The Portuguese State, i.e. the Portuguese taxpayer, has been punished for not complying with an EC judgment in 2010 over the liberalisation of the telecommunications market which should have seen PT lose its monopoly.

Portugal’s dared not do anything to disrupt the inefficient, cozy world of Portuguese Telecom which led Brussels to launch a legal challenge, culminating in the conviction of the Portuguese State by the European Court in October 2010.

Paulo Macedo announced that he has authorised the recruitment of more nurses and doctors for the Algarve region, which everyone agrees is critically short of staff.

The Health Minister said in Parliament that 45 nurses as well as a number of physicians and GPs would be hired for Algarve region, many of them 'foreign.'

Accused lawyer and former MP, Duarte Lima, has been grilled twice this week.

On Tuesday he was questioned further about his role in the murder in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil of Rosalina Ribeiro over a €5 million inheritance.

The day before Lima was in the dock accused of aggravated fraud and money laundering involving BPN bank where he allegedly benefitted from various highly suspect loans amounting to more than €40 million which allowed him to acquire building land in Oeiras to the west of Lisbon.

One person was killed and four were injured, one of them seriously, following a collision between three vehicles in the Carvoeiro area, Lagoa according to a spokesman from the Lagoa fire department.

According to official reports, the accident occurred around 15.20, on the EN 124 by the CEPSA filling station and involved a van and two cars, killing the occupant of one of the vehicles, a 24-year old French woman who was on holiday.

Portugal’s national Medical Association estimates that the Algarve is now short of at least 250 doctors, noting that at this time of year the population in the region triples.

At a press conference today in Lisbon, Dr Jaime Teixeira, president of the Order of Medics, Southern Region said that in the case of Loulé, for example, the situation was defined as ‘very worrying’ because the emergency department had been forced to close down temporarily three times due to a lack of professional staff including doctors.

The President of the Republic of Portugal today received the President of Germany Joachim Gauck and officially stated that Portugal had learned its lesson.

Cavaco Silva believes in the continuation of the “consolidation of public accounts, the trajectory of economic growth and job creation,” leaving no space for any easing of the austerity programme that has seen high unemployment, emigration and business failures.

Millions of people in poverty live in UK households where at least one person is in work, the Living Wage Commission has said.

The situation was deemed a “national scandal” by its chairman, the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu.

Albania is knocking at the EU’s door as the pan-European organisation begins talks on the country’s accession to EU membership.

Prime Minister Cameron had previously opposed Albania’s candidacy, but has reversed his position.