Consumer champion DECO today accused the government of overcharging tens of thousands of property owners with inflated rates bills.

DECO estimates €244 million is being needlessly squeezed out of hard-pressed home owners as rateable values fail to reflect actual property values and are not updated automatically by Finanças which easily could use data including the age of the property when calculating Imposto Municipal sobre Imóveis, or rates.

An ambitious project is under development to import solar energy from Tunisia to the UK and other European destinations.

The TuNur project, a partnership between British investor Low Carbon, Nur Energy and Tunisian investors, is hoping to win a contract from the British government.

The plight of the Big Four supermarkets, the financial scandal encircling Tesco, and the rise of the discounters are mentioned in the media on a daily basis of late.

The Office for National Statistics has issued a timely analysis on changes in the food retail sector over the last decade.

The seasonal 'healthcare points' on the Algarve’s beaches this summer were a welcome addition to the region's appeal as a safe and secure family holiday destination with 9,500 people making use of the service.

The 32 health points were used by tourists and locals alike, most of whom luckily needed only minor medical aid, according to a summary from the regional heath service management team.

In the same way that Loulé council agreed to fund projects in cooperation with local parishes after a voting process open to all, Alcoutim council also is to fund two projects chosen by locals.

€100,000 has been allocated for two projects on the border county, one of which is in the village of Vaqueiros which need a lot of work to counter years of neglect.

The gap between the rich and the poor in Germany is likely to be considerably higher than previously believed, according to a new study, which also says that the gap is growing.

Fresh research reveals that the richest 10% of the nation own an average of €1.4m in assets. This amount is 80 times more than the annual median income for German households.

More than half of all new businesses started in Britain fail to last beyond five years.

Survival rates are lower than before the banking crisis, research by commercial insurer RSA found.

Illegal trading and the parking vehicles in the sand dunes were the main offences registered on the Algarve’s beaches this summer.

The regional commander of the Southern Marine Police, Paulo Isabel, reported that by the end of September there had been 144 violations ranging from people selling food, jewelry or clothing without a license which attracts fines of between €25 and €500, to dogs being in the wrong place at the wrong time.