In just 48 hours, 4,000 immigrants have made it by boat to Italian shores.

The arrivals from Africa and the Middle East are the highest number since Italy launched a naval operation two years ago to handle the influx.

The new strategic plan for Portugal’s transport infrastructure has a target of increasing traffic volumes on the road and rail networks by 2020.

The new plan, which runs until 2020, contains an objective to increase by 15% the traffic on Portuguese motorways, reversing the downward trend seen since the beginning of the economic crisis.

The Chinese citizen, and Golden Visa holder, Xiaodong Wang remains in custody after his detention under a European arrest warrant.  

Wang will stay in custody until the end of April as the Chinese authorities now have submitted an extradition request which has been received in Lisbon.

Three crew, all Spaniards, on board the Portuguese flagged ‘Raio de Luz’ which ran aground and sank off the island of Culatra, have all been rescued

The operation was coordinated by the Maritime Search and Rescue service in Lisbon with the Port Authority Olhão.

Reservations at the Algarve’s hotels for the Easter holiday period are up on last year, by 4-5% according to the Algarve Tourist Board.

The predictions were confirmed by the curiously happy president of the Association of Hotels and Resorts in the Algarve, Elidérico Viegas, who said that Easter is later this year, which of course helps.

The Algarve’s first 'Surf Bus' has been launched in Lagos and will be carrying surfers and tourists to the best beaches on the Algarve’s west coast.

The bus organisers aim to help promote surfing, and also surfing as part of family holidays.

A new battery which can charge in less than 30 seconds has been unveiled at a technology conference.

During the demonstration, a smartphone’s dead battery was charged to full power in 26 seconds.

Offa’s Dyke was named after the English king believed to have ordered its construction to keep out Welsh rivals.

Now new research suggests that it was built at least a century earlier.