Portugal

Eduardo Serra, the most international of Portuguese cinematographers, reportedly died at 81 on 19 August; as a director of photography he collected two Oscar nominations, collaborated with Leconte, Chabrol and worked on the final two Harry Potter films

A firefighter in Ourém was arrested for fires he is believed to have started with devices set with timers between June and July this year out of the money he would received to combat them; the episode exposes a suspected plague affecting other countries

Octopus fishing vessels must remain in port during fishing seasons, starting from the northern border on July 17 down to 14 October; vessels licensed for shelter traps, cage traps, spearfishing that intend to suspend activities must notify the DGRM

The Algarve, Faro district, will begin public discussion to ban caravans and motor homes spending the night in urban areas, as is already the case in natural parks, except for designated places, with locals lamenting traffic and hygiene problems

A reusable cup iniziative will be inaugurated in Lisbon starting today; in historic kiosks consumers will receive their drinks in reusable cups, upon payment of a 0,60 cents deposit refunded upon return by tapping card or smartphone at collection point

The municipal tourist tax charged in the capital Lisbon has brought to the city over 260 million euros in almost 10 years - in 2024 it amounted to nearly 49,51 million euros

Centre-right Democratic Alliance won an early parliamentary election, third in three years, but again fell short of the full majority needed to end a long political turmoil; centre-left Socialists and far-right Chega were nearly tied for second place

A rail strike in defense of salary increases and collective bargaining is expected to end today after having affected up to 70% of trains in key hours for commuters' transport for several days

Authorities in Portugal have ruled out a cyberattack as cause of the massive blackout that paralyzed the country this week though an investigation on the causes of the outage is still ongoing

Porto will restrict the circulation of tuk-tuks on streets in the historic centre, "to promote traffic fluidity, pedestrian safety and accessibility of public transport" without affecting tourism; the ban, effect from 7 April, follows the one in Lisbon

Abundant rainfall has brought dams throughout Portugal near full capacity; the warning that controlled, temporary discharges of water from Odeleite and Beliche dams will be carried out, was saluted with curiosity and surprise as it didn't happen for years

For the centenary of Carlos Paredes, regarded as the father of Portuguese guitar music, Lisbon will host the first-ever Portuguese Guitar Festival on 7-8 March across five prominent venues, including Cinema São Jorge, Capitólio, and Variedades

The Nova University of Lisbon is organizing an Intergenerational Speed Dating event today to address the housing crisis and loneliness; the initiative aims to connect senior citizens with vacant rooms and students looking for accommodation in Lisbon