A completely natural pesticide which spares honey bees has been granted approval by the European Union.

Three natural oils – rose, clove and thyme – combined together tackle a destructive fungus called botrytis (“bunch rot”).

A new points-based licence system is to be introduced for Portuguese drivers staring next June. The system was approved by the Council of Ministers last Thursday, May 21st.

The president of the Automobile Club of Portugal Carlos Barbosa has praised the new system but says it should have been implemented ages ago.

The former mayor of Tavira and then of Faro formally has been accused of the crime of malfeasance* in public office due to urban licensing irregularities in 2007, when he was president of Tavira council.

The charges have been filed by the Department of Investigation and Penal Action in Évora and appear on its website, although not mentioning Correia by name, referring to ‘a former mayor of Tavira council.’

The Minister of the Environment today said that it was ironic that the demolitions on the Ria Formosa islands had been halted so as to preserve a species such as the chameleon as he believes that the habitat for this and other creatures will be improved when all the demolitions have taken place.

"It is precisely the renaturalisation of the Ria Formosa islands that will allow us to preserve all species," said the minister in a weak response to the suspension of the demolitions, adding that the government will appeal the decision made last Friday.

Convictions of internet “trolls” in the UK have increased ten-fold in the last decade.

Section 127 of the 2003 Communications Act used to prosecute the sending of “grossly” offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing messages has seen 1,209 people found guilty. Another 685 were cautioned.

In the face of sharp criticism over the appointment of Bank of Portugal governor Carlos Costa for a further term, the PM has decided that the matter will be debated in parliament after all.

News last Friday that Pedro Passos Coelho and Finance Minister Maria Luís Albuquerque had offered Costa a continuation of his post from June this year set alarm bells ringing across Portugal's financial community and media, both fully aware of Costa’s track record of ineptitude when handling the regulation of Portugal’s financial sector.

The world-renowned Kimberley diamond mine has been put up for sale.

De Beers, the world’s largest diamond mining company, announced the sale of its oldest mine.

Bank of Portugal formally has accused 18 Banco Espírito Santo managers of ‘ruinous management.’

The regulator now has evidence that the BES chief executive Ricardo Salgado ordered that the accounts of Espírito Santo International should be doctored and that he lied to the parliamentary commission of inquiry.