Investigations in the fight against crime in Portugal’s National Health Service in 2014 detected scams totaling just €5.5 million, according to the Homeland Security Annual Report covering last year.

According to the document delivered to parliament today, in 2014 the Judicial Police unit that combats economic crime concluded "several investigations into crimes of active and passive corruption, improper receipt of advantage, document forgery, criminal conspiracy, money laundering and drug trafficking."

The popularity of Scotch whisky is beginning to taper off among Americans while being warmly received in other parts of the globe.

After ten years of growth, sales fell last year by 7%. This comes, however, after some ten years of strong global growth, when the total value of exports went up 74% since 2004, according to the Scotch Whisky Association.

João Cantiga Esteves, the chairman of the monitoring committee for the privatisation of Portugal’s state owned TAP has said that the airline is in a desperate financial state and that it is surviving on a day-by-day, minute-by-minute basis.

Esteves said today that the airline lives in complete financial despair, owing €2 billion with just €2 million in free funds with which to pay its bills.

Portugal’s stock market regulator raided at least three Novo Banco branches today in a search for documentation related to the sale of commercial bonds in Grupo Espírito Santo companies to clients of BES.

The searches follow official complaints from angry BES customers who were advised to buy the bonds by trusted BES bank despite the bonds being in highly risky Group companies. Many of these companies have collapsed and others are insolvent.

Milk quotas from the EU have been dropped after more than three decades.

This will free dairy companies in the 28 EU countries to compete with international rivals to supply countries in Asia and Africa.

The 'low cost' airline Wizz Air has opened two new routes from Lisbon’s Portela airport to Budapest in Hungary and Warsaw in Poland.

"Warsaw and Budapest are two markets that allow greater diversity and connectivity to Lisbon airport," according to a vacuous statement from Portugal’s French owned airports operator ANA.

Illegal migrants in Spain will be given access to free public healthcare.

Undocumented migrants had been banned from free visits to GPs as part of the country’s austerity programme.

A full honkathon drive-by was taking place this afternoon in support of Marilu Santana  who chained herself to to the stairway of Clube Praia da Rocha, Portimão thirteen days ago in an uncomfortable protest over unpaid wages.

Management company Green Stairs owes around €40,000 in pay for contracted staff from last year and says it will not have any money until this June.