The new president of State/owned bank, Caixa Geral de Depósitos, has exempted himself from the rules that apply to high ranking employees of State/owned companies and will not submit an income and assets statement to show his affairs are in order and all taxes due have been paid.
This unique exemption is covering the entire board of directors at Caixa Geral who not only have been awarded private sector salaries but now are being treated as private sector, not public sector employees.
The government has blocked an investment of €3.5 million planned by Faro council to improve roads, green spaces, schools and public buildings.
Some of the money had been carried over from last year and the council had received a spending go-ahead last summer from the Secretary of State for Local Government.
The European Commission has proposed a severe crack down on commercial fishing for sea bass in the Atlantic.
Stocks are being depleted so rapidly that the proposed move would cut allowed catches from 570 tonnes a year to zero.
The French economy was found to have been lagging in the third quarter of 2016 while Spain managed to forge ahead, albeit at a slightly lower pace.
French growth of 0.2%, below expectations, was held back by continued hesitancy in consumer spending and low investment in business.
Monte Gordo is to change for ever. The tender for the eastern Algarve city’s redevelopment will be issued in November in a €200 million project that aims to propel the resort from a largely unplanned mixture of beach installations, hotels, camping facilities and bars into a wonder to behold, if the publicity can be believed.
The new plan will be tied together by a two kilometre long boardwalk with lighting, green spaces, shops and restaurants, but this is just the starting point for “dozens of interventions that will be carried out during 2017, including construction of a luxurious high-end properties and the creation of new leisure and restaurant facilities," according to Vila Real de Santo António mayor, Luís Gomes.
Faro Airport management welcomed 2016's 7 millionth passenger on Wednesday as an unsuspecting traveller from Amsterdam was given the red carpet treatment on arrival in the Algarve.
The passenger's profile was a gift to the airport management company ANA and to the tourist board as she professed an enduring interest in outdoor activities, nature and sport.
Two building inspectors in Olhão formally have been accused of demanding €4,000 from a property owner in return for looking the other way over irregularities.
The Faro prosecutor has now filed charges against the two council employees for accepting bribes and extortion and the pair are to face trial.
The death toll amongst migrants trying to reach Europe via the Mediterranean Sea is the highest so far on record.
“We can confirm that at least 3,800 people have been reported dead or missing in the Mediterranean Sea so far this year, making the death toll in 2016 the highest ever recorded,” UN refugee agency spokesman William Spindler said.
