Portugal's 2016 State Budget is to be debated in parliament on Monday 22nd February, with the Greens already backing it but with no definite news yet from the Left Bloc or the Communists as to which way they will swing.

The Socialist Party will need the support of its left-of-centre allies to get the document through and as the budget veers towards an anti-austerity agenda, albeit curtailed after tense meetings in Brussels to get European approval, there should be no question of the Prime Minister António Costa being left high and dry, at this stage anyway.

It is called ‘setting an example’ as Portugal’s new president opts for a low-cost ceremony without the attendance of foreign Heads of State and without the traditional State banquet.

Times are tough and Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has decided that the March 9th ceremony will be cut to the bare necessities with only the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker confirmed on the guest list.

Portugal's Tax Authority is swift enough when demanding taxes from citizens, whether those demands are justified or not.

The ‘pay now and argue later’ system has served the government well for decades but taxpayers have had enough. Threatened with 'coercive collection' of money demanded is sufficient for anyone that has the cash, or can borrow it, to pay up within the 30 day deadline.

TAP’s management is examining the implications of an opinion from the Civil Aviation Authority that the company’s sale agreement with Gateway did not comply with European airline competition rules.

The National Civil Aviation Authority has blocked the initial agreement to sell a 61% stake in TAP to Gateway, owned by David Neeleman and Humberto Pedrosa, in the dying moments of the Pedro Passos Coelho government as it has found evidence that the deal was inconsistent with European rules.

The Secretary of State for Defence said today in Faro that the Algarve coastline currently has no influx of refugees and migrants arriving in boats, but should this happen, we can deal with it.

Marcos Perestrello said that "The main problem today is not on out border, but together with our European partners we have to have the ability to control all borders."

Sixteen Iberian lynx are living in the wild in Portugal, free to roam and pounce, as three more have been released in the Alentejo, according to the Institute for Nature and Forest Conservation.

The three lucky lynx, now free to enjoy a life of roaming the hills and avoiding the roads, were released in the Guadiana Valley Natural Park in the Mértola area. Two females Mesquita and Malva, and a male called Mel will now be tracked by the Life+Iberlince project team.

Spain could be on target for a new general election in June according to a private conversation between acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and British PM David Cameron.

Rajoy said "the most likely thing is that there will be elections on June 26th," in a conversation overheard with Mr Cameron at an EU summit in Brussels.

Thieves masquerading as police officers duped an elderly French couple into showing them where they kept their valuables.

The Parisian pair was approached in the car park of their building in the wealthy 16th arrondissement by the criminals who, in the guise of police, informed them that their apartment had been broken into.