The number of Italians coming to the Algarve is rising, especially in the seaside town of Olhão where already 200 Italian immigrants are living, according to a report in Dinheiro Vivo.

Choosing Portugal to avoid countries such as Tunisia and Bulgaria, where many Italians have moved in recent years, those forming the Algarve's new wave are as much escaping the invisible threat of terrorist attack as the very real threat of taxation which in Italy and France has caused many to move from their homelands in search of a happier retirement.

The Vila Galé Hotel Group is to invest around €5 million to transform a derelict convent in Elvas into a hotel.

The former convent of São Paulo, in the city centre, will open as a hotel in 2018 and an expected 25 to 30 jobs will be created as a result.

Spain has begun to evaluate the impact that whirlwind tourism is having on the country.

Fate conspired to deliver a bountiful year, the best tourist season in 15 years, with visitors seeking not only sun and sea but also safety from terror incidents.

Wind power in Spain is sufficient to provide energy to nearly 30 million homes every day.

Last November a night time record was set of 70% of Spain’s electricity needs being met which followed a January 2015 day time record of 54%.

Iraq has failed to answer Portugal’s request for the lifting of diplomatic immunity from the twin sons of the ambassador to Portugal who beat a young man from Pont de Sor, Alentejo.

The Iraqi embassy said today that "it is still too early to make a decision regarding the application to waive immunity."

Of every 100 marriages in Portugal, 70 end in divorce, according to a study by the Francisco Manuel dos Santos Foundation.

The report, published for European Statistics Day on October 20th, showed Portugal had beaten off the opposition to lead the field in marital disharmony.

The French version of Top Gear includes a special hour-long overseas episode featuring a trip through the western Algarve.

There are only two episodes in the current series that have been made outside notoriously insular France, one in Japan and the other featuring a journey from Faro to the Costa Vicentina.

The pride and joy of the Algarve’s regional tourism board, the replica caravel Boa Esperança, is on a tour of duty in the northwest of Spain including a stop-off in the harbour of the city of Vigo whose harbour authorities are less than impressed with Portuguese seamanship.

The caravel was meant to stop once it reached Vigo harbour but failed to, suffering what the local newspaper politely called ‘an engine problem’ which causing the ship to plow into a metal walkway at full speed ahead.