The world’s obesity epidemic now has 2.1 billion people in its grasp.

The number in 1980 stood at 875 million.

The hotel near Óbidos housing Portugal’s elite national football squad was visited yesterday by members of the world governing body for football’s anti-doping unit, carrying testing equipment.

The 20 Portuguese players who hope to represent Portugal in the World Cup in Brazil all underwent blood and urine tests.

An event to launch a new hush hush German car is to necessitate the closure of the old bridge, an arterial route in and out of Portimão old town.

The October closure is to allow the space to be used for a series of outdoor dinners for members of the press.

Chairman of Portuguese bank BIC, Mira Amaral, said today that there was no excuse for the actions of the men who robbed him while he was enjoying a holiday in the Algarve.

The men entered Portugal with false identities and went on a three day spree of robberies in Lisbon, Faro and at beaches and luxury hotels in Quinta do Lago.

Leaders of the EU have agreed to review its agenda after the “strong message” delivered by the EU-wide vote, according to the president of the European Council, Herman van Rompuy.

He noted that they had agreed to focus primarily on the economy, believing that growth will ease growing anti-Europe sentiment.

The European Central Bank said it fears that greed could reverse economic recovery in the eurozone, throwing it back into crisis.

The ECB said that investors seeking higher profits in a time of low interest rates are the biggest threat to financial stability.

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo had been named the “world’s most marketable footballer”, according to sports marketing experts, Repucom.

Repucom called him the most well-known and “trend-setting” in football today.

A drug boat manned by two Brits suffered engine failure in mid-ocean. The crew had to send a distress signal to the cheery delight the police who had been tracking its progress.

The plan was to sail the boat from northern Africa, loaded with hashish, to the Algarve where it would be unloaded at Vilamoura marina and the cargo shipped to northern Europe.