SUNDAY BRIEFING

Weekend headline news 

                                 – July 2

 

Not so peaceful Portugal

The Global Peace Index 2023 has placed Portugal as the seventh most peaceful country in the world.  This has dropped for the third year running and is at its lowest position since 2015. The GPI annually covers nearly all of the countries in the world and uses many indicators in making its assessment. The top three most peaceful countries this year are Iceland, Denmark and Ireland.

Excessive air pollution

The European Union Court of Justice has again declared that Portugal has failed to comply with EU rules on air quality. Nitrogen oxide (NO2) levels have exceeded the limits in parts of the country causing a serious health hazard. This is due mainly to road traffic, especially diesel vehicles.

 Paedophile prevention

A group that is working on investigating and preventing the sexual abuse of children and vulnerable adults within the Portuguese Catholic Church is reportedly now directly linked to prosecutors in a greater effort to eliminate this criminality. Meanwhile, a shocking report in the Daily Mail in the UK reports that paedophiles are using AI to create and sell life-like child sexual abuse images.

Inflation lower last month

Portugal’s prime minister on Friday welcomed the news that inflation had dropped by 7.6% in June to 3.4%, saying that wage increases are not putting pressure on this rate.  The government hopes that new rules for withholding tax, which came into force yesterday, will ensure that an increase in gross income corresponds to an increase in net income.

Closer links with France

France and Portugal have promised to deepen ties in cultural, educational, technical, and scientific sectors. This was announced at the end of high-level discussions between officials of the two countries on Wednesday. Greater investment in languages and cooperation in maritime affairs were specifically mentioned. 

World Youth Day

The number of people from around the world registered to take part in World Youth Day, which is scheduled to take place next month in Lisbon, has reached about 300,000. Portugal has the fourth highest number registered. This is a Catholic event with Pope Francis scheduled to attend.

Don’t miss the ‘supermoons’!  

The first of four consecutive ‘supermoons’ this summer will light up the night sky tomorrow, July 3. The three others will occur on August 1, August 30 and September 29. ‘Supermoons’ appear to be bigger and brighter than normal full moons because their orbit is closer to the Earth when they reach their fullest phase. 

National Portuguese press:

Top headlines in recent days have included a wide range of stories about the rising cost of living.  

Local English newspapers:

The Algarve Daily News leads with the president of the republic’s proposal to end the obligation to display an insurance stamp on the windscreen of your car.

Among the Portugal News main stories: “Calls to bring an end to dolphins in captivity”.

The Portugal Resident emphasises that “Portugal won’t be bullied into cutting back on social security measures...”