Portugal govt official quits, is 10th to leave in a year

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — The Portuguese government’s chief official in charge of transportation, including the fate of the troubled national airline and a long-postponed plan for high-speed train lines, has resigned. Infrastructure and Housing Minister Pedro Nuno Santos quit late Wednesday amid an outcry over a 500,000-euro ($532,000) compensation payment made to a board member of state-owned flag carrier TAP Air Portugal while many other people are facing hardship due to a cost-of-living crisis. The junior minister for infrastructure also quit, making a total of 10 government officials who have left their job since the Socialist Party won a general election in a landslide last January and bringing accusations from opposition parties that the administration is unsteady.