The suspension of waste disposal charges at the dump near Fatacil in Lagoa is to start on June 2nd and will last until the end of the year in a last ditch attempt to stop the proliferation of the illegal dumping of waste.

The council says this is "a first but important step in reducing the visual, environmental and public health impact in the council area."

Business deals worth about $5bn (£2.9bn) have been signed by China and Greece.

China showed interest in shipbuilding, acquiring railways and building an airport in Crete. The country would like a majority stake in the port at Piraeus where it already runs two piers.

British students are failing to learn foreign languages, according to the CBI which has blamed the UK’s education system.

Foreign language ability is prized by a growing number of British businesses and likely to continue to grow in importance as companies look to break into new, fast-growing markets.

The Minister of Finance, Maria Luís Albuquerque, finally has relieved the tension of many a city-watcher by setting a date for the submission of alternative measures to compensate for the lack of cash from the last set of cost cutting measures, rejected by the Constitutional Court.

"The date of presentation of the (new) budget is the 15th of October. I sincerely hope that we can decide on the measures before that. The sooner the better, clearly," said the fragrant one at the end of a gritty Eurogroup meeting.

Air traffic controller unions in France have voted to hold a six-day strike next week beginning on Tuesday June 24 to 29.

Coming in the early holiday season, it is expected to disrupt travel for thousands of people in France as well as other European destinations.

The cost of consumer goods and services in the EU were found to be highest in Denmark, followed by Sweden, Luxembourg, Finland, Ireland and the UK.

The UK has, therefore, the sixth highest prices in the EU 28.

The number of asylum seeks who were accepted into the EU last year rose to 135,700, up from 116,200 in 2012.

In the last five years, more than 570,000 asylum seeks have been granted protection in one of the EU’s 28 member countries.

The Court of Audoitors which oversees council contracts has refused to approve the deal between Portimão council and the beleaguered subsiduary, Portimão Urbis, which leaves the council executive in rather a delicate position.

The council stated today that it was to appeal the Court's decision and will run the service in the interim.