12 March 2011
Japan’s killer waves are a reminder of Sunday morning, November 1, 1755, when a large earthquake struck , Lisbon, Portugal’s capital, and a subsequent tsunami killed more than 60,000 people within minutes. A huge fire completed the destruction of the great Renascence Portuguese city, its wealth, prosperity and sophistication reduced to rubble. The total duration of shaking lasted […]
Posted in Heritage
12 March 2011
Portuguese-Canadian singer Nelly Furtado, of Azorean descent, was the first to set the example by announcing she is giving away US$1 million she received from the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to perform in 2007 in Italy for his family. Rapper 50 Cent was the last to joined Nelly Furtado, together with pop stars Beyonce, Usher, […]
Posted in Azores, Canada, Entertainment, Music, People
12 March 2011
The famous 1697 “Molitor” Stradivarius, once owned by Portuguese-American virtuoso Elmar Oliveira, debuted this week at the Long Center, in Austin, Texas. Violinist Anne Akiko Meyers paid $3.6 million for the “Molitor” Stradivarius which previous owners include Napoleon Bonaparte. The son of Portuguese immigrants, Elmar Oliveira is considered one of the best violinists in the world. He remains […]
Posted in Arts&Culture, Entertainment, Heritage, People
10 March 2011
An unidentified Libyan envoy met with Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado, March 9 “to explain Tripoli’s view on the conflict in the country,” Al Jazeera reported. Libya has requested the meeting with Portugal, which chairs the United Nations Security Council’s committee on sanctions for Libya. According to the Portuguese press the Lybian regime was willing to […]
Posted in Politics
10 March 2011
The Associação das Universidades de Língua Portuguesa ( AULP), an academic international organization dedicated to the Portuguese speaking countries, announced the Prêmio Fernão Mendes Pinto award for 2011, in the amount of € 10 mil (US$14,000) The prize will be awarded to a doctoral thesis or dissertation work completed during the academic year of 2010, on a topic relating […]
Posted in Arts&Culture, Awards, Education, Organizations, Scholarships, World
10 March 2011
Faced with a public health crisis, 10 years ago Portugal decided to decriminalize the possession of all illicit drugs, from marijuana to heroin, while imposing criminal sanctions on distribution and trafficking. As a result, according to a study in the British Journal of Criminology, overdose deaths are down, and more addicts are in. As to […]
Posted in Politics
