The World - News from Dec. 26, 1988

Christmas brought little cheer to Portugal’s booming pirate radio stations--all 700 were forced off the air by official decree. The government, determined to end the airwave chaos that has developed in recent years, announced three months ago that all illegal stations had to stop transmitting by midnight on Christmas Eve. The ban will remain until a government commission decides which operators will be given the legal franchises for 400 local FM stations around the country. For the moment, three state-run channels and the Roman Catholic Radio Renascenca again rule the airwaves.