New 'Animal Welfare Centre' opens in Albufeira

catAlbufeira now has its own Animal Welfare Center, built as a result of funding from last year’s suggestions from the public for 'local projects.'

The new Centro de Bem Estar Animal has been opened by the mayor, Carlos Silva e Sousa, at Vale de Pedras which is close to the current council animal collection centre. The plan is that the two facilities will work together.

Portimão eyesore to get fixed up

PortimaoOldBridgeBuildingSmallThe crumbling and derelict Lota de Portimão building just after the bridge into Portimão is to be fixed up and once again used.

Portimão council has awarded local company Urbicial  (Construções e Engenharia Lda) the contract to fix up the eyesore in a €34,650 deal that will bring the building back to life.

Bacalhau - a faithful friend

bacalhauPortugal’s favorite fish does not swim in Portuguese waters. Since the 16th century, Portuguese fishermen have sailed to Newfoundland in search of gadus morhua, more commonly known as codfish. The French call the bland-tasting fresh cod “cabillaud” and the more appetizing salted cod “morue.” In Portugal this distinction is superfluous because only the salted variety is appreciated. So, one word suffices: “bacalhau.”

Since cod has very little fat, once it is cured in salt, it keeps for a long time without becoming rancid. For this reason, dried codfish was often consumed by those who lived far from the coast in days of religious abstinence from meat like Christmas Eve.

€20bn bailout looms for Italy’s troubled banking sector

ItalyPaschiBankThe new Italian prime minister, Paolo Gentiloni, is to ask parliament to approve a loan of €20 billion to underwrite the stability of the country’s weak banks.

First in line could be Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the third largest Italian lender and the world’s oldest bank.  It has been trying to raise €5 billion in new private funding to prop itself up and avert government intervention.

French pay hike disheartens workers

eurozoneWorkers in France on basic pay were given a pre-Christmas disappointment on Monday when it was announced that the minimum wage would be raised by less than 1%.

The 0.93% increase is the equivalent of nine cents per hour, bringing the hourly wage to €9.76.  For full-time workers on 35 hours per week, the monthly income would be €1,466 before tax declining to take-home of €1,141 after tax.

Government's big plans for Portugal's marine economy include “mineral and energy resources,”

shipyardPortugal’s Prime Minister today said that Portugal has the potential to grow its ports business due to the country's privileged location at the western gateway to Europe.

António Costa spoke at the ‘Strategy for the Increase of Port Competitiveness’ conference which took place in the booming port of Sines on Monday, December 19th.

Two ambulances in five vehicle Castro Marim pileup

crashHow two ambulances managed to get involved in a serious accident in Castro Marim on the IC27 remains to be explained but the five vehicle crash left at least five people injured and blocked the road for hours.

One of the victims was said to be seriously injured as four light vehicles including two ambulances, and a heavy goods vehicle collided at around noon today on the IC27 in the Azinhal area.

Minister claims EN125 roadworks will restart “within a few weeks, a month maybe...”

EN125RoadsideThe Minister of Planning and Infrastructure, Pedro Marques, certainly has a way with words but few in the Algarve have any further patience with his vague assurances that the EN125 roadworks will recommence “within a few weeks, a month maybe...”

Adding insult to drivers’ intelligence, Pedro Marques said on Antenna 1 today that the renegotiations of the Baixo Alentejo and Algarve Litoral Public Private Partnerships, talks that are being blamed for the latest delays in the Algarve, "are already more advanced than they were before."