'- strictly within the NATO framework.