Portugal's government decided to give public sector employees the day off on Friday, May 12th to mark the Pope’s arrival in the country in preparation for Saturday and Sunday’s celebrations in Fátima. The visit marks the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of the Virgin Mary in 1917, witnessed by three children.

The controversial extra day’s holiday has not gone down well with some, pointing out that the celebrations are on Saturday and question why there should be a day off on the preceding Friday.

GNR officers at a border post, this afternoon arrested two Chinese men found to be in possession of €480,000 in banknotes.

Operation ‘Fronteira Branca’ has seen unprecedented inspection levels at Portugal’s land, air and sea entry points before and during the Pope’s visit to Fátima.

The two Chinese men were arrested for money laundering at the border at Caia, Elvas, in the Portalegre district.

A European categorisation of Uber may conflict with Portugal’s plans to treat the service provider differently to taxi drivers.

A non-binding legal opinion - but which may affect the decision of the highest judicial body in the European Union - considers that Uber should be regulated as a transport company and not, as the company claims, to be regarded purely as an electronic reservation platform for transport.

The Public Security Police has logged almost 400 reports of crimes against pet animals to the end of April this year.

The Animal Defence Project saw 373 complaints registered in the first four months of the year for the "mistreatment" or the "abandonment of animals."

The fuel system used to fill up aeroplanes at Lisbon airport failed on Wednesday, leaving aircraft tanks empty and up to 50,000 passengers stranded as flight could not take off.

The fuel system is the responsibility of Grupo Operacional de Combustíveis, run by Petrogal. The equipment malfunctioned at noon on Wednesday and was only corrected during the early hours of Thursday morning.

The Court of Auditors has looked into Águas de Portugal’s accounts for the period between 2012 and the first half of 2014 and concluded that "85% of the directly awarded contracts examined have irregularities and insufficiencies."

The audit report has only just been published despite the closing period being nearly three years ago. The Court of Auditors indicated that "following a request from the Parliament," 81 direct procurement procedures issued by 23 companies in the Águas de Portugal group were examined, corresponding to €9.7 million."

The GNR has announced an immediate internal inquiry after a taxpayer was rendered unconscious at a Finanças office.

The incident happened in Montijo just south of Lisbon when a Brazilian is alleged to have been offensive to tax officials, something he denies.

If you are planning to cross the border using the Guadiana International Bridge, or by taking the ferry from Vila Real de Santo António, you will need identification documents, or risk being turned back.
 
Full document checks at all designated border crossings are in place from Wednesday until midnight on Sunday, May 14th, due to the visit of the Pope. Unofficial and little used border crossings also will be under observation.