Portugal’s controversial 2020 National Road Safety Strategy program (PENSE2020) has dropped studying mandatory helmet laws for cyclists, after strong public opposition.  Shortly after being launched for public consultation, in the midst of the Christmas holiday season, over 600 cyclists marched throughout Lisbon urging for the helmet proposal to be dropped.

The Road Authority stated that there were over 500 written contributions from citizens and bicycle mobility associations, many of which demanding for helmet laws not to go ahead. Both FPCUB and MUBi sent public letters regarding the mistakes in the Road Strategy’s proposal, with a particular focus on the negative effects of mandatory bicycle helmets.

The four-year-old girl attacked by a Rottweiler in Matosinhos on Tuesday has lost part of her scalp.

Her mother, also injured in the attack, has been discharged from hospital but later may need surgery to her arm. The girl remains at the Hospital de São João in Oporto where she is "conscious, stable and not in danger of losing her life," according to her father.

Despite the argument still raging over Lagoa council’s unilateral decision to call its municipal area the Capital of Wines, to the intense irritation of other wine producing council areas, this year’s Lagoa Wine Show is to go ahead.

Upto 70 exhibitors have booked, including about over twenty from the Algarve, and every wine producer in the Lagoa area will be present at the show running from April 28 to 30 at the Arade Congress Center, in Parchal.

Pestana Group is to build its largest 5-star hotel in Portugal as plans advance for the €30 million spend in the Portimão council area.

The 450-bed hotel will be erected at Quinta da Amoreira, next to the group’s Hotel Delfim in Alvor.

Portugal ranks 18th in the 2017 Freedom of the Press Ranking, up five places from last year, according to a report released today by Reporters Without Borders.

According to the document, between January 2005 and January 2017, the European Court of Human Rights has condemned Portugal 21 times for violating Article 10 of the European Declaration of Human Rights, which protects freedom of expression. This is three more times than the EU average.

The most reported and discussed missing person case ever recorded is still not only a highly contentious mystery, but also a personal tragedy that has been turned into a public farce by elements of the media.

In the entirely predictable press frenzy surrounding the imminent 10th anniversary of the disappearance, much of the coverage, particularly in the British tabloids, has been absurd. But it should not be dismissed lightly.

The story so far: there are 'swap' agreements between Santander Totta and nine of Portugal's publically owned transport companies which in 2013, following guidelines issued by the Ministry of Finance, stopped paying interest due on the loans due to the rapidly escalating sums due.

On April 12th this year, the government and Banco Santander Totta announced that they had reached an agreement which halted the lengthy litigation on the swaps contracts, complex financial loan deals where the borrower pays more if interest rates drop.

The owner of a Rottweiler that attacked a four-year-old girl this Tuesday morning, has been interviewed and is to attend court in Matosinhos tomorrow to face charges of negligence and fleeing the scene of the attack.

The dog was off the lead and without a muzzle when it attacked the girl, leaving her with severe injuries to her head and face.