European Central Bank boss Mario Draghi is this afternoon expected to launch full-blown quantitative easing for the eurozone. It is a plan that has been discussed almost ad infinitum for the past few months - and one that some see as a way out of Europe’s economic doldrums, while others predict “little will change”.

According to a long report by the BBC this morning, “nobody seems to think it will fix all the eurozone's problems. The best that eurozone QE might achieve is to alleviate one factor that could make them worse”.

In the green corner we have Quercus – the country’s most respected environmental association. In the red corner we have Algarve retailers – desperate to make money in an economic climate that never seems to get any easier.

And in the golden corner we have furniture giant IKEA with a ground-breaking proposal for a shopping development like no other ever seen before this side of Lisbon. Jumping up and down in the wings is Joe Public delighted by the idea of a stylish, up-to-date and affordable interiors emporium setting up between the boroughs of Loulé and Faro.

PSP police have identified three men believed to be behind the devastating wave of vandalism that left Olhão shopkeepers and its local authority with thousands of euros worth of damage in the early hours of Friday morning (January 16).

According to PSP’s Faro district command, the suspects are Portuguese and aged between 21 and 28. They now face trial as the PSP investigation continues.

Jose Manuel Barroso says that he used blackmail to persuade member counties to nominate female candidates as commissioners.

It happened during his time as the president of the European Commission.

Ryanair has announced that it will start six new routes from Stansted airport for the summer.

One of those routes will be to Ponta Delgada in the Azores.

As Greece races headlong into a snap election, Germany’s chancellor has warned the country that it must take responsibility for its debts.

At a keynote speech at the World Economic Forum, Merkel insisted that she wanted Greece to remain in the eurozone. But she also signalled that Germany would persist in its insistence that the Greek debts be repaid.

Not specific as to whether they work or not, Infarmed - the authority that regulates medicines in Portugal - has sent out an alert over counterfeit condoms, purportedly manufactured by Durex.

The suspect condoms have already been found on sale in Poland, but as they are brands popular in Portugal, Infarmed is taking no chances.

House prices in the eurozone rose by 0.5% in the third quarter of 2014, compared with the same quarter in 2013.

The rise was even more marked in Portugal, where prices went up nearly 5% for that period.