A fresh settlement of $1 billion has been agreed between car manufacturer Volkswagen and the US authorities for compensation over the last 80,000 vehicles which were part of VW’s emissions-deceiving scandal.
The US Justice Department also said that a criminal investigation is continuing and charges may yet be filed against the auto giant, a situation which could result in more penalties.
A compensation package has been agreed for the victims of the Banco Espírito Santo rip-off whose were persuaded to move money in guaranteed deposit accounts to high risk investments in Grupo Espírito Santo companies which later failed.
The solution has been presented publicly in a ceremony attended by the Prime Minister, António Costa, who has been insistent that those affected should receive compensation.
Albufeira now has its own Animal Welfare Center, built as a result of funding from last year’s suggestions from the public for 'local projects.'
The new Centro de Bem Estar Animal has been opened by the mayor, Carlos Silva e Sousa, at Vale de Pedras which is close to the current council animal collection centre. The plan is that the two facilities will work together.
The crumbling and derelict Lota de Portimão building just after the bridge into Portimão is to be fixed up and once again used.
Portimão council has awarded local company Urbicial (Construções e Engenharia Lda) the contract to fix up the eyesore in a €34,650 deal that will bring the building back to life.
Portugal’s favorite fish does not swim in Portuguese waters. Since the 16th century, Portuguese fishermen have sailed to Newfoundland in search of gadus morhua, more commonly known as codfish. The French call the bland-tasting fresh cod “cabillaud” and the more appetizing salted cod “morue.” In Portugal this distinction is superfluous because only the salted variety is appreciated. So, one word suffices: “bacalhau.”
Since cod has very little fat, once it is cured in salt, it keeps for a long time without becoming rancid. For this reason, dried codfish was often consumed by those who lived far from the coast in days of religious abstinence from meat like Christmas Eve.
The new Italian prime minister, Paolo Gentiloni, is to ask parliament to approve a loan of €20 billion to underwrite the stability of the country’s weak banks.
First in line could be Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the third largest Italian lender and the world’s oldest bank. It has been trying to raise €5 billion in new private funding to prop itself up and avert government intervention.
Workers in France on basic pay were given a pre-Christmas disappointment on Monday when it was announced that the minimum wage would be raised by less than 1%.
The 0.93% increase is the equivalent of nine cents per hour, bringing the hourly wage to €9.76. For full-time workers on 35 hours per week, the monthly income would be €1,466 before tax declining to take-home of €1,141 after tax.
Portugal’s Prime Minister today said that Portugal has the potential to grow its ports business due to the country's privileged location at the western gateway to Europe.
António Costa spoke at the ‘Strategy for the Increase of Port Competitiveness’ conference which took place in the booming port of Sines on Monday, December 19th.
