The Ministry of Justice has confirmed that, in its opinion, the Algarve does not need an appeals court, a Tribunal da Relação. The news was announced in response to a request from the Communist parliamentary group that wanted the matter looked into once again.

"The Tribunal da Relação de Faro, created by Decree-Law no. 186-A / 99, of May 31, was never set up. The reduced volume of expected cases has removed the viability of setting one up," said the office of the Assistant Secretary of State for Justice.

The number of people who acquired nationality in an EU state, fell an average of 17% during the year 2016 - 2017 and 28% in Portugal, according to data released by Eurostat.

In total, 825,000 people acquired nationality in one of the 28 EU member states, down from 841,000 in the previous year.

Members of 'Citizens Against Construction at João de Arens,' in fierce opposition to the construction of hotels in countryside on the Portimão coastline, have been prevented from accessing the planning documents by the local Council.

The plan, proposed by two Portuguese property development companies and a Spanish hospitality company, announced a project to construct three hotels with a total of 411 rooms in the parish of Alvor, Portimão.

The Public Prosecutor's Office has closed down the judicial process that investigated the alleged diversion of donations that were meant to go to the victims of the fatal Pedrógão Grande fires.

The prosecutor filed the case, concluding that there had been no misappropriation of cash or materials.

A Judge at the Court of Appeal in Porto, heavily criticised for his demeaning verbal attacks on women, has been transferred to a civil section of the court so he won’t have to decide on domestic violence cases.

This is just as well as a recent appeal catapulted the judge into the headline after he cited the Bible and the Portuguese Penal Code of 1886 which allows for little more than a symbolic penalty even if a husband kills his adulterous wife.

Confirming what every car owner knows to his or her cost, new cars in Portugal are among the most expensive in Europe.

Jornal de Notícias looked at prices for 20 best selling car models in Portugal, Spain, France and Germany and found that not one vehicle was more expensive in the other countries.

An investment company from the United Arab Emirates is interested in searching for gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc and iron in the Alentejo.

A request already had been submitted to the Directorate-General for Energy and Geology.

In his weekly SIC TV programme, Luís Marques Mendes analysed the accounts of Novo Banco and concluded that the €1.149 billion requested of the Resolution Fund is a "calamity" for the Portuguese public.

Mendes added that, although the bank's request for yet more capital is within the rules, "it's all profoundly immoral."