Portugal has taken austerity measures to a new level with the decision to scrap four of its 14 public holidays. Two religious festivals and two other public holidays will be suspended for five years from 2013. The decision over which Catholic festivals to cut was negotiated with the Vatican. Portugal has already cut public sector wages and raised taxes to reduce its budget deficit and deal with its economic crisis. The country agreed a 78bn euro bailout deal with the European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund last year and recently passed the latest review of its spending cuts. It is hoped ... (full story)