Portugal’s couples are shying away from the prospect of bringing up large families, or even replacing their own numbers, as Portugal is the European Union country with the lowest fertility rate and the lowest number of births between 2001 and 2015.

In the last 15 years the number of children born in Portugal has fallen dramatically from 112,774 to 85,500, according to data released by Eurostat on Wednesday.

Faro and Silves GNR have discovered six greenhouses used for growing cannabis and have arrested two British men on drugs charges.

The geenhouses were at a property in Tunes and at a luxury vila in Galé, Albufeira. The GNR carried out searches at the properties and discovered the greenhouses.

António Domingues is going back to his former employer NOS where he can reflect on the mess he made of his brief and eventful period as head of Caixa Geral de Depósitos.

Having left Caixa Geral after an unhelpful and ultimately destructive public argument with Finance Minister, Mário  Centeno, António Domingues will rejoin one of Portugal's largest media and communications groups as a non-executive director under the leadership of Miguel Almeida.

The Bank of Portugal’s embattled governor, Carlos Costa, acknowledges the criticism of his performance but says he will carry on to the end to guarantee the independence of the central bank and its mission in stabilising the financial system.

In an interview published in Público today, Carlos Costa says he feels no pressure at all from the government to quit his job and his staying is the only way the Bank of Portugal can remain independent.

Vila do Bispo councillors have approved a motion to ban the use of Roundup by all municipal workers and contracted council service providers.

The motion was presented by the Left Bloc for the February 25th meeting and called for a halt to the use of glyphosate, a Monsanto herbicide branded as Roundup, which has been at the heart of debate as to whether the chemical can cause cancer in those exposed to the product.

Extreme heat, bacteria and flooding have cut olive oil harvests across Mediterranean countries with prices heading sharply upwards.

Unpredictable weather last year in Greece, Portugal, Italy, and Spain, coupled with fruit fly and bacteria outbreaks, have led to estimates that production is set to fall about 8% globally - and up to 50% at many European estates.

Health Minister, Adalberto Campos Ferreira, announced today that the first artificial heart to be implanted in a patient in Portugal had been a success for the team at the Santa Marta hospital in Lisbon.

The patient, a man aged 64, has severe kidney disease that prevented a heart transplant from a donor.

The number of people in the UK who are on zero-hours contracts hit a record high of 910,000 by the end of 2016.

This represented a leap of 13% over the number of such contracts the year before, according to an analysis of official data by the Resolution Foundation think tank.