In a development in the search for Madeleine McCann, Scotland Yard said it now is appealing to the public for information on what it describes as a male intruder. The man is 'probably a local,' who gained access to villas occupied by British families on holiday in the Algarve.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood from Scotland Yard said his team is looking at four cases from between 2004 and 2006 involving a man described as being tanned and having dark hair.

The Mayor of Faro said today that the application of €17 fee for each car hired at Faro Airport jeopardises the survival of some rent-a-car jobs and companies.

Many car hire companies have signed binding contracts to supply rental vehicles at a fixed price which, with the new tax to be imposed by French-owned airports operator ANA, part of Vinci, may be hired out at a loss, said Rogério Bacalhau, noting that one company has over 33,000 confirmed bookings and its customers may simply refuse to pay the extra €17.

The Scottish government has authorised the construction and operation of an offshore wind farm in the Moray Firth with a capacity of 1,116 Megawatts, enough to supply 700,000 homes.

The project will be undertaken by Portugal’s EDP Renewables in a joint venture with Repsol Nuevas Energias from Spain.

Gold prices are expected to rise sharply if Russia carries on with its adventures in the Crimea.

The ever mercurial metal price could hit $1,400 (£842) an ounce by the end of the year, according to the German bank Commerzbank.

The UK now has 30.2 million people in work which is the highest number since records were started in 1971.

During the last year 459,000 people found employment.

The proportion of the working age population (those aged 16 to 64) with work reached 72.3%, up from 71.5% last year.

Inditex, the largest fashion retailer in the world, has reported its slowest growth in profit for five years.

The retail giant owns Zara and a host of other fashion outlets, such as Massimo Dutti and Bershka.

It has become renowned for its fast-fashion and producing clothing from its base in northern Spain where it is controlled by Spanish billionaire Amancio Ortega.

Falesia beach, Albufeira has reached the top 25 European beaches as listed in the 'Traveller's Choice 2014' section of TripAdvisor Europe.

In the national vote, the beach is number one for 'Best Beach Destination - 2014' while in the European ranking the beach is ranked above than many well known Mediterranean beach destinations.

An earthquake of magnitude 3.1 on the Richter scale with an epicenter just 30 kilometres south of Faro was recorded on Tuesday at 12.16  by stations in the Continental Seismic Network of the Portuguese Institute of Ocean and Atmosphere (IPMA).

The epicenter was in one of the oil exploration blocks where the Repsol and Partex partnership have been carrying out exploratory work in recent months.