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[1/4] Police gather drugs ahead of burning six tonnes of cocaine, hashish and other substances to mark the United Nations' International Day Against Drug Abuse, in Lisbon, Portugal, June 26, 2023. REUTERS/Miguel PereiraLISBON, June 26 (Reuters) - Portuguese police on Monday burned six tonnes of cocaine, hashish and other substances to mark the United Nations' international day against drug abuse and illicit trafficking at a time the illegal trade is booming worldwide. Sousa said 11 tonnes of cocaine, 30 tonnes of hashish and smaller amount of other types of drugs have been seized in Portugal so far in 2023, already above the amounts seized last year as a whole. He said most of the cocaine was trafficked from Latin America and the Caribbean, while the hashish came from Morocco. Sousa said Portuguese authorities needed more resources to tackle the surge as the southern European nation, facing the Atlantic Ocean, was a key entry point of drugs into the European continent.

Persons: Miguel Pereira LISBON, Rui Sousa, Sousa, Catarina Demony, Miguel Pereira, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Police, Nations, REUTERS, United Nations Office, Drugs, Portuguese, Thomson Locations: Lisbon, Portugal, America, Caribbean, Morocco, Europe, European

☆ Brazil's Lula will ask Nicaragua's Ortega to release jailed bishop
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ROME, June 22 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Thursday he would personally lobby Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega to release a bishop who has been imprisoned in the Central American state. Speaking to reporters a day after meeting Pope Francis, Lula said the Nicaraguan president should have "the courage" to recognize that a mistake had been made. "I intend to speak with Daniel Ortega about this to release the bishop. There is no reason for the bishop to be prevented from exercising his function in the Church," Lula said. "The only thing the Church wants is for Nicaragua to free them," Lula said, referring to Alvarez and a number of detained priests.

Persons: Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega, Pope Francis, Lula, Bishop Rolando Alvarez, Ortega, Daniel Ortega, Francis, Alvarez, Alvazez, Philip Pulella, Catarina Demony, Federico Maccioni, Crispian Balmer Organizations: Central, Roman Catholic Church, Thomson Locations: Central American, Nicaraguan, Nicaragua, Latin America, Brazil, United States

June 22 (Reuters) - Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Thursday the European Union should stop adopting a protectionist stance if it wants to reach a long-delayed trade deal with the Mercosur bloc. The EU and the Mercosur bloc of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay completed negotiations in 2019 but the deal has been on hold due to concerns about Amazon deforestation and Brazil's commitment to climate change action. "The additional letter the EU sent to Mercosur is unacceptable because they punish any country that did not comply with the Paris Agreement," Lula told a news conference on the final day of his trip to Italy. "Not even them (EU) complied with the Paris Agreement. Lula said the Mercosur bloc was preparing its response and urged EU countries to be more "sensitive and humble".

Persons: Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Lula, Emmanuel Macron, Catarina Demony, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Union, Mercosur, EU, Thomson Locations: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Mercosur, Paris, Italy, France, Marcron, South America

☆ Veterans Rapinoe, Morgan named in U.S. World Cup squad
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Amy Tennery | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Jun 10, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; OL Reign forward Megan Rapinoe (15) is seen before the game against the Kansas City Current at Lumen Field. Five players, Rapinoe, Morgan, midfielder Julie Ertz, defender Kelley O’Hara and goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher were part of the victorious U.S. World Cup squads in 2015 and 2019. The top-ranked Americans are fielding one of their least experienced squads in recent memory, with 14 of the 23 players going to their first World Cup, compared to 11 in 2019 and seven in 2015. Sam's sister and fellow midfielder, Kristie Mewis, was included in the roster for her first World Cup at age 32. Her Gotham FC team mate, Lynn Williams, also made the cut for the global showpiece tournament for the first time at age 30.

Persons: Megan Rapinoe, Michael Thomas Shroyer, Alex Morgan, Vlatko Andonovski, Alyssa Thompson, Naomi Girma, Savannah DeMelo, Andonovski, Sophia Smith, Trinity Rodman, Morgan, Julie Ertz, Kelley O’Hara, Alyssa Naeher, Mallory Swanson, Becky Sauerbrunn, Catarina Macario, Sam Mewis, Kristie Mewis, Lynn Williams, Aubrey Kingsbury, Casey Murphy, Alana Cook, Crystal Dunn, Emily Fox, Sofia Huerta, Kelley O'Hara, Emily Sonnett, Lindsey Horan, Rose Lavelle, Kristie, Ashley Sanchez, Andi Sullivan, Amy Tennery, Ed Osmond Organizations: Kansas, Lumen, YORK, Savannah, Women's Soccer League, U.S, Gotham FC, Washington, North, Courage, Chicago Red Stars, Portland Thorns FC, Diego Wave FC, NY Gotham FC, Racing Louisville FC, FC, Olympique Lyonnais, San Diego Wave FC, Angel, Thomson Locations: Seattle , Washington, USA, States, Australia, New Zealand, NJ, Angel, New York

[1/4] Portuguese maritime police is seen outside a warehouse where hundreds of human trafficking victims, mostly migrants from Southeast Asia, were found near Portugal's capital Lisbon, in Samouco, Portugal, June 21, 2023. REUTERS/Miguel PereiraSAMOUCO, Portugal, June 21 (Reuters) - Hundreds of alleged victims of labour exploitation were found on Wednesday in different locations near Portugal's capital Lisbon, including inside a big warehouse where they were kept to work in the illegal harvesting of shellfish. The Maritime Police, which is leading the investigation, said in a statement that all of the 243 victims identified so far were migrants. Portuguese investigators say typical victims are impoverished migrants brought to Portugal by trafficking rings with the promise of a job. The number of investigations, prosecutions and convictions remained low compared to the number of identified victims, the Council of Europe said at the time.

Persons: Miguel Pereira SAMOUCO, Catarina Demony, Miguel Pereira, Christina Fincher Organizations: Portuguese, REUTERS, Maritime Police, CNN, SEF, Reuters, of, Thomson Locations: Southeast Asia, Portugal's, Lisbon, Samouco, Portugal, CNN Portugal, Portugal's Alentejo, Europe, of Europe

☆ Neo-Nazi groups multiply in a more conservative Brazil
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Steven Grattan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/5] Items seized from a neo-Nazi group who call themselves Crew 38 are displayed in Florianopolis, Santa Catarina state, Brazil April 24, 2023. "Santa Catarina is a land of WHITE PEOPLE, FOR WHITE PEOPLE," the anonymous sender wrote, signing off with the Nazi salute "SIEG HEIL." Researchers at Sao Paulo state's Unicamp university have tracked a more than 10-fold rise in the number of neo-Nazi cells in Brazil since 2015. SOUTHERN HATEThe problem of neo-Nazism is particularly acute in Santa Catarina, a state where many have German and Italian ancestry. The state has the largest proportion of white residents in Brazil, with 84% declaring as white in the last census.

Persons: Cristiano Estrela, Andrea Muller, Jair Bolsonaro's, Adolf Hitler, Bolsonaro, Flavio Dino, CONIB, Guilherme Franco de Andrade, Bolsonaro's, Arthur Lopes, Lopes, Luis Eduardo de Quadros, de Almeida, Steven Grattan, Gabriel Stargardter, Deepa Babington Organizations: Nazi, REUTERS, Reuters, Reuters Graphics, Federal Police, Nazism, Santa, Brazil's, Sao Paulo state's Unicamp, Federal University of Mato, Blacks, Haitian, Thomson Locations: Florianopolis, Santa Catarina state, Brazil, Itajai, Santa Catarina, Haiti, Nazi, Federal University of Mato Grosso, Sul, U.S, United States, Europe

[1/6] Brazil's indigenous chief Raoni Metuktire takes part in a session of the Brazilian Supreme Court to debate the so-called legal thesis of 'Marco Temporal' (Temporal Milestone) in Brasilia, Brazil June 7, 2023. If it passes Congress, all eyes would turn to leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has the power of veto. Indigenous groups, including members of the Xokleng community, protested outside the Supreme Court in Brasilia on Wednesday. Brazil's farm sector is also backing a bill in Congress that would set into law a cut-off date for land claims in 1988, the year Brazil's current Constitution was enacted. The hearing follows a setback for Indigenous people last week in Congress when the lower chamber passed the bill that limited the recognition of new Indigenous reservations.

Persons: Raoni Metuktire, Marco, Ueslei Marcelino BRASILIA, Justice Andre Mendonca, Jair Bolsonaro, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Lula, Anthony Boadle, Gabriel Stargardter, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Brazilian, REUTERS, Ueslei, Big Agriculture, Wednesday, Thomson Locations: Brasilia, Brazil, Santa Catarina, Sao Paulo, Brazil's

☆ Birds With a Taste for Flesh Threaten Whale Calves
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Annie Roth | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Thousands of colossal southern right whales travel to the calm waters of Península Valdés off the coast of Argentina each year to breed and give birth. The cetaceans, which can reach 56 feet in length, are a sight to behold, especially with their calves in tow. For the past 50 years, the kelp gulls of Peninsula Valdés have been mercilessly pecking at any southern right whale that dares to swim to the surface to breathe. The birds gorge on skin and blubber ripped from the whales’ backs. Over the past few decades the problem has escalated, and is now so severe that it’s causing young southern right whale calves to die prematurely, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Biology Letters.

Persons: Península Valdés, “, ”, Macarena Agrelo Organizations: Federal University of Santa Locations: Península, Argentina, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil

LISBON, May 22 (Reuters) - Portuguese police will on Tuesday search a reservoir inland from where British three-year-old Madeleine McCann disappeared in 2007, authorities said, in the first formal development in the case in Portugal in several years. A fire brigade spokesperson said police were preparing to start searches on Tuesday at a dam in the southern region of Algarve about 50 km (31.07 miles) inland from a beach resort where Madeleine went missing from a rented apartment while on a family holiday. Police erected two tents beside the dam on Monday, Reuters TV footage showed. Brueckner, a convicted child abuser and drug dealer, is behind bars in Germany for raping a 72-year-old woman in the same area of the Algarve from where Madeleine went missing. German police said in June 2020 that Madeleine was assumed dead and that Brueckner was likely responsible for it.

LISBON, May 2 (Reuters) - Portugal's infrastructure minister submitted his resignation on Tuesday as a scandal around state-owned airline TAP widened, just four months after his predecessor resigned over the same issue, but the prime minister said he would keep him in the job. Galamba's predecessor, Pedro Nuno Santos, resigned in December in the wake of a scandal involving an irregular severance payment to a former executive board member of TAP. Ourmières-Widener has since been fired after an official inspection found that the severance was illegal. On Sunday, Costa said that neither he nor any member of the government had given orders to SIS to recover the laptop. ($1 = 0.9089 euros)Reporting by Sergio Goncalves and Catarina Demony; Editing by Andrei KhalipOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

From the 15th to the 19th century, 6 million Africans were kidnapped and forcibly transported across the Atlantic by Portuguese vessels and sold into slavery, primarily to Brazil. But so far Portugal has rarely commented on its past and little is taught about its role in slavery in schools. Reparations and public policies to fight inequalities caused by Portugal's past were essential, Cardoso said. "We continue to suffer in Brazil the effects of a legacy of slavery," Almeida said in a statement. Europe's top human rights group previously said Portugal had do more to confront its colonial past and role in the transatlantic slave trade in order to help fight racism and discrimination today.

Buarque was awarded in 2019 the Camoes Prize, which every year recognises an author from a Portuguese-speaking nation. The prize, named after Portuguese poet Luis de Camoes, was created by Portugal and Brazil in 1988. When Buarque won, Bolsonaro refused to sign the award diploma, delaying the ceremony. Buarque was also an opponent of the two decade-long military dictatorship in Brazil that began in 1964. "It is for me a satisfaction to correct one of the biggest mistakes ... committed against Brazilian culture in recent times," Lula said.

☆ Brazil hopes for conclusion to EU-Mercosur trade deal this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Catarina Demony | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LISBON (Reuters) - Brazil hopes the Mercosur trade deal with the European Union (EU) will be concluded this year, a government official said on Sunday, ending years of delay and opening the way to increased trade between the two regions. While Germany has pushed for a swift conclusion, France has said it is waiting to see progress in Brazil. “The signs are very positive,” Elias Rosa said. “Brazil already complies with the socio-environmental requirements related to labour legislation,” Elias Rosa said. Together with other government officials, Elias Rosa is in Portugal as part of a five-day visit by Lula, his first to Europe since being elected president.

LISBON, April 23 (Reuters) - Government officials from Brazil are using their president's first visit to Europe since being elected to raise awareness and fight against the racial discrimination faced by the Brazilian community in Portugal and elsewhere. Brazil's minister of racial equality, Anielle Franco, was one of the officials who travelled with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. When elected, Lula said he aimed to attack racism and Brazil's legacy of slavery. Europe's top human rights group previously said Portugal had to confront its colonial past and role in the transatlantic slave trade to help fight racism and discrimination in the country today. Franco met Portuguese parliament affairs minister Ana Catarina Mendes on Saturday to discuss policies to tackle racial injustice.

☆ Brazil's Embraer to build NATO-approved aircraft in Portugal
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Embraer, which holds 65% of OGMA's capital, makes several types of planes, including a light attack aircraft called "Super Tucano". Embraer also manufacturers the KC-390 military cargo aircraft and it aims for more international deals to sell it. In 2019, the Portuguese government said it would buy five of Embraer's KC-390 military transport aircraft and a flight simulator for 827 million euros. Two sources familiar with the matter said on last week that Austria was looking to advance in talks with Embraer on purchasing four or five KC-390 military cargo aircraft. "President (Lula) wants to encourage the Brazilian defence industry and increase investment in the defence industry," Mucio said.

☆ Under Lisbon's streets, ancient Roman galleries tell story of the past
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/5] View of Roman galleries under downtown is seen in Lisbon, Portugal, April 20, 2023. The city remained under Roman control for several centuries. The galleries were first discovered in 1771, when Lisbon was being rebuilt after the devastating Great Earthquake of 1755. Tickets to visit the galleries usually sell out within 15 minutes. Reporting by Catarina Demony, Miguel Pereira and Pedro Nunes in Lisbon; Editing by Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Lula has been criticised in the West for suggesting Ukraine and Russia are to blame for the conflict that began when Moscow invaded its neighbour in February 2022. Last week he said the United States and European allies should stop supplying arms to Ukraine saying they were prolonging the war. Lula arrived in Portugal on Friday for a five-day visit as he strives to improve foreign ties. Portugal's President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who accompanied Lula at the news conference, said their countries' stance on the war were different. Rebelo de Sousa said Ukraine had the right to defend itself and "recover" its territory.

☆ Portugal's government in hot water as TAP airline scandal deepens
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Sergio Goncalves | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LISBON, April 21 (Reuters) - Portugal's government fired the chief executive of flag carrier TAP last month without a legal assessment of the move, Finance Minister Fernando Medina has acknowledged, deepening a high-profile scandal around the state-owned airline. His remarks in parliament late on Thursday contradicted claims by two fellow ministers a day earlier that the government had obtained a legal opinion backing the decision. This heightens chances of the state losing a potential lawsuit by the sacked executives worth millions of euros. After Ourmières-Widener called her sacking "illegal", the main opposition Social Democrats warned that unless the decision had proper legal backing, the state could lose an eventual court dispute. In a tweet, Liberal Initiative party leader Rui Rocha called the situation a "festival of incoherence and total disrespect for parliament".

[1/3] People protest outside the embassy of Brazil in Portugal over Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's position on Russia-Ukraine war as he arrives in the country for a state visit in Lisbon, Portugal, April 21, 2023. Two Brazilian officials told Reuters on Thursday that Lula - keen to protect Brazil's neutrality - was expected to avoid criticism of the Western role in the Ukraine war during his visit to Portugal. "Brazil and president Lula have a vocation for peace and the president will work to unite other countries to seek an alternative to end this conflict", Macedo told reporters after receiving the letter. On Tuesday, Ukraine invited Lula to visit, a day after Lula had met with Russia's foreign minister in Brasilia. Asked if the president would visit Ukraine, Macedo said Lula's foreign policy adviser, Celso Amorim, would go.

☆ Portugal party Chega sets far-right world summit with Brazil's Bolsonaro, Italy's Salvini
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LISBON, April 7 (Reuters) - Portuguese party Chega will hold a world summit in Lisbon with several far-right party leaders in May, including former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro and Italian deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini, the president of Chega said on Friday. In a video statement, the president of Chega, Andre Ventura, said Bolsonaro and Salvini "already accepted the invitation to the great right-wing world summit" on the 13th and 14th of May. In January 2022, Portugal's ruling Socialist Party gained an unexpected outright majority and the Social Democrats finished second, but Chega increased its support and became the third largest party in parliament. In March, Ventura told journalists he also planned to invite Marine Le Pen of France or Geert Wilders of the Netherlands, leaders of far-right parties in their countries. Reporting by Sergio Goncalves and Catarina Demony; Editing by David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Young victim of Brazil daycare center attack is buried
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Parents stands alongside the coffin, that contains the remains of their 5-year-old, Bernardo Cunha Machado, who was killed by a man inside a daycare center, during a wake at the Sao Jose cemetery, in Blumenau, Santa Catarina, Brazil April 6, 2023. REUTERS/Vinicius BretzkeBLUMENAU, April 6 (Reuters) - Residents of Blumenau, a city in Southern Brazil, gathered on Thursday at a cemetery to attend the burial of one of the four children killed by a man armed with a small axe in a local daycare center. On Wednesday, a 25-year-old man scaled the wall of the daycare center, killed four children and wounded five others, before turning himself in. Police said three boys - two aged 4 and one aged 5 - and one girl aged 7 were killed. The attack came nearly a week after a 13-year-old student stabbed a teacher to death and wounded five others in a Sao Paulo school.

LISBON, April 6 (Reuters) - Portugal's government approved on Thursday the abolition of the scandal-hit immigration agency SEF, whose border force officers, uncertain about their future, have mooted industrial action during the usually busy Easter period. It was not immediately clear whether the strike will go ahead from Friday. Parliament approved SEF's abolition in November of the same year, but the process has been slow. There will be a transition period of six months, and SEF officers will help to train their replacements, the government said. Additional reporting by Patricia Rua, editing by Andrei Khalip and Barbara LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Strikes have rolled through France, Portugal, Britain and Germany in recent weeks and could cause air travel disruption in parts of Europe through the Easter holidays, officials at airlines, airports and air traffic authorities told Reuters. There's no doubt about it," said Steven Moore, who is in charge of air traffic management operations at Eurocontrol. Airlines say they have to pay compensation without themselves getting compensated for air traffic delays. Consumer groups say air traffic control strikes are not new and airlines should be quicker to react and pay compensation. He called last week on the European Commission to do more to stop such strikes hitting overflights, by introducing minimum service rules, though industry experts say strikes are a national issue.

☆ At least four children killed in pre-school axe attack in southern Brazil
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A view shows forensic technicians, ambulances and policemen outside a pre-school after a 25-year-old man attacked children, killing several and injuring others, according to local police and hospital, in Blumenau, in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, Brazil April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Denner OvidioApril 5 (Reuters) - At least four children were killed and four other injured when a 25-year-old man armed with a small axe attacked a pre-school in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina on Wednesday, local police and a hospital said. Police said the man responsible for the attack in the city of Blumenau has been arrested. The attack, dubbed by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva a "monstrosity," happened nearly a week after a 13-year-old student stabbed a teacher to death and wounded five others in a Sao Paulo school. Reporting by Fernando Cardoso in Sao Paulo, Rodrigo Viga Gaier in Rio de Janeiro; Editing by Steven GrattanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Portuguese NGO sues TikTok, says platform 'profits from children'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The lawsuit came a day after Britain's data watchdog said it had fined TikTok 12.7 million pounds ($15.81 million) for breaching data protection law, including by using the personal data of children without parental consent. TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but told Portuguese newspaper Publico in a statement that protecting its users and their data was of "utmost importance". Ius Omnibus claims TikTok ends up collecting and processing children's personal data in breach of Portugal's constitution, the European Union's general data protection regulation and the unfair commercial practices law. Despite TikTok's age limit, it "does not implement mechanisms to prevent registration" by users aged below 13, the group said. In a separate lawsuit, it claims users older than 13 are also victims of "misleading business practices" and that certain personal data is used without their full consent.

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