The Portuguese and the Irish have more in common than you might think. It’s not just that they inhabit small lands on Europe’s western edge, have a long Catholic history, revel in tradition and have a penchant for getting themselves into terrible debt.

The Portuguese and the English famously claim the world’s oldest alliance. Despite a fracas or two along the way, this diplomatic accord has been in place for hundreds of years.

In a bizarre twist in the VIP Taxpayer List case, the Finance Minister Maria Luís Albuquerque has ordered an inquiry into something that she says does not exist.

The General Inspectorate of Finance has been sent on a hunt to look for a list of taxpayers whose access by tax office staff triggers an alert and has seen many workers hauled in for questioning by management.

With rare diplomacy the Economy Minister Pires de Lima today defused a potential ‘difference of opinion’ with Portugal’s president over economic growth projections by refusing to offer an opinion.

Pires de Lima said in a sober response to Cavaco Silva’s declaration that the economy will grow by an impressive 2% this year, beating the original government forecast of 1.3%, that "projections do not matter," adding that what matters is the competitiveness of the economy.

Milan’s Expo 2015 trade fair has now become the centre of a corruption inquiry.

Several other large public projects, including high-speed rail contracts and the building of a highway in Libya, have also come under investigation amid suspicions of fraud.

Despite a return to consumer spending in the UK, more shops in the country closed than new ones opened.

Nearly three times as many shops closed operations in 2014 compared to the year before.

The most popular tourist attraction in the UK remains the British Museum in London.

Following closely behind is another London attraction, the National Gallery, according to the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA).

Well known local biker, the 'Comandante', has been killed in a hit an run incident near Faro.

The GNR already has identified the black Audi A6 which yesterday was hit by the biker as the car performed an illegal U-turn and speed away from the scene of the accident, leaving fatally injured Vítor Silvestre to die at the roadside in Chelote near Faro.

The Minister for the Environment displayed his public relations finesse on hearing of the death of one of the lynx bred for repopulating Portugal and Spain's wilderness, commenting that 'these things happen.'

Kayakweru, a female Iberian Lynx born and raised in Silves and released in early February, has been found dead in the Mértola region, causes unknown, according to the Institute of Nature and Forest Conservation.