Connect with us

World

Portugal to hold early election on 18 May after government collapses

Published

on

Portugal to hold early election on 18 May after government collapses
This article was originally published in Portuguese

The government, led by the Social Democrats in an alliance with a smaller party, fell amid a controversy that has revolved around potential conflicts of interest in the business dealings of outgoing Prime Minister Luís Montenegro’s family law firm.

ADVERTISEMENT

Portugal will hold an early general election on May 18, the country’s president announced Thursday, two days after a minority government lost a confidence vote in parliament and stood down.

President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who has no executive power but can dissolve parliament and call elections, described the government’s collapse as a shock that was neither “expected nor wanted.”

In a televised address to the nation, he urged voters to participate actively in the European Union country’s third general election in three years, saying the continent faces stiff challenges to its security and economy that require political stability.

The centre-right government’s fall on Tuesday amid questions about the prime minister’s conduct brought the worst bout of political instability since Portugal adopted a democratic system more than 50 years ago in the wake of the 1974 Carnation Revolution, which ended a four-decade dictatorship.

Portugal, which has a population of around 10.6 million people, has had a series of minority governments in recent years as the traditional rivals for power, the centre-right Social Democratic Party and the centre-left Socialists, lost votes to growing smaller parties.

Advertisement

The minority governments have been unable to build compromises that might ensure an administration completes its constitutional four-year term without opposition parties teaming up to block its policy proposals and bring it down.

The ballot deepens political uncertainty just as Portugal is in the process of investing more than €22 billion in EU development funds.

Voter discontent with a return to the polls could bring dividends for the right-wing populist party Chega (Enough), which has fed off frustration with the two mainstream parties.

Portugal has been caught up in the rising tide of European populism, with Chega surging into third place in last year’s election.

The government, led by the Social Democrats in an alliance with a smaller party, fell amid a controversy that has revolved around potential conflicts of interest in the business dealings of outgoing Prime Minister Luís Montenegro’s family law firm.

Advertisement

Montenegro, who says he’ll stand for re-election, has denied any wrongdoing. He said he placed control of the firm in the hands of his wife and children when he became Social Democratic leader in 2022 and has not been involved in its running.

It recently emerged that the firm is receiving monthly payments from a company that has a major gambling concession granted by the government, among other sources of revenue.

The Socialists demanded a parliamentary inquiry into Montenegro’s conduct.

The Social Democrats are hoping that economic growth estimated at 1.9% last year, compared with the EU’s 0.8% average, and a jobless rate of 6.4%, roughly the EU average, will hold their support steady.

Advertisement

World

Kilauea displays lava fountains for the 37th time since its eruption began last year

Published

on

Kilauea displays lava fountains for the 37th time since its eruption began last year

HONOLULU (AP) — The on-and-off eruption that’s been dazzling residents and visitors on Hawaii’s Big Island for nearly a year resumed Tuesday as Kilauea volcano sent fountains of lava soaring 400 feet (122 meters) into the air.

The molten rock was confined within Kilauea’s summit caldera inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, the U.S. Geological Survey said. No homes were threatened.

It’s the 37th time Kilauea has shot lava since last December, when the current eruption began.

The latest lava display was preceded by sporadic spattering and overflows that began Friday. Each eruptive episode has lasted about a day or less. The volcano has paused for at least a few days in between.

In some cases, Kilauea’s lava towers have soared as high as skyscrapers. The volcano has generated such tall fountains in part because magma — which holds gases that are released as it rises — has been traveling to the surface through narrow, pipelike vents.

Advertisement

Kilauea is on Hawaii Island, the largest of the Hawaiian archipelago. It’s about 200 miles (322 kilometers) south of the state’s largest city, Honolulu, which is on Oahu.

It’s one of the world’s most active volcanoes and one of six active volcanoes in Hawaii.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

World

Russia warns it may reject US-Ukraine peace plan if it fails to uphold Alaska summit ‘understandings’

Published

on

Russia warns it may reject US-Ukraine peace plan if it fails to uphold Alaska summit ‘understandings’

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov suggested Moscow could reject the White House’s latest Ukraine peace deal framework if it doesn’t uphold the “spirit and letter” of the understandings reached at the August Alaska summit between President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.

Lavrov said at a news conference Tuesday that Russia is awaiting the updated version of the Trump administration’s latest peace plan aimed at ending the nearly four-year war.

He warned that if the terms of the “key understandings” are “extinguished” then the situation would become “fundamentally different.”

Russia has maintained its maximalist demands in negotiations, insisting Ukraine be barred from joining NATO and required to give up the rest of the Donbas as part of any peace deal.

Advertisement

RUSSIA BOMBARDS KYIV, KILLING AT LEAST 6, AS TRUMP PEACE PLAN MOVES FORWARD

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov delivers a speech for heads of diplomatic missions accredited in Russia in Moscow, Russia, Sept. 19, 2022. (Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool/AP Photo)

John Hardie, the deputy director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Russia Program, told Fox News Digital Moscow’s intransigence over the past 10 months has been the main obstacle to Trump’s diplomatic efforts.

“The United States has really shot itself in the foot by kind of flip-flopping between strategies. One month you’re trying to pressure the Russians and saying they’re the obstacle to peace. The next minute you’re trying to, you know, force their terms on Kyiv,” said Hardie. 

“What we really need is sustained military support for Ukraine and economic pressure on Russia, and Putin has to realize that neither the Ukrainian military nor Western, especially U.S., resolve, are going to falter.”

Advertisement

Emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire after a Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine Sept. 7, 2025. (Efrem Lukatsky/AP Photo)

Former CIA station chief Dan Hoffman told “The Brian Kilmeade Show” Tuesday he remains skeptical about an end to the war, arguing the United States lacks the leverage to compel Moscow to halt its invasion.

NATO JETS SCRAMBLED AMID RUSSIA’S LARGEST DRONE ATTACK ON UKRAINE

“Vladimir Putin, his strategic objective has always been to overthrow the democratically elected government of Ukraine. He’ll engage in negotiations, but he does it to ensure that he’s asserting the primacy of Russia in his self-designated sphere of influence,” said Hoffman. “I just don’t see any evidence that Russia is going to pause in their relentless attacks on Ukraine.”

Ukrainian soldiers from the 115th Brigade Mortar Unit conduct mortar training as members of the Anti-UAV unit test an FPV drone inhibitor in Lyman, Ukraine. (Jose Colon/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Advertisement

Ukraine agreed Tuesday to a peace deal to end the war with Russia, but some details still need to be finalized, a U.S. official told Fox News.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll met with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi Monday and Tuesday to discuss the framework for a Ukraine peace deal. The U.S. official said a Ukrainian delegation was also in Abu Dhabi and in contact with Driscoll and his team.

Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report

Advertisement
Continue Reading

World

Hungary’s Orbán looks to meet Putin in Moscow amid Ukraine deal talks

Published

on

Hungary’s Orbán looks to meet Putin in Moscow amid Ukraine deal talks

Published on

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will travel to Moscow on Friday to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to media reports.

The information came from Hungarian government sources who were involved in the preparations of the trip, according to investigative central European outlet VSquare.

The Hungarian government has not confirmed the visit at this time, with Budapest saying it would inform the public about Orbán’s programme in due time.

Advertisement

The agenda for the meeting is not yet known. But Orbán has maintained ties to Putin since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and the two leaders have kept in regular touch, meeting in person three times since early 2022.

The Hungarian premier has repeatedly stated he was in favour of an immediate ceasefire and peace talks to end the war in Ukraine. Over the weekend, Orbán called on the European Union to support Washington’s peace efforts and engage in direct negotiations with Russia.

‘”Europeans must immediately and unconditionally support the peace initiative of the President of the United States,” Orbán said in a letter sent to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Saturday.

“In addition to supporting the US president, we must, without delay, launch autonomous and direct diplomatic negotiations with Russia,” he added.

Europeans ‘prefer to continue the war,’ Orbán says

Hungary is one of the few European countries that imports large quantities of Russian oil and gas, despite the European Union’s efforts to decouple from Moscow’s fossil fuels.

Advertisement

During a visit to Washington in November, Orbán secured exemptions from Washington’s secondary tariffs targeting Russia’s oil exporters Rosneft and Lukoil.

Addressing US President Donald Trump, Orbán also blamed the European Union for what he said was its support of the war.

“Your peace efforts are splendid, but the problem is Brussels, the Europeans. They prefer to continue the war, because they still think Ukraine can win on the front line,” Orbán said.

Earlier, Trump announced direct talks with Putin in Budapest, only for the meeting to be called off by Washington, citing a lack of agreement with Moscow.

Following the leak of the US-Russia 28-point plan last week, said to be strongly in favour of Moscow, Ukrainian and European representatives have met with their US counterparts for further talks, followed by a counterproposal offering more guarantees for Ukraine.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending