In March 2014 Portugal’s environment minister, Jorge Moreira da Silva, announced that he was to 'move forward' with the demolition of 835 buildings in areas “at risk of coastal erosion” on the islands off Faro and Olhao. Needless to say, nothing has happened.

These 'illegal homes' in the Ria Formosa still are due to be razed in an operation that is planned to finish at the end of 2015 at a cost of €16.6 million, but now Faro council has spoken out against the plan.

Portugal has one of the lowest rates of job vacancies in the euro area.

Its score was 0.6% while the average in the region was 1.7% for the first three months of 2014.

Ryanair is trying a family friendly approach and plans to introduce incentives for people travelling with children.

Its “family extra” package is to include free 5 kg baggage allowance for infants, milk warming and nappy changing facilities on board and a 50% reduced charge for allocating seats for youngsters. Infant fees have been cut to €20 from €30. Families will be allowed to check two pieces of infant equipment (such as buggies, booster seats and travel cots) into the hold.

China and the UK have agreed a trade deal worth £14bn.

It is believed that the state’s China Development Bank wants to invest in the contentious High Speed 2, new nuclear power stations and telecommunications, among other infrastructure projects.

The president of the Algarve's regional Socialist Party, António Eusébio, has expressed his deep concern about the government’s management of the Algarve's health service which he classes as being in "complete disarray."

"The instability that we have seen in the last year in the Regional Health Administration of the Algarve does not augur well," according to Eusébio in a statement issued today which will ring true with user groups across the region.

Sérgio Silva Monteiro, Secretary of State for Transport, now has the long-awaited figures he needs on the current value of TAP, the Portuguese nation's airline, not that he is letting us know the amount.

Monteiro has the report from his ‘experts’ but still will not commit to a date to re-launch the privatisation of the airline despite the availability of willing buyers.

The German Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, said today after a meeting in the Algarve with his Portuguese counterpart, Maria Luís Albuquerque, that Portugal took the "right decision" to forego the final tranche of the Troika loan.

This is a somewhat different statement to that from the German government in Berlin which on hearing the news of Portugal’s inability to get a budget past the Constitutional Court, and hence its inability to draw down the final tranche of the bailout loan, expressed “deep concern that the programme has ended in this way and that it shows a loss of determination on the part of the Portuguese Government to continue and conclude the bailout programme.”

Inflation in the eurozone was down to 0.5% in May 2014, dropping from 0.7% in April.

A year earlier inflation stood at 1.4%.