Portugal plummets in 2025 Corruption Perception Index, with the worst score ever. The watchdog Transparency International Portugal (TIP) is challenging declarations by the Ministry of Justice on the assessment of anti-corruption policies in Portugal, and rejects claims that the Anti-Corruption Agenda– one of the government’s flagships – contains a clear anti-corruption strategy. Instead, the Ministry’s […]
‘Hormuz’ probably derives from the Persian pronunciation of the principal Zoroastrian god Ahuramazda (also known as Ormazd or Horomazes) The Strait of Hormuz – 34 km wide at its narrowest point between Iran and Oman – is in the news every day. The instability in the Middle East and the American and Israeli aggression against […]
‘I don’t write the books, it’s my own hand working independently’ “A revolutionary in Portuguese literatureA psychiatrist never considering being anything else than a writerA writer marked by the colonial war in AngolaA colonial war that brought ‘ghosts’ and ‘death’ to his workIt wasn’t Lobo Antunes who lost the Nobel Prize, the Nobel Prize lost […]
qahwa -kaffa – kahve –capha- cafeh – caffé – café – koffie – coffy – coffee The origin of the word coffee is probably derived from Kaffa, the name of an Ethiopian kingdom in the 15th century. At that time in Yemen a beverage was prepared from a plant of Ethiopian origin, which proved to […]
‘Zé Povinho looks from one side to the other, and stays – as always – the same’ Zé (abbreviation from José) Povinho (‘little people’) is a caricature of the Portuguese everyman, created by Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro – journalist, socialist, publisher of satirical newspapers, and ceramist – in the second half of the 19th century. The […]
‘We need a country that is prepared, not surprised’ (President elect) In spite of the unprecedented floods and landslides as a result of the last two weeks’ train of storms, people turned out in surprising numbers for the presidential elections last Sunday. The former Socialist leader António José Seguro got 67% of the vote – […]
We are not a perfect city, but definitely on the right track’ (Guimarães 26) Guimarães – just 65 km inland from Porto – has been elected European Green Capital 2026, the second Portuguese city to win the title after Lisbon in 2020. The European Green Capital Award – organized by the European Commission – […]
He championed navigation but never actually sailed on any voyages himself Prince Henry of Portugal (1394-1460), better known as Henry the Navigator, was a central figure in the 15th-century Portuguese maritime exploration and regarded as the main initiator of what would be known as the Age of Discovery. He was the third surviving son of […]
‘We hope a presidential candidate who includes everyone, will win’ The year 2025 was marked by setbacks in immigration issues, says Ana Paula Costa – president of the Casa do Brasil (Brazil’s House) in Lisbon – to newspaper Público. ‘We had a very difficult year in terms of narrative, legislation and integration of immigrants, not […]