Spain is on alert for wildfires as a heatwave that has enveloped southeastern Europe in recent days shifts west. Temperatures are forecast to reach highs of around 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in much of the Iberian peninsula in the coming days. As firefighters try to extinguish a fire in Tarragona, forestry agents try to prevent a new fire from breaking out near Barcelona amid the worst heat wave in nearly 20 years.

Residents of the southern Portuguese city of Evora seek shade and other ways to cool down as temperatures hit 40 degrees.

In Portugal's Agueda valley, south of Porto, the bike manufacturing industry is flourishing, particularly for electric bicycles. No other EU country makes more bikes than Portugal. The nation of 10 million inhabitants, or just over 2 percent of the EU population, produces a quarter of the bloc's bicycles. This reindustrialisation success story is the consequence of a growing passion for cycling in Europe. Our regional correspondents report.

A refurbished football pitch commissioned by Nike to honour legendary player Cristiano Ronaldo has opened to the public in the star's hometown in Santo Antonio, as seen on Wednesday. A local resident could be seen kicking a ball around the court, which came complete with a painted goal. The inspirational phrase 'Greatness starts with a goal' woven into its netting.

Portuguese authorities seize a 5.2-tonne haul of cocaine from a Spanish-registered sailing ship, arresting two Spanish citizens and a Peruvian. of on the docks

It is the first time a budget has been rejected in Portugal since the country's transition to democracy in 1974. The move ends six years of relative stability under Prime Minister Antonio Costa.

Portugal is to head to the polls on January 30, after the country's president called a snap election. The announcement comes a week after parliament rejected the minority government's 2022 budget bill.

Since 2018, Portugal has seen a boom in farming, made possible in large part due to cheap labour from Asia run by mafia networks. Migrant charities estimate that around 30,000 Indian, Nepali, Thai and Pakistani labourers work on broccoli fields, pick berries and tomatoes in greenhouses or pick grapes in vineyards. In return they receive poor salaries and face difficult living conditions. Our regional correspondents report.

Twenty years ago, Portugal was plagued with heroin addiction and HIV infections. The country decided to take a new approach to the problem, becoming the first in the world to decriminalise drug taking. Since then, drug users are no longer treated as criminals to be locked up in jail, but as people who need medical care and supervision. The gamble has paid off, as our team found out.

As climate change continues to take effect, we are all going to have to change the way we behave in order to survive. That's the conclusion of Eric Klinenberg, a professor of social science at New York University who's written a book focusing on the extreme 1995 heatwave in Chicago. Temperatures there hit over 41°C, killing hundreds of people. Klinenberg says it's not just infrastructure that will have to change, but the whole way we interact with our families and those living around us.

Earlier this month, India's northwest sweltered under a heatwave that came unusually early. Every year, hundreds of people die during heatwaves in India and the country usually also suffers severe water shortages. There are fears that because of climate change, heatwaves are coming earlier and may be more severe. Nagraj Adve, a climate activist and author of "Global Warming in the Indian Context", tells us more.

Portuguese officials confirmed five cases of the monkeypox disease. The viral infection, rarely found in Europe, has also been reported in Spain and Britain.