The recent news item 'Faro GNR to prosecute woman for Facebook complaint' naturally has provoked some spirited 'readers comments' so David Thomas from Safe Communities Algarve contacted the man in charge to find out the GNR's point of view. 

He writes:

"Safe Communities Algarve have raised this case with the GNR at a senior level which has explained that the only reason why the woman is being prosecuted, is for "defamation" by making a false accusation of corruption, which is a serious crime.

Portugal’s regional train company is to extend its popular tourist ticket scheme to the Algarve.

The discount system was tested on tourists in Lisbon last year and now is to be rolled out in the Algarve.

A gradual rise in Portugal's mainland temperatures will continue until June 30 at a rate of two to four degrees per day, starting on Friday until a scorching Tuesday next week.

Temperatures will click up by an average of 2.4 degrees per day with up to 44 degrees Celsius now expected in the Alentejo. (44 degrees Celsius is 111F - in old money.)

The number of houses sold in Portugal in the first quarter of 2015 was the highest in five years, marking a ‘fingers crossed’ end to a depressed market where both prices and volume collapsed in many property segments.

Prices now are rising steadily and the number of transactions also is booming as the British are back with exchange rate swollen wallets and French and Scandinavians drift southwards away from punitive tax rates.

Fifteen men have gone on trial in France for a wine heist valued at €1 million.

Nearly 4,000 bottles of the finest grands crus were stolen from 13 renowned chateaux in Bordeaux. Some are thought to have been stolen to order.

A Spanish city near Bilbao is picking up the trend to avoid wasting food by setting up a pioneering project.

In Galdakao, home to 29,000 residents, there is now a large refrigerator, Spain’s first “solidarity fridge” where residents and restaurants can place leftover or unused food which might otherwise been discarded.

The governor of the Bank of Portugal considers it appropriate that the full internal audit report into the collapse of Banco Espírito Santo should not be published and that it will not be made available to parliamentfor discussion.

Secrecy laws are being used by the regulator of Portugal’s financial sector to prevent the disclosure of what it calls ‘confidential documents’ contaned in the evaluation drawn up by the Bank of Portugal into its own actions surrounding the BES collapse.

It probably the first case of its kind, the GNR is to prosecute a woman who was so enraged at police behaviour that she posted a complaint on Facebook.

Having been given a ticket for parking illegally, the driver Susana Botequila Soares returned to the spot minutes later to see that the GNR vehicle had been parked in the same place and left unattended as the two GNR agents had pottered off and were enjoying coffee and cake at a nearby cafe.