Winter fuel allowance payments to British expats have shot up, with UK official figures showing that a total of 139,000 Brits abroad received the benefit last year.

Just two years before, the figure stood at just under 75,000.

Expats in Spain’s Anadalusia have been given a hint of hope over the illegal house scandal there.

The regional government, Anadalusia’s Junta, has announced that it will try to change the law so that houses built on non-urban land can be recognised officially.

The Spanish government has decided not to pursue punitive new abortion laws which would have the procedure used only in cases of rape or where the mother’s health was at serious risk.

Currently, the law allows abortion up to 14 weeks, or 22 in cases of foetal deformities.

The GNR decided today to return to the house and garage where the suspected Jihadist, Tiago Marques, kept his arsenal of weapons.

Marques now has claimed to be a follower of Bin Laden and Jihad. He was arrested last week after a firearms incident in Paderne, Albufeira where he fired a weapon into the air from his car.

Barclays Bank may close a further 60 branches in Portugal and reduce the staff head count by 350 to 400 jobs.

According to news agency Lusa the company's third plan in three years has been approved by London and will be put into action in next few weeks with a completion date set for the end of the year.

The American magazine 'Wine & Spirits' today published its Top 100 best wineries in the world shortlist for 2014 and on that list are four Portuguese wineries.

The household name Hedade do Esporão, Quinta do Noval, Quinta Álvaro Castro from the Dão region, and Quinta da Romaneira, one of the oldest cellars from the Douro region all feature in this widely referred to list in the US market and beyond.

Torrential rain fell this afternoon on Lisbon causing flooding and transport chaos.

The water reached half a metre in depth in many areas, stopping traffic and leaving pedestrians struggling or seeking shelter.

The office of the secretary-general of the National Assembly has stated that "there is no statement of exclusivity between November 1995 and 1999" in the name of Pedro Passos Coelho.

Pedro Passos Coelho therefore was not receiving an enhanced salary between November 1995 and 1999 -  a position inconveniently contradicted by the facts.