The Secretary of State for Tourism, Adolfo Mesquita Nunes, said today at the opening of Spain’s major tourism trade exhibition in Madrid that the best way of boosting tourism in Portugal is to increase market share from those countries where Portugal has already a good track record.

"If you look at our major markets, our market share is still very small, which means that we have a huge margin for improvement in the countries in which we do well. I refer to the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Brazil and Germany," said Adolfo Mesquita Nunes whose statement of the patently obvious drew admiring looks.

Almost 5,000 drivers are on the point of losing their driving licenses, according to the Road Safety Authority, and after a ban will have to re-sit their driving test before they are able legally to drive again.

Drivers on the brink of losing their licenses for serious and very serious road traffic offences now have been notified by the National Road Safety Authority which has contacted 4,700 drivers outlining the gravity of their situations.

The Board of the Regional Health Administration (ARS) of the Algarve now has met with some of the doctors who signed the letter of complaint sent to the President of the Board of Directors of the Hospitals of the Algarve, headed by Pedro Nunes, and reports that it has "heard from everyone involved."

The Board “wishes to promote further dialogue between the two parties to jointly reach an understanding" according to an emollient statement issued today.

The president of Intermunicipal Community of the Algarve, Jorge Botelho, has announced that the mayors of the 16 municipalities in the Algarve have voted unanimously to negotiate with the unions to adopt a 35-hour working week for all council staff.

The Franciscan order has boosted Faro’s social support service in response to a huge increase in requests for help from those unable to afford to feed themselves.

The Franciscan Order of Faro has opened a new kitchen to support their existing food service for the poor at a kiosk in front of the Franciscan Church in Largo de São Francisco in Faro.

Loans for mortgages in the UK approved in December have hit their highest level since 2008.

An estimated £17bn was lent during the month, an increase of almost 49% on the year before, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

In the absence of public welfare, George Soros said he will open the first in a series of ‘solidarity centres’ to help those hit worst by Greece’s economic woes.

The centres aim to provide health and legal assistance.

Some one and a half million people, nearly 28%, in Greece are officially unemployed, but the country’s budget cuts have severely limited the provision of basic facilities, including monthly benefit payments and health insurance. People in desperate need are increasingly turning to charities for help.

Disappointed French passengers onboard Ryanair staged a revolt when the aircraft was diverted, causing a delay.

One of the 170 travellers was taken suddenly ill, so the flight from Rabat, Morocco to Paris made an unplanned stop in Madrid for medical attention.

The ensuing delay of several hours meant that flight had missed its chance to land at Beauvais airport in Paris owing to a curfew on night flights.