Portimão council ‘anticipates’ paying its workers' wages for June and their holiday bonuses without deductions after the Constitutional Court said the taxation of bonus payments was unconstitutional, according to the mayor.

With a 2014 budget of around €38 million, Portimão has a wages bill of €15 million and the staff always have been paid on the dot, unlike suppliers to the council which have had to wait an average of 2 years 6 months for settlement of their invoices making Portimão council the worst payer in the country.

Silves currently is characterised by uneven streets with potholes, traffic signs planted in the middle of pavements and a distinct lack of parking for disabled people.

These are numerous physical barriers that hinder the enjoyment of the city for partially-sighted people and for those with reduced mobility.

Boots in the UK is now offering a delivery service for a good many of its products to 19 countries, including Portugal.

Boots says it has thousands of health and beauty products available.

The high demand for shopping centres in the Loulé area is now worrying the council which has commissioned a study by the University of the Algarve.

"The council decided to ask the University to undertake a study that will anticipate the impact on the local economy of the opening of new shopping centers," according to mayor, Victor Aleixo.

More than ten years after the opening of the Estádio Algarve located between Faro and Loulé, the presidents of the two municipalities that own it have admitted that the stadium represents a major financial burden but it is not a ‘white elephant,’ as many have called it.

The ratepayers of Faro and Loulé may not know it but they are subsiding the stadium by €30,000 a month. A figure that would be between €70,000 and €100,000 a month if events were not held there according to Faro mayor Rogério Bacalhau.

The death of comedy actor Rik Mayall is being mourned in the world of film and TV. Mayall’s last role was in a Dutch comedy film beiing shot in the Algarve.

"Escape" has its debut scheduled for April 2015 and is being filmed in the Algarve this May and June. The film is in Dutch and is being shot in various locations in the Algarve around the Carvoeiro, Lagoa and Albufeira.

The travel firm Villa Parade has gone into liquidation, owing customers more than £3 million.

The collapse of the up-market company is the largest in the travel industry since 2008.

New British passport applications are said to be taking at least double the advertised time to process.

Previously, we reported on delays experienced by applications by expats, but delay seems to pertain to all requests although Applications from Britons living overseas are understood to be among the most seriously affected by the delays.