The anniversary of Armistice Day was marked in Loulé as the local branch of the League of Combatants paid tribute to the fallen, and "the sacrifice of their lives in the line of duty, and in the service of Portugal when they fell on the field of battle."

The 1918 Armistice marked the surrender of Germany and an end to World War I. The document was signed at 11.00am on November 11th 1918 in Rethondes in the forest of Compiègne in northern France.

Many are unaware of Portugal’s role in the Great War but Portugal, initially neutral, sent troops to fight between March 1916 and November 1918 aiding Britain, France, Russia and its allies.

Portimão councillors have unanimously approved a motion demanding the abolition of tolls on the Via do Infante motorway.

The proposal was put forward by councillor João Vasconcellos of the Left Bloc, a well know figure and major force behind the Committee of Users of the Via do Infante protest movement.

Besides requiring the government to "scrap this ruinous Public Private Partnership and proceed to the immediate suspension of tolls on the Via do Infante," the council, now led by socialist Isilda Gomes, called on "AMAL, mayors, business associations, trade unions, civic and other forces in the Algarve to constitute and support a broad platform in the Algarve for the immediate suspension of tolls."

The Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) announced today that it identified fifty illegal foreigners working in Vilamoura, mostly women who worked in dubious premises.

The SEF said its surveillance operation to combat illegal immigration was undertaken with the Loulé GNR and focussed on two nightlife establishments in Vilamoura.

During the raids the SEF also nabbed the landlords for using foreign nationals illegally, the fine for this alone is between €2,000 and €10,000.

Three countries joined forces with the UK in voting against the 2014 budget of the EU.

Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK were opposed to the compromise reached on the budget which saw cuts of about 6% compared to 2013. The four countries are said to have wanted to slash the budget further.

After hard negotiating, the approved budget totals €135.5 billion. Greater funding will be directed to economic growth, jobs, and humanitarian aid.

Train travel from the UK to European destinations has been made much easier by the introduction of a new pan-European booking service.

For the first time, travellers can book tickets from Britain to Europe in a single transaction. Some Europe-to-Europe destinations can also be found.

Loco2.com says its mission is to make booking a train as simple as booking a flight. Previously, rail users had to use a host of different web sites.

A clampdown on the building of holiday homes in Switzerland has caused mountain resort property prices to soar.

Some resorts have seen a sudden surge of 10 to 15% since the cap on second homes was introduced in March 2012.

The ban prevents the construction of holiday homes in communities where they already number over 20% of the total. Some 570 resort communities fall within the ban.

Lagoa council has decided to save money by keeping its traditional Christmas displays of Santas, reindeer and lights in the warehouse, saying that traders and households ought to brighten the place up themselves.

 The Scrooge council’s reason is that the money saved will go to help the needy, so traders expecting a bright and cheerful high street to attract shoppers will wait in vain.

Council chiefs reckon the savings will be ‘tens of thousands of euros’ demonstrating that there was no budget agreed and hence no set figure to distribute to the poor.

An agreement between 175 municipalities in Tras-os-Montes, Beira Interior and Douro on the Portuguese side, and the regions of Salamanca and Zamora on the Spanish side have teamed up in a rare example of cooperation to create a European Grouping for Cooperation in the Territory of the Douro-Duero (Agrupamento Europeu de Cooperação Territorial Douro-Duero,) or AECT for short.

This organisation was formalised in April in Madrid by submitting the minutes of the meetings from 175 Portuguese municipalities. The document is now to be signed and ratified by the Spanish government, and of course will be run from the Spanish side of the border.