Olhão seahorse thieves arrested in Spain

seahorseThe mystery of the Algarve’s dwindling seahorse population may be as much due to theft as the State condoned pollution that affects their Ria Formosa breeding grounds.

A Portuguese family from Olhão has been caught red-handed by Spain’s Guadia Civil in possession of more than 2,000 dried seahorses as they were being sold to a couple of dealers from Cadiz.

Faro and Oporto tourist boards join forces in assault on the Spanish

oportoLocated at either end of Portugal, the tourist boards representing Oporto and the Algarve have decided to work together to attract more Spanish tourists.

"These are two regions that complement each other in the offer," says Desidério Silva, head of tourism in the Algarve, as he attempted to justify joint participation of the regional boards at Fitur, the International Tourism Fair in Madrid, that starts on Wednesday 18th January.

Guterres was top prime minister for keeping pre-election promises

guterresAntónio Guterres, the new head of the United Nations, has the best record on keeping electoral promises of Portugal’s prime ministers in the past 20 years.

Researcher Maria Belchior at Lisbon University, concluded that Portuguese governments between1995 and 2015, fulfilled about 60% of their pre-election promises written down in their official electoral manifestos.

'Freedom of the press' is more important than Supreme Court president's hurt feelings

justiceThe European Court of Human Rights again has condemned Portugal for violating freedom of expression. This time, at issue was an editorial by José Manuel Fernandes, in the newspaper Público, about Noronha do Nascimento.

In the article, Fernandes said that Noronha de Nascimento, who was taking up the position at the head of Portugal's Supreme Court, represented "the dark face of our justice," and went on to write an uncomplimentary article about the judge.

Faro airport rail link as far away as ever

trainThe link between Faro Airport and the Algarve’s existing railway line may go ahead if the hurdles put in its way by the current Planning and Infrastructure minister can be overcome.

Citing, funding, environmental and useage issues, Pedro Marques said the line might go ahead "if not before, at the beginning of the next Community framework," (i.e. after 2020)

Mértola council to host 'city centre preservation' conference

EvoraHotelMértola is to host the 5th international conference on how to protect and get the most out of historic city centres.

Specialists from various countries will debate and reflect on their own historic centers and learn more of the World Heritage application process.

The Algarve's new Ikea centre - "entertainment before, during and after"

ikea2MAR Shopping Algarve, locally known as the Ikea shopping center, is due to open this summer, has announced the first swathe of store agreements.

NOS cinemas has confirmed an 8 screen multiplex to compete with the cinema down the road at Forum Algarve.

Gay Poles welcome in Madeira

maderira4709A gay couple from Poland had been denied the right to marry in their native land, so turned to Portugal and its more inclusive and liberal 'same sex' legislation.

Jakub Kwiecinski and David Mycek were famous for their online videos that increased the visibility of gays and lesbians in whatb they call "anti-gay Poland" but had suffered threats and hateful comments as a result.