Dhaka, Aug. 17 -- The government of Guinea-Bissau said it was expelling two major Portuguese news agencies from the country Friday in a move swiftly condemned by Lisbon.

The Portuguese-speaking west African nation gave no further explanation for the move, which it said would affect news agency Lusa and public broadcaster RTP.

Their programming is suspended and their representatives were told to leave the country by Tuesday, according to a note from the ministry seen by AFP.

Guinea-Bissau's President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, who was supposed to be in Lisbon Monday for a ceremony marking his tenure as the rotating president of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP), will no longer attend, according to the Guinea-Bissau chapte...