Former Australia all-rounder Moises Henriques has switched his international allegiance and will represent Portugal in the upcoming T20 World Cup qualifiers in August, as per Code Sports. The experienced cricketer has decided to restart his international career by playing for the country of his birth.

The 39-year-old played 44 international matches for Australia but has not represented the national team since 2021. He will now travel to Finland for the European sub-regional qualifier, the first step in Portugal’s bid to qualify for the 2028 T20 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand.

Moises Henriques Set to Represent Portugal After Australia Stint

Moises Henriques was born in Portugal before moving to Australia as a baby. The New South Wales all-rounder is now eligible to represent Portugal after completing the ICC’s mandatory three-year stand-down period for players switching from a Full Member nation.

Henriques follows the path taken by former Australia opener Joe Burns, who recently switched to Italy through his family heritage. If Portugal qualify, Henriques could represent his birth country at a future T20 World Cup. 

The men’s T20 World Cup now features 20 teams, giving more Associate nations a chance to qualify. The move could also benefit Henriques in franchise cricket, as he can now be signed as an Associate player instead of occupying a Full Member overseas spot.

Speaking to CODE Sports, Moises Henriques said that he wants to help cricket grow in emerging nations. He said that representing Portugal is about more than his heritage and hopes the move will support the game’s global expansion.

“I guess the opportunity for growth in the game around the world, it’s probably not just my Portuguese heritage, but the game, more importantly, and the opportunity for growth worldwide,” Henriques said.

Henriques added that stronger Associate nations would make future ICC tournaments more competitive and help cricket reach a wider global audience.

“We can improve the quality of all the engagement in, say, another 10 or 20 nations around the world, and then you’re looking at cricket World Cups that stop the entire world, as opposed to a couple of Western countries and the subcontinent,” he added.

Henriques said that his family in Portugal were excited about his decision to represent the country. He added that his brothers also support the move, even though they were born in Australia after the family relocated. 

“My family back in Portugal would be all really proud to see me doing it as well. Both my brothers think it’s cool, they were both born here in Australia after we moved here, where I was actually born in Portugal,” he said.

The veteran all-rounder also said his relatives in Portugal are proud to see a family member represent their country on the international stage.

“My family that are still in Portugal, they seem more proud than anyone, so yeah, even though I haven’t really been a huge part of their lives, but I think they see it as ‘oh wow, we’ve got someone in the family that’s representing our country, as opposed to another country’,” Henriques added. (Cricket Addictor)

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Sri Lanka and Portugal have agreed to establish a joint committee to study the repatriation of ancient artefacts taken from the island during the Portuguese colonial period.

The agreement was reached during a bilateral discussion between Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath and visiting Portuguese Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Colombo.

Rangel noted that the proposal to return items of historical value was acceptable and confirmed that a joint committee would conduct a preliminary study. Both ministers also discussed activating existing cultural agreements to facilitate the process.

Additionally, the ministers addressed difficulties faced by Sri Lankans in obtaining Portuguese visas, which currently require travel to New Delhi. Vijitha Herath proposed a more accessible mechanism, which Rangel pledged to review. (Newswire)

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Portugal’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Paulo Rangel, arrived in Sri Lanka this morning (24 Feb) for a two-day official visit.

He was accompanied by a four-member delegation comprising senior officials from Portugal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Upon his arrival at the Katunayake Airport this morning, he was welcomed by Deputy Minister of Ports and Civil Aviation Janitha Ruwan Kodithuwakku.

Paulo Rangel, thereafter,  met with his Sri Lankan Counterpart Vijitha Herath for a discussion. (Newswire)

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Portugal’s parliament on Thursday approved a bill restricting children’s and young people’s access to online platforms and social networks.

Under the bill presented by the Social Democratic Party, minors under the age of 16 will no longer have unrestricted access to social networks and online platforms in Portugal.

Applications such as Instagram, TikTok and Facebook will only be accessible with “express and verified parental consent.”

The legislation also stipulates that access to social networks will require age verification through the Digital Mobile Key system, Portugal’s national digital identity authentication platform.

Current legislation already prohibits access for children under 13, but enforcement has been limited and platforms have not systematically verified users’ ages.

The new law will require social media platforms operating in Portugal to implement effective age-verification mechanisms and parental consent systems before granting access to users under 16.

The bill follows similar measures under consideration in several European countries amid growing concerns over the impact of social media on young people’s mental health and online safety.

The Digital Mobile Key is Portugal’s digital authentication system, enabling citizens to access public and private online services via mobile devices.

Parliament will now debate specific implementation details, including enforcement mechanisms, platform compliance requirements and procedures for verifying parental consent, in specialized committee discussions. (Xinhua)

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President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday emplaned for a 4-day state visit to Portugal and Slovakia from April 7-10.

She is visiting Portugal at the invitation of President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. The visit is taking place after a gap of 27 years, as the last State Visit took place in 1998 when President K R Narayanan visited Portugal.

While from 9-10 April, President Droupadi Murmu will visit the Slovakia at the invitation of the Slovakia President Peter Pellegrini. It will be the first visit by the President of India to Slovakia in 29 years.

Shatring the post on X, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson wrote, “President Droupadi Murmu @rashtrapatibhvn emplanes on State visits to Portugal and the Slovak Republic. These are the first State visits to either country by the President of India in more than 25 years.”

“The visits will further expand India’s multifaceted engagement with two important EU partners,” the post added.

Speaking to media during the special briefing, Tanmay Lal Secretary (West) MEA, called the visits “two important landmark visits.”

Sharing the details of the visit to Portugal, Secretary Lal said that the visit becomes historic as it comes when India and Portugal are marking 50 years of the diplomatic relations and this visit will “take forward the friendship and partnership.”

“It is also 27 years since the last visit by a President from India to Portugal. So it’s a very symbolic and landmark visit. The President will be traveling to Portugal at the invitation of President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa of Portugal”, he said.

Secretary Lal highlighted that the last few years show the high level exchange of visits between India and Portugal and that shows the degree of high-level engagement that is ongoing between the two countries.

Noting the events in which President Murmu will engage in Portugal, he highlighted that she will hold delegation-level talks with her counterpart, President Sousa.

“The President (Sousa) will also host a banquet dinner in her honour. The President will meet Prime Minister Luis Montenegro. She will also meet the Speaker of the Parliament of Portugal, Jose Pedro Aguiar Branco. The Mayor of Lisbon will also host a special event in her honour. President will also meet members of the Indian community in Portugal and she is likely to meet some Indian researchers from various universities and academic institutions”, he said.

He highlighted that the visit comes 30 years after the establishment of the Indian embassy in Bratislava, which was done in 1995. (ANI)

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The Climate Vulnerable Forum has signed an agreement with Sri Lanka and Nativa Capital of Portugal to develop Sri Lanka’s farming sector and forest protection.

Former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed, who leads the Climate Vulnerable Forum which is the intergovernmental organisation of 68 countries, including Sri Lanka, announced the signing of the agreement.

Taking to ‘X’, Mohamed Nasheed announced that the agreement sees an investment of US$ 120 million.

He further states that this is the first investment in a project identified in Sri Lanka as part of the Climate Prosperity Plan.

The agreement is part of the Climate Vulnerable Forum, which is a global partnership of countries that are disproportionately affected by the consequences of climate change. (Newswire)

Delighted to sign agreement with Sri Lanka and Nativa Capital of Portugal for ~$120m investment in Sri Lanka’s farming sector, & forest protection. This is the 1st investment in a project identified in Climate Prosperity Plan. @RWijewardene pic.twitter.com/tb2w2oHAud

— Mohamed Nasheed (@MohamedNasheed) May 7, 2024

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