Plans to launch Portugal’s very own ‘Route 66’, more correctly known as the EN2, has taken their first hesitant steps with the setting up of an association – an essential move in all parts of Portuguese life.

The route from Faro in the south to Chaves in the north of Portugal runs through 32 council areas and 31 mayors have agreed that an ‘Association of Municipalities of the National Highway 2 Route’ should be formed to coordinate things and have stated that this will be completed before the end of the first week of November.

Vila Real de Santo António’s council has managed to access money provided by the Municipal Aid Fund so as to cut expensive short-term debt, much of which was built up to stop the flow of sewage into the Guadiana.

The council talks of continuing its “policy of consolidation of municipal finances, injecting liquidity in treasury and fulfilling its commitments to responsible management,” but the €19.2 million borrowed will have to be paid back by generations of ratepayers over the next 20 years.

The German government intends to reduce the access enjoyed by EU citizens to the nation’s social welfare benefits.

A draft bill will see EU citizens able to draw benefits only after having lived in Germany for five years.

Britain’s prime minister was in Madrid on Thursday to discuss what Brexit might mean to the two countries.

Theresa May flew to the Spanish capital to meet with Spain’s acting premier for talks on how Brexit will impact relations between the UK and Spain.

The ruins of Balsa, once one of the largest Roman cities of the Iberian Peninsula, are threatened with destruction by the installation of greenhouses and irrigation systems.

The director of the Ria Formosa Natural Park, Valentina Calixto, has said a Spanish-owned fruit-growing business can go ahead with its plans, thus putting at risk an invaluable trove of Roman archaeological remains in the Tavira council area..

The Turkish mining company Eczacibasi ESAN has set up an office in Aljustrel from which to run its mining operations in the Alentejo.

The company has to invest €7.6 million over three years as part of a contract signed in February with local mining company Empresa de Desenvolvimento Mineiro which will hold 15% of the joint venture.

Rain, hail and thunder are forecast for Portugal, thus ending an extended summer that has boosted tail-end tourist bookings.

The Algarve started off grey today with intermittent drizzle. Increasing wind speeds are expected to build up, bringing rain across the mainland during the evening.

The lawyer representing Rúben Cavaco, the young man from Pont de Sor, Alentejo who was savagely beaten by Iraqi twins with diplomatic immunity, said today that the Iraqi government has not responded to Portugal’s request that immunity be lifted to enable a full investigation to take place.

Lawyer Santana-Maria Leonardo argues that Iraq now has a "moral obligation" to justify its lack of response to the Portuguese government.