According to the latest Yearbook of Portuguese Municipalities, no doubt a riveting read, Albufeira council is in the 'top 3' of medium-sized municipalities (between 20,000 and 100,000 inhabitants) for displaying the best 'financial efficiency.'  In fact, the seaside municipality is number three in the country in this category, but behind Lagoa council which topped the list with a rating that exceeded those in all size categories. 

The ranking is based on an analysis of a range of financial indicators related to the levels of revenue, expenses, debt, liquidity and operating results, among several others.The yearbook results are checked over by the Order of Certified Accountants and the 2015 edition shows Portuguese municipalities' debts decreased by €450 million in 2015 to €5.784 billion.

The governor of the Bank of Portugal, Carlos Costa, opened a conference sponsored by Jornal Econômico and PwC by giving a run-down of past mistakes “that cannot be repeated.”

The governor continued in his quest of setting up a ‘bad bank’ to take over the banking sector’s bad debts, by saying that the current situation paralyses banks and the credit supply to the economy, even though banks, in their day-to-day activity, are in a much better situation than they have been.

The Iraqi ambassador to Portugal, Saad Mohammed Ali, has been targeted in a scam to hand over €30,000 to ‘forget the case’ involving his sons who so badly beat up a local youth that he needed reconstructive surgery.

Someone claiming to be Rúben Cavaco’s lawyer, Rúben being the youth that was attacked in Ponte de Sor by the ambassador’s twin sons, tried to set up a meeting with the Iraqi ambassador to receive a pay-off in return for his alleged client Rúben dropping any further claim for compensation.

Lagoa council has launched a new system for tourists and locals to rent the latest in electric bicycles as part of the council’s ‘participatory budget’ scheme where locals decide on which fun projects are funded.

Twenty brand new electric bicycles, are fully equipped with GPS and 3G communications so people can follow routes and the operator can see where their bikes are. The new style bicycles and their stands have alarms, anti-theft and anti-vandalism devices fitted.

The drug grower and distributor who escaped the clutches of the police in Olhao back in September has been arrested in Spain

The Dutch national had taken over a warehouse on the outskirts of the city and turned it into an impressive cannabis production facility.

The ‘per head’ tax levied by French-owned airports operator ANA at Portugal’s main airports are to rise in 2017.

The reason given for the 15 cents per passenger increase at Faro airport is to "combat the effects of seasonality affecting the airport in the winter season."

The annual death rate in Britain from nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is second only to Italy when compared to all other European countries.

NO2 is a toxic gas caused predominately by diesel vehicles as well as by some industry.

A vicious and senseless attack has left a mule dead at the São Francisco de Assis animal refuge in Loulé.

The animal that had been recovering well since it was taken in during the summer was beaten to death during the theft of a mare that had been removed by the authorities and placed in the refuge. A dog went missing at the same time and is presumed to have been stolen.