Portugal

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Portuguese voters went to the polls Sunday in an early election that looked set to produce another vulnerable minority government, just as the country is poised to start spending a huge windfall of European Union funds.

That outcome would leave Portugal back where it started two months ago, when lawmakers rejected the minority Socialist government’s spending bill and the country’s president dissolved parliament.

LISBON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Portuguese election organisers were taking extra safety precautions on Saturday after the government decided to allow voters who are infected with the coronavirus to leave isolation and cast ballots in person along with everyone else.

With around a tenth of Portugal's 10 million-strong population now thought to be isolating due to COVID-19, the government decided last week to lift restrictions for Sunday's vote.

LISBON, Jan 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Portuguese hospitals reported yesterday that, 80 people were hospitalised for complications arising from COVID-19, bringing the country’s total number of COVID-19-related hospitalisations to 1,813, the highest since Mar 3, 2021.

According to the epidemiological bulletin of the Directorate-General for Health (DGS), five more patients were referred to intensive care units, taking the number of people now in serious condition to 168, the highest number since Aug 12, 2021.

LISBON, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Disconsolate passengers stuck on a cruise ship moored in Lisbon's port for five days due to a COVID-19 outbreak began disembarking early on Monday, focused on clearing the final hurdle of a negative test before boarding homebound flights.

The AIDAnova, carrying 2,844 passengers and 1,353 crew, had docked in Portugal's capital on Wednesday.

The ship was en route to the island of Madeira for New Year's Eve celebrations, but the cruise was cut short after COVID-19 was detected among the crew, 52 of whom tested positive between Wednesday and Friday.

LISBON, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Portugal on Tuesday ordered nightclubs and bars to close and told people to work from home for at least two weeks starting on Saturday to control the spread of COVID-19 over the holiday period.

"This still isn't the normal Christmas we are used to," Prime Minister Antonio Costa told a news conference. "If we do not adopt these measures now, the consequences on everyone's lives will be much worse after Christmas and the New Year."

LISBON, Dec 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Portuguese President, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, signed yesterday, a decree that formalises the dissolution of the Portuguese Parliament, calling for early legislative elections for Jan 30, 2022.

According to the country’s Constitution, when parliament is dissolved, the legislative power will be represented by a “Standing Commission of the Assembly of the Republic.”

LISBON, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa decreed the dissolution of parliament on Sunday in the remaining formal step ahead of a previously announced snap general election set for Jan. 30, his office said.

The decree came on the last possible day for parliament's dissolution, which has has to occur at least 55 days before an election.

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Environmental activists are welcoming the end of electricity generation from coal in Portugal, though they said Monday the possible conversion of the country’s last coal-fired power plant into one that burns wood pellets would be a step in the wrong direction.

LISBON, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said on Tuesday that authorities in one of the world's most vaccinated nations may bring back some measures to stop the spread of COVID-19 in the run-up to the holiday season as infections soar across Europe.

The number of new cases has been gradually rising over the past month in Portugal, reaching a two-month daily high of 1,816 infections on Saturday.

LISBON, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Portugal's ruling Socialists lead the race to win an election in January with more votes than they took in 2019, but short of a full majority, according to the first poll of voting intentions taken since parliament rejected their budget last week.

The combined left, including Prime Minister Antonio Costa's former hard-left partners who helped sink the budget bill and trigger the snap election, would retain a majority of seats in parliament, taking 52% of the vote, according to the survey by Aximage pollsters.