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☆ Portugal's new housing law threatens its tourism industry, say hostel owners
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Julia Buckley | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

The law – proposed and approved by Portugal’s ruling PS party – seeks to address the housing crisis in Portugal. The new law’s resolutions could potentially have far-reaching effects on those running alojamento local (AL) properties – including Portugal’s world-renowned hostels. AL properties outside of low-density areas will also see their current property taxes increase, and be subject to a new tax starting at 15%, known as CEAL. The new legislation threatens the future of all hostels in Portugal, says Miguel Santos, board member at the Associação Hostels de Portugal (AHdP) and owner of a Lisbon hostel. Pedro Nunes/ReutersOne hostel owner fearing for the future is Benedita Vasconcellos, who owns Lisbon’s Goodmorning Solo Traveller Hostel, voted Portugal’s best hostel in 2020.

Persons: Mais Habitação, –, “, hospedagem, ”, Eduardo Miranda, Valerio Berdini, Miguel Santos, ” Santos, AHdP, Richard Cummins, Kash Bhattacharya, ” Bhattacharya, Pedro Nunes, Vasconcellos, I’m, ” Vasconcellos, won’t, Filipa Aguiar, we’ll, Marco Bottigelli, Airbnb, ALEP’s Eduardo Miranda, Miranda, ” “ We’re, ALEP, Miguel Torres Marques, Marina Gonçalves Organizations: CNN, de, Alamy, Portugal, Artists, Reuters, Getty Locations: Portugal, Lisbon, Western Europe, Porto, Spain, Ericeira, ” Lisbon

☆ Scientists to test noise deterrents meant to scare orcas after a rapid rise in boat rammings
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Noise deterrents are being developed to scare orcas away from boats, a Portuguese trade association said. The association said sailors in the area are "afraid" to take their boats into Portuguese waters. Alfredo López of the Grupo de trabajo Orca Atlántica, which is collaborating with the Portuguese government, told Insider the work is in the very early stages. Noise deterrents typically work by emitting pulses of high-frequency sound to scare away sea creatures from an area. While types of acoustic deterrents exist, none are specifically designed to be used for orcas and sailboats, he said.

Persons: Orcas, —, Bessa de Carvalho, Alfredo López, López, Jelmer van Beek, Lusa, Lopez Organizations: Service, Privacy, National Association of Cruises, ANC, Portuguese Navy, Institute for, Grupo, Portland Press Herald, Apple Locations: Portuguese, orcas, Shetland, Scotland, Algarve, Portugal

☆ Portugal plans to trial answering emergency calls using an AI chatbot based off ChatGPT, and it could be rolled out by 2025, government official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Portugal is trialing a ChatGPT-based AI that can respond to emergency calls in busy periods. Callers to Portugal's 112 emergency line sometimes wait five to six minutes to get a response. If the trial periods goes well, the AI will come into wider use by 2025, a senior politician said. Portugal is planning to test a new artificial intelligence system based on OpenAI's chatbot ChatGPT to see whether it could be used to take emergency calls in the country during busy times. Instead, the AI system will respond to the calls first in "natural language response" to "assess what kind of problem" the caller is reporting, Portugal News' report added.

Persons: ChatGPT, António Pombeiro, Lusa, Pombeiro Organizations: Morning, Internal Administration Locations: Portugal, Porto, Colombia

☆ Severe drought spreads in Portugal, officials seek EU help
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Around 90% of mainland Portugal is suffering from drought, with severe drought alone affecting one-fifth of its territory, twice as much as in March and nearly five times the area reported a year earlier. Some parts are in an extreme drought situation, which did not exist at the same time in 2022. The northeast and southern regions were particularly badly hit, and the dry weather conditions were expected to continue. With temperatures above normal for this time of the year, the agency said April 2023 was the third-driest and fourth-warmest in the last 92 years in mainland Portugal. Neighbouring Spain has registered the driest start to a year since records started, its weather agency AEMET said on Wednesday, with less than half the average rainfall during the first four months of 2023.

☆ Portugal to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine, PM says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LISBON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Portugal will send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, Prime Minister Antonio Costa said on Saturday, without specifying how many will be shipped. Costa added that Portugal is in talks with Germany to obtain parts needed for the repair of a number of inoperable Leopard tanks in Portugal's inventory of the weapon. "We are currently working to be able to dispense some of our tanks," Costa told Lusa news agency during a trip to the Central African Republic. "I know how many tanks will be (sent to Ukraine) but that will be announced at the appropriate time." Portugal is working with Germany to get the parts needed to repair the tanks that are not operational, Costa said, adding he hoped to deliver them to Ukraine by the end of March.

☆ Angolan court orders seizure of dos Santos's assets - Lusa news agency
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dos Santos has faced corruption accusations for years. In 2019, Angola's Supreme Court ordered the seizure of her assets for allegedly steering state funds to companies in which she held stakes during her father's presidency, including oil giant Sonangol. Dos Santos's father, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, died in July. A spokesperson for dos Santos did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The order comes after global police agency Interpol issued a red notice for dos Santos last month, asking global law enforcement authorities to locate and provisionally arrest her.

☆ Portuguese airline TAP running reduced service as two-day strike kicks off
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LISBON, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Portuguese flag carrier TAP is running a reduced service as its cabin crew stage a two-day strike to demand higher salaries and better working conditions. The strike, called by the national SNPVAC union representing cabin crew staff for Dec. 8-9, had already forced TAP to cancel 360 flights. The airline said it was only operating the "minimum services" decreed by a court. SNPVAC president, Ricardo Penarroias, told Lusa news agency the majority of TAP cabin crew had decided to walk out but said they were still available to negotiate with the airline to avoid further strikes until the end of January. The ailing airline, 72.5% controlled by the Portuguese state, was saved by a 3.2 billion euro rescue plan approved by Brussels.

☆ Interpol confirms red notice for Angolan billionaire Isabel dos Santos
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LISBON, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Global police agency Interpol confirmed on Wednesday it had issued a red notice for Angolan billionaire Isabel dos Santos, daughter of the country's former president, asking global law enforcement authorities to locate and provisionally arrest her. Portugal's Lusa news agency reported on Nov. 18 that Interpol had issued an international arrest warrant for dos Santos. But Interpol told Reuters it had issued a red notice instead at the request of Angolan authorities. A source close to dos Santos said on Nov. 19 that she had yet to be notified by Interpol. Dos Santos has given interviews recently, telling CNN Portugal on Tuesday the courts in Angola were not independent" and judges there were "used to fulfil a political agenda".

☆ Angola's dos Santos not aware of Interpol arrest warrant, representative says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In a statement sent to Reuters, dos Santos' official source said her lawyers had "consulted the Interpol database and, so far, there was no reference to the issuance of a warrant". Portugal's Lusa news agency reported on Friday that Interpol had issued a warrant after public prosecutors in Angola asked the agency to "locate, arrest" and extradite dos Santos. According to Friday's report by Lusa, the arrest warrant mentions dos Santos is often in Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. Authorities are aware of dos Santos' location, the official source said. Dos Santos' father, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who died in July, ruled Angola for almost four decades until 2017.

☆ Interpol issues arrest warrant for Angola's Isabel dos Santos, Lusa reports
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LISBON, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Global police agency Interpol has issued an international arrest warrant for Angolan billionaire and daughter of the country's former president Isabel dos Santos, Portugal's Lusa news agency reported on Friday. According to Lusa, citing an official document, the INTERPOL warrant was issued after Angola's public prosecutors requested the agency to "locate, arrest" and extradite dos Santos. INTERPOL and the public prosecutors did not immediately reply to Reuters' requests for comment. According to Lusa, the arrest warrant mentions the businesswoman is often in Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. Dos Santos' father, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, died in July this year and ruled Angola for almost four decades until 2017.

☆ (VIDEO) Pană totală de curent în Madeira, provocată de un fulger în timpul unei furtuni puternice
▼ + stars: | 2021-03-29 | by ( Publika.Md - Aici Sunt Știrile | ) www.publika.md time to read: 1 min

Un fulger produs în timpul unei furtuni puternice a provocat o pană totală de curent pe insula portugheză Madeira. Sâmbătă seară, începând cu ora locală 8:45 pm (19:45 GMT), rezidenţii acestei populare destinaţii turistice din Atlantic au rămas în întuneric, potrivit agenţiei de presă Lusa. Ploile torenţiale însoţite de grindină au inundat totodată străzile, garajele subterane şi câteva clădiri rezidenţiale. Autoritățile le-au recomandat celor 250.000 de locuitori ai insulei să rămână în case din cauza condiţiilor meteo nefavorabile care vor continua să se manifeste. Alimentarea cu energie electrică a fost restabilită, pentru o mare parte din insulă, duminică, a relatat Lusa.

Persons: Sâmbătă Locations: Madeira, Atlantic

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