Lisbon - A day of strikes against precarious labour conditions affected hospitals, schools, railways and garbage disposal in Portugal on Wednesday, trade unions said.

Unions said 75 per cent of their members followed the strike call, but government officials estimated the figure at 11 per cent.

Hundreds of schools remained closed, trade union representative Ana Avoila said. Garbage also piled up on the streets, and buses and trains stopped running in many places.

The 24-hour stoppage, which unions called a "protest," was called to press demands for better salaries and work conditions.

Lisbon - Portuguese woman Maria de Jesus, Europe's oldest person and the world's second oldest, celebrated her 115th birthday on Wednesday, the daily Diario de Noticias reported.

"We are not planning a special celebration, because my mother has become a bit apathetic in relation to her surroundings," said Maria de Jesus' 84-year-old daughter Maria Madalena, who looks after her in the central Portugal village of Corujo.

Maria de Jesus, who worked in agriculture for seven decades, has always eaten "what the earth offers," Maria Madalena said when asked to explain the reasons for her mother's longevity.

Lisbon - Former Portuguese labour minister Paulo Pedroso has won damages worth 100,000 euros (145,000 dollars) for having been jailed preventatively in connection with a paedophilia scandal, his lawyer said Tuesday.

Pedroso was jailed for nearly five months in 2003 on 23 counts of child abuse. An investigating judge later deemed the evidence inconclusive and shelved the case against the Socialist politician.

A Lisbon court said the detention of Pedroso had been a "gross error," granting him financial compensation for moral damage and judicial negligence.

Lisbon - Former Portuguese labour minister Paulo Pedroso has won damages worth 100,000 euros (145,000 dollars) for having been jailed preventatively in connection with a paedophilia scandal, his lawyer said Tuesday.

Pedroso was jailed for nearly five months in 2003 on 23 counts of child abuse. An investigating judge later deemed the evidence inconclusive and shelved the case against the Socialist politician.

A Lisbon court said the detention of Pedroso had been a "gross error," granting him financial compensation for moral damage and judicial negligence.

Warsaw  - Polish President Lech Kaczynski met with his Portuguese counterpart on Tuesday to discuss Georgia, Ukraine and the European Union's Lisbon Treaty.

Kaczynski said he was optimistic, along with Anibal Cavaco Silva, about the Lisbon Treaty's future, but stressed that Ireland must solve "its problem" on its own. Kaczynski added that his signature wasn't hindering the treaty's ratification, but it's the Irish no vote in a June referendum that's a hindrance.

Kaczynski also reaffirmed he was happy with the conclusions reached at Monday's EU summit on Georgia.

"I think either Nicolas Sarkozy's success in Moscow awaits us," Kaczynski said, "or the necessity to act further."