Entries by Lusolobo

Residents

Portuguese citizenship is hot. The latest report by the borders agency SEF shows that last year more than 74,000 foreigners applied for Portuguese nationality. For the first time in history, the country’s foreign resident population exceeds half a million people (5% of the total population). Most requests for citizenship are related to naturalization and reunion. […]

Nursing

Amidst the height of the country’s fight against Covid-19, the Democratic Union of Nurses in Portugal Sindepor went on a five-day ‘wake-up call’ strike last week, during which only minimum services were provided. Carlos Ramalho, the president of the syndicate, declared that the walkout was necessary as the nurses are exhausted and their situation in […]

Environment

Climate change in Portugal varies from wildfires to storms Although the world’s C02 emissions are expected to fall by 8% this year – as the coronavirus pandemic shuts down much of the global economy.- the reduced emissions are very unlikely to have a serious impact on the global levels of carbon dioxide. The target laid […]

Masks

With more than 3000 new Covid cases and 31 deaths registered in 24 hours – according to figures by Portugal’s DGS (Directorate General of Health) – Parliament decided last Friday that face masks are going to be mandatory in public spaces across the country. The measure – valid for the next 70 days – obliges […]

Snacks

The only food the Portuguese are more crazy about than fish is soup. Caldo verde is a thick soup made with thinly-cut strips of Galician kale and potato, and always a lump or two of chorizo floating in it. It is thought to originate from the northern Minho province in the 15th century and goes […]

Metro

The controversial plan to extend the Lisbon metro by constructing a circle line – joining the existing yellow and green ones – has finally moved forward thanks to a solid financial injection of € 83 million from the EU’s Cohesion Fund. Works – which will link Rato to Cais Sodré and São Sebastião to Campo […]

Deal

‘Ik heb een koper voor je’, schreeuwt de makelaar opgewonden door de telefoon als we op een zonnige najaarsmiddag vanuit São João do Estoril over de N6 naar Lissabon terugrijden. Een koel briesje glijdt de open ramen van de hoogbejaarde Landcruiser binnen.‘Jullie moeten wel binnen 24 uur beslissen want de kopers hebben ook andere appartementen […]

Rules

Six months after the first Covid case was detected in Portugal, a new set of coronavirus related rules is underway as from September 15, when the entire country will most likely return to a State of Calamity, leaving the lighter State of Alert, in place since June. The decision is taken because of the significant […]

Population

New research predicts the European population to fall more sharply than previously expected; from 450 million today to 310 million by the end of the century. The reason is a further decline in the fertility rate – the average number of children per woman. Many variables have an effect of the fertility rate such as […]

Isabel

One of the best ways to launder money is to buy a bank Cross-border journalistic investigation has uncovered an enormous corruption case orchestrated by Africa’s richest woman Isabel dos Santos, the first daughter of Angola’s former president Jose Eduardo dos Santos and known in her home country as ‘the Princess’. The Angolan government claims that […]