The head of the tourist board for Porto and the North, Melchior Moreira, one of five suspects in an alleged series of scams involving the public procurement system, is being held in preventive custody.

Of the remaining four defendants, Isabel Castro, operational director of 'Turismo do Porto e Norte de Portugal,' was suspended from duties and banned from having contact with the other defendants, as was Gabriela Escobar, a lawyer working for the tourist board.

Portugal’s Civil Aviation Authority has reported 43 drone ‘incidents’ between January and September this year, 27 of these were in the summer period.

In 2017, the Authority registered a total of 37 drone incidents resulting in 17 inquiries and nine cases that were passed on to the prosecution service.

Temperatures are easing already but will plunge on Friday night due to the arrival of a mass of polar air from the Arctic.

Forecasts point to a shift from mild temperatures to a gradual drop in temperature, with "wind intensification, especially on the west coast and highlands," blowing northerly to 50 kmph, with bursts of up to 70 kmph.

The Former chief of staff for Defence Minister Azeredo Lopes said his boss knew everything about the Tancos weapons cover-up, knowledge that the former minister denied as he resigned on October 12th.

Martins Pereira said he had informed the minister about a document outlining the covert activities that saw the weapons cache dropped off in a field close to the military arms store at Tancos, Santarém.

The Minister of Agriculture, Luís Capoulas Santos, said that the Council of Ministers has already dedicated much effort into the eucalyptus problem, as he announced a third for Forest Reform.

Santos pointed out that, as far as forestry and rural development is concerned, two very important diplomas were approved, the first concerning the fight against the illegal planting of eucalyptus trees, with a set of rules being approved which hold producers and nurseries liable.

Operation Albare has resulted in the arrest of a group of Chinese, suspected of criminal association, money laundering, qualified tax fraud and the sale of counterfeit goods.

Group members are suspected of laundering €40 million: computer equipment and mobile phones also have been seized in evidence.

The mayors of Vila Real de Santo António and Castro Marim have demanded that the government suspends suspend the tolls in the Visa do Infante between Olhão and Vila Real de Santo António, while work is underway on the EN125.

Mayor, Maria da Conceição Cabrita, from VRSA said at a hearing in the Committee of Economy, Innovation and Public Works, that the current appalling state of the EN125 is, "seriously damaging the county in terms of tourism."

The Algarve branch of the Social Democrat Party has met to discuss the government’s proposed 2019 State Budget and is not impressed, claiming the region "is becoming indistinguishable from the Sahara."

"The 2019 Budget ignores the fundamental needs of the Algarve, which translates into a flagrant violation of commitments, with the Algarve having being left out of the Government's planning for the last four years".