The resolution of the conflict between water company Infralobo and groups of residents has been on hold pending a court decision, but now has escalated as dozens of properties have had their water supply cut off in the Vale do Lobo area.

The public-private company Infralobo, owned 51% by Loulé council, has ignored an instruction from the water regulator to wait until the court decides on the legality of an additional ‘per bed’ supplement charged by Infralobo on top of water supply bills.

The list lengthens as the number of damaged cars, businesses and road surfaces becomes clear on day two of the great clear-up in downtown Albufeira.

So far, 500 vehicles and 500 buildings are known to have suffered serious damage to which must be added lost stock from shops and bars. Many more cars remain in flooded basements.

Medical doctors and nurses in Britain have “too little time to care” because there are fewer such staff in the NHS than in comparable developed nations.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said its findings were “really disturbing”.

The proportion of people in the US who profess to be “absolutely certain” of the existence of God has dropped steeply.

In the seven years from 2007 to 2014, the percentage has fallen from 71% to 63%.

While luxury goods and tourist wallets tempt many, thieves in eastern France have made off with four tonnes of cheese.

On Monday morning a dairy in the town of Groux-les-Usiers discovered that one hundred large wheels of the local speciality, Comté, had disappeared overnight.

From Faro to Lyon for le weekend will be possible from next April as easyJet announced another new route, one of three from the formerly 'low-cost' airline which aims to hit the ‘5 million passengers to Portugal’ milestone in 2016.

The Faro to Lyon option is but one new rote with Oporto-Funchal and Lisbon-Nantes soon to be added to the schedule.

The flooding in the Algarve after the torrential rain last weekend affected Loulé, Portimão, Olhão, and Silves but most dramatically, Albufeira whose residents today started a massive clean-up operation in the face of official dithering.

Assessors have started to list the damage to the municipal infrastructure and insurance company representatives attended businesses where water damage has ruined stock, fittings and structures.

Switzerland remains the least financially transparent country in the world despite recent changes to its secrecy laws.

The verdict comes from the Tax Justice Network’s annual report which ranked Switzerland at the top of its Financial Secrecy Index 2015, ahead of Hong Kong, Singapore and the Cayman Islands.