The Mayor of Portimão, Isilda Gomes, says that every day the municipality receives requests for help, "people from one moment to the next have been deprived of their income and are knocking at the door of local government."
Italian officials said that more than 2,000 illegal migrants had to be rescued in just two days from dangerous seas.
The men, women and children had arrived on just 20 overcrowded boats and were picked up close in the waters south of Sicily.
The first roadshow of the year for 'Algarve Encanta' is heading to Seville, Madrid and Salamanca in a continuation of the initiative that aims to bring together 300 Spanish travel agents and opinion leaders over three days from 25 to 27 March.
The team from Portugal includes 30 Algarve-based travel agents and hoteliers who will have an opportunity of presenting their services to the carefully selected guests.
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.
