The Judicial Police raided the National Civil Protection Authority’s offices in Carnaxide, Oeiras, the aerodrome at Ponte de Sor, Portalegre, and the headquarters of the Everjets aviation company at Oporto airport late last month as the Kamov helicopter scandal increses in complexity.

Officers are looking into the Kamov fire-fighting helicopter deal where corruption, falsification and obstruction by those involved is building into another full-blown scandal involving public contracts and taxpayers' money.

The one good thing about foul weather is that the rain and wind help boost green energy production.

Last weekend and on Monday the rain and wind that swept large parts of Portugal enabled the National Energy Network (REN) to achieve new production records for the year to date.

The President of the Eurogroup said today in Brussels that there are "serious concerns" with Portugal and called on countries to follow and to encourage public support for the eurozone’s budgetary rules.

National governments in eurozone countries still hold “the real responsibility” for budgets, social measures and other economic policies, said Jeroen Dijsselbloem today, adding that “The main problems in the eurozone have been caused by bad national policies” and not the euro area’s stability and growth pact.

The Minister of Health already has chosen the new boss of the Algarve’s Central Hospital management team to replace Pedro Nunes.

Nunes’ long-awaited replacement should be in post later this month or early in March to the relief of much of the Algarve’s medical professionals who never took to Nunes’ somewhat autocratic management style.

An illegally operated old people’s home in Cruz da Assumada, Loulé has been raided and closed down by the GNR.

Eleven men and two women aged between 69 and 78 were said by the GNR to be living in appalling and dangerous conditions.

"What the Government's intentions regarding the mining of feldspar in the Monchique mountains?" This question, put to the government in mid-January by an Algarve MP, now has been answered.

No licenses have been issued, according to the Secretary of State for Parliamentary Affairs but the destruction of a unique Monchique hillside and habitat has continued, until today.

Corruption remains so rampant in Spain that seven people on average are arrested for it every day.

A report released by the country’s interior ministry on Thursday revealed that the overall number of people arrested on corruption charges fell from 2,743 in 2014 to 2,442 last year.

Should any wine lover tire of a bottle of red from the Alentejo, they would do well to turn instead to Sister Moon, an Italian wine from the Tuscan estate of the British rock star Sting.

The robust red, named after one of his songs, has been declared one of Italy’s finest 100 wines.