Rome, Italy | AFP | Juventus and Italy legend Andrea Pirlo has told his former team-mates to win Saturday’s Champions League final for him. “Here we are: Juve-Real in the Champions League final. I say ‘we’ because even if this time I will not be on the pitch, I will …
Read More »Jubilant Portugal celebrates first Eurovision victory
Lisbon, Portugal | AFP | Jubilant Portugal on Sunday feted the country’s first ever Eurovision song contest victor Salvador Sobral, who suffers from a serious heart condition but triumphed with a melancholy ballad, with hundreds turning up to welcome him home. “When we are very good, we’re the best of …
Read More »FATIMA: 500,000 attend pope’s canonisation of child shepherds
Fátima, Portugal | AFP | Some 500,000 worshippers gathered in Fatima Saturday to watch Pope Francis declare two child shepherds who had visions of the Virgin Mary 100 years ago saints, the Vatican said. Altogether, about 500,000 people were present, the Vatican said in a statement, quoting local authorities — …
Read More »Pope declares Fatima child shepherds who ‘saw Virgin Mary’ saints
Fátima, Portugal | AFP | Two young shepherds who had visions of the Virgin Mary 100 years ago in Fatima, a Portuguese site now a global draw for pilgrims, were declared saints Saturday by Pope Francis. “We declare the blissful Francisco Marto and Jacinta Marto saints, and we register them …
Read More »Pope greeted by thousands on Fatima pilgrimage
Fátima, Portugal | AFP | Pope Francis called for harmony “among all people” Friday after arriving at Portugal’s holy site of Fatima where he was greeted by thousands of pilgrims gathered to mark 100 years since child shepherds had visions of the Virgin Mary. The Argentine pontiff flew into the …
Read More »Year 2016: Ronaldo’s Portugal seal year of the underdog
Madrid, Spain | AFP | Inspired by Leicester City’s incredible Premier League success, underdogs also shone on the international stage in 2016 as Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal stunned hosts France to the European championships in a tournament also lit up by debutants Wales and Iceland. Ronaldo capped his stellar career with …
Read More »You will pay more taxes in Portugal if your house faces the Sun
Here comes the Sun — and it will cost you, says Portugal Lisbon, Portugal | AFP | Property? It’s location, location, location, as any real estate vendor — and the Portuguese taxman — will tell you. Under fiercely-contested fiscal changes which became law on Monday, people buying a home in …
Read More »Uganda’s Madi music and dance put on UNESCO heritage list
Paris, France | AFP | Ugandan traditional music, which is dying out partly because it requires materials from endangered species, has been placed on UNESCO’s protected “Intangible Cultural Heritage” list, along with Portuguese pottery and Ukrainian Cossack songs. A UNESCO world heritage committee, meeting in Addis Ababa Tuesday, decided to …
Read More »Progress, but uphill slog for women in tech
Lisbon, Portugal | AFP | They are under-represented in the industry and sometimes made to feel unwelcome in geek-infested workspaces, but women are making their voices heard at Europe’s largest technology marketplace. Organisers of this week’s Web Summit in Lisbon said nearly half its 53,000 attendees were women, helped …
Read More »Security Council powers weigh in to pick new UN chief
United Nations, United States | AFP | The race to become the next UN chief takes a decisive turn on Wednesday when the big powers at the Security Council will for the first time indicate which candidates they are prepared to block. During the sixth straw poll to pick the …
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