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Socialists demand enquiry into ANA privatisation

airplane2The Socialist opposition party has demanded a parliamentary hearing on the privatisation of Portugal's airports operator ANA.

The formal request was lodged last week after an earlier request for a grilling of the members of the Monitoring Committee of Privatization of ANA was rejected by the government.

Nine out of ten young drivers tested zero for alcohol

drinkNine out of ten young drivers stopped and breathalised over the Easter weekend in Lisbon and Vilamoura were found to have a 0% or negligible blood alcohol level.

The 100% Cool campaign took place under the supervision of the GNR supported by the National Association of Spirits to promote road safety.

Hotels full, heavy rain and fewer road deaths this Easter

gnrA last minute burst of activity from home-grown Portuguese tourists has filled the Algarve’s hotels this Easter weekend bringing relief to many businesses reliant on good Easter takings to kick off the season.

Hotel occupancy in the Algarve has grown by 4% over last year, mainly due to increased demand from Portuguese visitors who join the Spanish, British, German and Irish, according to an unusually buoyant Elidérico Viegas, President of the Association of Hotels and Resorts in the Algarve.

Portugal not alone in deflation

eumapNot only has Portugal entered into deflation, but it has been joined by seven other nations within the EU.

In Portugal, prices fell 0.4% in March from a year earlier. The same drop also hit Sweden, making it the first and only state in northern Europe to slide into deflation.

The chocolate fiends of Britain

chocolateIn the rapid approach to the best day of the year for chocolate, research has shown that one in six Britons indulge in chocolate every day.

Some eight million throughout the land admit to enjoying some chocolate daily while a further 17% say they consume it between four and six times a week.

Venetians try to beat developers to island

venice2Venetians are being encouraged to cough up €99 each to keep developers away from a lonely local island deemed to be one of the most haunted in the world.

Poveglia lies uninhabited in the Venice lagoon. In the 18th century, it had been used to quarantine people who were suffering from infectious diseases. By the 20th century, a nursing home on the island was beset by rumours that experiments were carried out on the mentally ill.

Ticket scam at Portugal's national monuments

lisbonThe police unit that deals with fraud and corruption has swooped on a ticket scam at some of Portugal’s famous monuments.

Ticket sales at Lisbon’s Belém Tower and the Jerónimos Monastery may not have been legitimate, the suspicion being investigated is that shameless ticket sellers have been printing and selling their own versions, selling them to unwary tourists and pocketing the proceeds.

Portugal's pharmacies told to sell cheaper drugs

pillsPortugal’s struggling pharmacies are to receive incentives from the state to sell more generic medicines to customers, according to news from Health Minister Paulo Macedo communicated to Infarmed, the national regulator for the drugs industry.

The agreement in principle with the National Association of Pharmacies aims to increase the share of non-patented drugs in the domestic market, saving the health department millions each year.