Statistics Portugal revised the resident population up to 11.4 million, with the 15-64 age group up 8.1%. The revision could alter the legal retirement age and pension sustainability factor.

By Marta Carneiro

Image: João Carvalho / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

New figures point to around 10,650 excess deaths across Europe during the late-June 2026 heatwave. The vast majority were aged 65 or over.

The heatwave that baked western Europe in late June caused roughly 10,650 more deaths than would be normal for the season, according to newly released data. It is the numerical answer to the question many people asked during those furnace-like days: how many people was this extreme heat actually killing. Researchers point to 10,650 excess deaths in the week of 22-28 June, with no other known factors — such as COVID-19 outbreaks — to explain the spike.…

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TAP's privatisation is entering the home straight. The two bidders, Lufthansa and Air France-KLM, have met the airline's management and the Government, and have until July 29 to file binding offers.

The long-running TAP privatisation saga finally has a real date on the horizon. The two groups left in the race — Germany's Lufthansa and the Franco-Dutch Air France-KLM — have now sat down with the airline's board and the Government, and the clock is ticking: binding offers must be in by July 29. Two European heavyweights. Lufthansa, which has already swallowed carriers such as Swiss and Italy's ITA Airways, and the Air France-KLM group, which unites the…

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Qatar's former emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani died on July 12, aged 74. He ruled from 1995 to 2013, founded Al Jazeera and brought the 2022 World Cup to the Gulf.

The man who took a peninsula of sand and gas and turned it into one of the most influential countries on the planet died on Sunday. Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Qatar's former emir, was 74. The royal court announced the death without giving a cause, and the country declared four days of national mourning, with flags at half-mast and government work suspended. He was the emir who ruled Qatar from 1995 to 2013 — and the chief architect of its transformation.…

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Iran launched simultaneous missile and drone waves at American bases across the Gulf on Sunday after fresh US strikes. Qatar says it intercepted everything.

Iran launched simultaneous waves of missiles and drones at targets in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait on Sunday morning, and claimed further strikes in Jordan and Oman. It is Tehran's broadest retaliation since its confrontation with the United States turned direct — and the targets are the American bases dotted across the Gulf. The Revolutionary Guard says it struck Al-Udeid air base in Qatar — the largest US military installation in…

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Only 2% of Portugal's national exams are re-marked, but when students do ask, the grade goes up in 76% of cases. How the review process works.

The numbers speak for themselves: only around 2% of Portugal's national exams are ever re-marked — yet when a student does request a review, the grade rises in 76% of cases. It is one of the most telling statistics of this exam season, reported this weekend, and it lands at a moment when confidence in the process was already strained by the IT chaos that marred the first phase. Statistically, very much so. If three in every four reviews end with the mark…

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Typhoon Bavi made landfall on China's coast on July 11 after more than one million people were moved out of high-risk areas.

Typhoon Bavi reached the Chinese coast on Saturday, and the scale of the response says everything about how seriously it was taken: more than one million people were moved out of their homes before the cyclone made landfall. The cyclone came ashore on July 11 after days of warnings and mass evacuations across coastal provinces. Authorities suspended ferry links and kept alerts in place for torrential rain, destructive wind and coastal flooding, with…

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Portugal's CP railway is replacing Intercidades trains with regional units on the Lisbon-Évora line for lack of rolling stock. The government admits the limitation and only promises relief in 2027.

Buy an Intercidades ticket between Lisbon and Évora these days and, on many departures, you will be travelling on something else entirely: CP is swapping the usual intercity sets for trains borrowed from regional lines because it simply does not have enough rolling stock. You pay for the fast, comfortable service — you ride in carriages built for short hops with frequent stops. The short answer: there are not enough carriages to go around. The…

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A tourist boat capsized near Phu Quoc island in Vietnam, killing 15 tourists. Authorities are investigating the causes of the sinking.

A boat trip off Phu Quoc, Vietnam's most touristy island, ended in tragedy on Saturday: the vessel capsized and 15 tourists died. It is one of the deadliest accidents in years in a destination that lives off the sea — and one that has become an increasingly common stop for European travellers touring Southeast Asia. The vessel was carrying tourists when it overturned near the island's coast, in the south of the country. Rescue teams confirmed 15 dead, and…

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A major GNR anti-drug operation out of Oliveira de Azeméis arrested 26 people; 13 are remanded in custody. Police seized 40 kg of hashish, cocaine and firearms.

It was one of the biggest anti-drug operations in northern Portugal this year — and the courts have now had their first say. Of the 26 people arrested by the GNR of Oliveira de Azeméis in a sweeping trafficking operation, 13 will await trial in pre-trial detention. The network operated across the districts of Aveiro and Porto. The list is striking: around 40 kilos of hashish — roughly 80,000 doses — plus 1,720 doses of cocaine, along with crack, heroin,…

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The toll from Venezuela's 24 June earthquakes has reached 107 Portuguese and luso-descendants dead, with 57 missing. TAP resumes flights on 13 July.

The number of Portuguese citizens and luso-descendants killed in the earthquakes that struck Venezuela on 24 June has risen to 107, with 57 people still missing, according to the latest count from Portugal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Among the community's victims are 19 children, and 91 of the 107 dead also held Venezuelan nationality. It is a heavy deterioration from the early weeks: when we took stock at the end of June, authorities were reporting…

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The US bombed around 90 Iranian military targets for a second straight day, including a railway bridge on the corridor linking Iran to China and Russia.

The escalation between Washington and Tehran is no longer confined to the Gulf. For the second straight day, the United States bombed Iran — this time around 90 military targets, according to US Central Command, a day after the wave that hit more than 80 targets around the Strait of Hormuz. Mostly air defences and missile storage sites along the coastline, per CENTCOM's statement. But the target everyone is talking about sits far from the sea: cruise…

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Fuel prices in Portugal rise again next week: simple diesel should hit 1.863 euros per litre and 95 petrol 1.923 euros, according to retailer association Anarec.

If you usually fill up at the weekend, this is the weekend to do it. Fuel prices in Portugal rise again on Monday: diesel is set to climb seven cents per litre and petrol three, according to an estimate from Anarec, the fuel retailers' association, released this Friday. If the trend holds, simple diesel will cost an average of 1.863 euros per litre and simple 95 petrol will reach 1.923 euros. The numbers are based on current figures from the energy…

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The Andalusia wildfire in Almería province has killed at least 12 people, with 19 still missing. The fire has burned over 3,000 hectares of scattered housing and scrubland.

At least 12 people have died and around twenty remain unaccounted for in the wildfire that has been tearing through Almería province, in south-eastern Spain, since Thursday. Andalusian authorities are already calling it the deadliest fire in the region's history — and just a few hundred kilometres from the Portuguese border, it lands as a warning in a summer when the whole Iberian Peninsula is baking. The fire started on Thursday around Los Gallardos, an…

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Portugal's wildfire state of alert will run into next week with temperatures above 40ºC. The Vouzela fire burned some 14,000 hectares and European help is on the ground.

Portugal's wildfire state of alert is not going anywhere. With the thermometer stuck above 40ºC, the government has signalled the restrictions will carry into next week — and the country heads into the weekend still watching the districts that burned over the past few days. At least into next week, according to the interior ministry, which says the measures will hold for as long as the extreme heat does. In practice that means the usual bans stay in…

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