Guadiana - two arrested with a tonne of hashish on board

guadianaThe Coastal Control Unit of the GNR announced the arrest of two men and the seizure of a tonne of hashish from a boat on the Guadiana river. The drugs were concealed in the false bottom of the vessel.

In a statement, Coastal Control at Vila Real de Santo António reported that the arrests were made on Sunday afternoon under a joint operation with the Spanish Guardia Civil who arrested two further suspects and seized an unspecified amount of hashish.

Portugal's courts fail to clean up local council corruption

farocamaraOnly 6% of corruption cases brought by the state between 2008 and 2013 resulted in a conviction.

Between 2008 and 2013 more than half of corruption and embezzlement prosecutions were filed, according to the latest report from the Corruption Prevention Council, which reported that 40% of the cases that come to court for these types of crimes relate to local government and local authorities.

Portugal - two in every five euros earned goes in taxes

1centA report released on Friday by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) shows that Portugal increased its income tax rate in 2013 to the point where 2 in every 5 euros earned goes to the government.

Income taxes increased by 3.54% in 2013 which compares with an average increase of 0.2 points across OECD countries.

Fog closes Faro airport

easyjetThick fog in the Algarve this morning, Sunday 13 April, caused the re-routing of five flights heading to Faro airport.

Expecting to land on a bright and sunny Sunday morning, hundreds of holidaymakers ended up in Seville or Jerez da la Frontera in Spain.

Spain makes 600 incursions into Gibraltar waters

gibraltarSpanish government ships have entered British waters around Gibraltar more than 600 times since the start of 2013, the Foreign Office has said.

There were 496 unlawful incursions during 2013, with a further 112 in the first three months of 2014, it said.

Rome grows older

romebikeThe city of Rome is now believed to be two centuries older than previously thought, according to new finds at its Forum.

Excavations inside the Forum have revealed a wall which dates back to 900BC.

Berlin attracts more property buyers

berlinRenting property is a long established tradition in Germany, but that trend is changing.

Rocketing house prices, propelled by investors, could help turn the property market into one with greater private ownership.

Portugal, 400,000 on minimum wage

shipyardSince 2006 the number of workers in Portugal receiving the minimum wage has tripled.

That number has increased every year for 8 years so that currently 400,000 people that are in work are earning just 485 euros a month before taxes.