LATEST TOP NEWS

 
The Minister of Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, said today that, after repairing the damage caused by the bad weather, the Government will focus on making the territory more resilient to inclement weather.
The PSD president and candidate for re-election stated today that he will maintain his commitment to "not having a government solution with either Chega or the PS." He considers it absurd to talk about "sanitary cordons" in Parliament.
 
The leader of Chega, André Ventura, assured today that he "will never sign" a labour reform that makes life more difficult for workers and asked the Government to make an effort to reach an agreement.
The Portuguese Foreign Minister, Paulo Rangel, is not expected to be questioned by parliament this week about the Lajes base, as no meeting of the Foreign Affairs Committee is scheduled, a parliamentary source told Lusa.
 
The Railway Union of Itinerant Commercial Reviewers (SFRCI), which represents workers with commercial functions (itinerant and fixed) at CP (Portuguese Railways), announced today that it will join the general strike on June 3rd against the labour reform.
 
The government today refused to suspend the application of the new European border control system at airports during the summer, although it admitted that the collection of biometric data could be interrupted for limited periods.
 
 
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The Prime Minister today invited young people to stay in the country to take advantage of their potential instead of squandering it "elsewhere," highlighting Monção as an example of technological connectivity, competitiveness, and quality of life.
 
The Public Prosecutor's Office today requested the conviction for homicide of the PSP officer who killed Odair Moniz in the Cova da Moura neighorhood, Amadora, in October 2024, arguing that the officer did not act in self-defence.
 
 
Construction work on the Pisão dam in Crato, Portalegre district, has been suspended again, following a decision by the Central Administrative Court of the South (TCAS), after a legal appeal filed by four environmental associations, it was revealed today.

top stories TODAY

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 Drug trafficking and cybercrime are the most frequent crimes in the Azores, according to the Portuguese Judicial police (PJ) who have significantly increased the number of their officers on the autonomous islands.

 

The government is to approve a proposal to revise labour legislation on Thursday.

 

The president of the Portuguese National Authority of Medicines and Health Products, assured today that all decisions made by the authorities regarding vaccination during the pandemic were based on real-world evidence and that safety steps were never skipped.

Teachers believe that the government's proposals devalue the teaching profession. 

 
 
 
 
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MADELEINE: BREAKING NEWS

A new documentary is in the making about the disappearance in May 2002 about Madeleine McCann who disappeared while on holiday with her  parents and two younger siblings in the Algarve coastal village of Praia da Luz in May 2002.

Described as a "mini" documentary, it is being compiled by Brent Stellender, a Norwegian private detective, Bernt Stellander, who spent seven years investigating in the area next to Praia do Luz. It resulted  in a comprehensive study comprising 850 pages entitled The Sudden Impulse.

Mr Stellander has told us that "many surprises are coming and new evidence against the McCanns.".

Portugal Newswatch  will continue to report  on this story as it develops.

LUSA NEW AGENCY LATESINFO

 Portugal recorded 3,237 cases of sexual violence in 2024, including 494 rapes, placing it in the middle of the table of the 27 Member States, with France at the top and Cyprus with the lowest numbers, Eurostat announced today. 

The head of the Portuguese Medical Association (OM) warned that the number of violent incidents against professionals in the National Health Service exceeds the 3,429 reported today and that the "situation is much more serious."

The National Republican Guard recorded 7,525 infractions for driving without a license last year, an increase of 9.29% compared to 2024, the security force reported today.

Starting today, Infarmed is making available a new tool that allows users to track the duration of the evaluation process for drug funding applications, from submission to the regulator's proposed decision.

Portugal recorded six land-based heat waves and moderate maritime heat waves last year, but overall 2025 was wetter than much of Europe, including Nordic countries.

The cybersecurity incident response team in Portugal (CERT.PT) recorded 40% more incidents in 2025 than in 2024, totaling 3,864, according to the National Cybersecurity Cente

uber has assured that operations are running normally today despite protests by drivers and ride-hailing operators demanding fare increases, the exclusion of taxis from the sector, and fuel subsidies.

The Socialist Party (PS) stated today that the PTRR (Recovery and Resilience Plan) is "just another marketing ploy" and that it is time for the Government to "stop making plans," which have had "bad results," and "roll up its sleeves and implement" the necessary measures.

WELCOMING MORE TOURISTS

Portugal is planning to boost tourism with multi-million euro projects to attract more holidaymakers to inland areas.
 
The projects are intended to support nature, gastronomy, wellness and cultural tourism, which at present is dominated by Lisbon, Porto and the Algarve.

This is making headline news abroad. According to the pan European television channel Euro News t he gove,rnment is bankrolling 12 tourism projects to the tune of €4.5 million, with a total investment of around €11 million. The projects will boost tourism across the north and central areas of Portugal, as well as the Alentejo and Ribatejo.

This is part of the broader initiative launched in February last year and has a budget of €30 million.

The latest allocated funds are earmarked for public, private and associative entities. The projects will also focus on   supporting upskilling drives, like training and capacity-building programmes for workers in vulnerable circumstances within the sector.

When the deal for the investment contracts was iniatiared, Castro Almeida, Minister of Economy and Territorial Cohesion, acknowledged that while there are larger projects that can develop without the need for so much state support, there are also smaller projects, “particularly in inland areas, aimed at enhancing cultural and natural heritage, which are highly appealing and novel for foreign visitors”.

For Almeida, these smaller scale tourism projects must be “promoted and made known”.
In 2025, Portugal welcomed 32.5 million visitors, including 19.7 million international visitors, according to data released by Turismo de Portugal.

ECONOMIC RESILIENCE

The crisis in the Middle East is causing chaos in countries across the world, but Portugal is showing much more resilience than most.

 

The reason for this is Portugal's development and dependence on renewable energy such as solar and wind rather than fossil fuels such as oil. Portugal does import some oil, but from North Africa and the United States, not the Middle East. 

 

The conflict in the Middle East and particularly the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is causing worldwide inflation. Steep rises in costs of international transportation have sharply increased prices in Portugal and elsewhere of petrol and diesel for car owners and commodities such as food.

It is hoped that peace talks in the Middle East will return things to normal as soon as possible. 

 

Portugal had to weather a financial crisis of its own between 2010 and 2014. Having restructured its economy since then, last year was marked by high exports, increased tourism revenue, thus outpacing most other European Union countries. 

DOMESTIC ABUSE WORSENS

 

 

Domestic violence and child abuse is on the increase in Portugal, partially in the Algarve and Lisbon, according to a statement this week from the Victim Support Association (AS AV).

 

They say that between 2022 and 2025 a total of 13,039 children and young people were supported by the organisation. This was a 52.4% increase over the same previous period.

 

APAV reports that on average it has supported 272 children and young victims per month, the equivalent of 63 per week and nine per day.

 

Violence and other Crimes against young people numbered 23,935 during these four years, reflecting a stark overall rise.

 

The number of crimes recorded in the Algarve was 24.4%, followed by Lisbon (14.5%) and Braga (10.2%).

The organisation’s statists show that domestic violence accounted for 61.7% of cases, followed by sexual crimes at 31.8% and other forms of violence at 6.5%.

 

APAV emphasised an increase in reported child sexual abuse cases from 390 in 2022 to 864 in 2025 - an increase of 121.5%.

The data also shows that most victims are girls, but boys accounted for 39.9% of cases. The highest number of cases recorded was among children aged 11 to 14 (30.9%), followed by those aged six to 10 (26.9%), children up to five years old (20.3%) and young people aged 15 to 17 (21.9%).

The identified offenders were mostly parents (39.6%) other family members or family friends. Most were men (61.9%).