Spain and Portugal are seeing record high temperatures for May, with thermometers hitting levels normally only seen in midsummer.

Every country has its hidden gems, but it’s possible that Portugal has more than most in its collection of pousadas — or high-end historic lodging houses. Tony Clayton-Lea travelled to Portugal to road-test a few of these palatial pousadas, as well as taking in the Portuguese interior.

Tell someone you are visiting Portugal and they assume you are visiting the Algarve on a sun or golf holiday, or perhaps taking a weekend break in Lisbon.

Hundreds of farmers, many of them on tractors, today staged a protest rally to demand more government help in coping with the country’s worst drought on record.

Police clashed with rioting tribesmen today in the coastal city of Port Sudan, leaving at least 14 people dead and 16 injured, a government official said.