fbpx

Portugal's high speed rail network 'not financially viable' according to final report

tgvPortugal’s Court of Auditors' report on a high speed rail service, including a link between Lisbon and Madrid, was released today.

The Portuguese high speed rail project was cancelled in 2012 and today's report concludes that the €11.6 billion cost estimate would have made the railway ‘not financially viable.’

Britain heats up

britishpubLast year was the hottest year ever experienced in the UK.

This was in accord with both the records which began in 1910 and also the Central England Temperature series which started in 1659 and is the longest running record of its kind.

Pingo Doce drops €20 minimum purchase for card customers

pingoSupermarket chain Pingo Doce announced today that its checkout staff are again accepting payment by bank card for purchases under €20.

In September 2012 Pingo Doce introduced the minimum transaction level for those paying by plastic in order to put pressure on the card processing company SIBS whose fees it said were excessive.

Spanish unemployment begins to tumble

spanishfactoryUnemployment in Spain has had its sharpest fall since 1999 when the euro was adopted.

Official government figures indicate that more than 253,000 people came out of registered unemployment from December 2013 to December 2014.

Ryanair wins more passengers

ryanairRyanair has cause to celebrate its after announcing a 20% increase in passengers in December, with 6.02 million people flying with the airline.

Seat occupancy rose to 88% from 81% a year earlier.

Not everyone agrees with Faro council's new budget

faroriversideparkThe Save Faro Alliance with two seats on Faro council has criticised the approval of this year’s municipal budget, commenting that it paralyses the local authority and strangles civil society.

The €46.7 million budget for 2015, approved last week at a meeting of the municipal assembly, was purported to contain “concrete actions to promote quality of life, to promote economic and social development of the municipality and its reputation."

New species of sponge discovered in Portuguese waters

spongeNEWA group of scientists has discovered a new species of Glass Sponge in some Mediterranean and Atlantic areas including at the Gorringe Ridge in Portuguese waters, according to a information released today by the Oceana organisation.

The deep sea surveying work undertaken by researchers from France, Canada and Spain has led to the discovery of a new species of Glass Sponge in marine canyons off Corsica, in seamounts in the Alboran Sea, and in the Atlantic at the Gorringe Bank which is in Portuguese waters 200 kilometres southwest of Cape St. Vincent.

The Greeks' big chance to leave the eurozone

acropGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel is prepared to let Greece leave the eurozone if the Greeks vote for a government that decides to flout the current austerity measures.

A report in today’s Der Spiegel is published in tandem with polls showing a radical left wing party ahead three weeks before the Greek election.