The proposal by a heavily indebted Loulé council to acquire an art deco café next to its offices was approved at the last meeting of the chamber.

Loulé Municipal Council is now to spend €182,000 of ratepayers' money on the building, the approved proposal will be signed off in a meeting on 30th April.

Portugal’s Finance Minister, Maria Luís Albuquerque, agreed to litigate with Banco Santander Totta in a British court, saying at the time that Portuguese courts had no jurisdiction.

The High Court of Lisbon has decided otherwise in relation to another case and the inference in today’s news is that a Portuguese court would be more sympathetic to the government, and hence the taxpayer who has been saddled with escalating loan service costs for Portugal’s nationally owned companies that signed toxic Swaps contracts.

In a welcomed collaboration between the main political parties which form Portugal’s ruling coalition the requirement for owners of property near the seashore and rivers to prove occupancy before 1864 is likely to be amended in such a way as to make the law useable.

The current time limit for owners to prove their properties existed prior to D. Luís’ 1864 Royal Decree is by the end of June, but the parliamentary majority of the PSD and CDS are to table amendments to the law to remove these impractical, costly and often impossible obligations.

In an event of almost supreme irony the IMF representative Subir Lall was denied entry into Portugal when he flew in on Sunday as his Visa was valid only from Monday.

Lall clearly wanted to get an early start for the round of Troika meetings this week but his Sunday arrival at Lisbon airport caused a degree of embarrassment as officials relived him of €90 before allowing early entry.

The contract between the state-owned company Parvalorem and Christie's auction house for the sale of the Miró collection now has been received at the Court of Auditors.

According to the communication office of the Court, the contract which contains a confidentiality clause as insisted on by the auction house, "was referred to the Court and was received on Monday."

Airbnb, loved by property renters and owners, is attracting a hefty share of criticism from its rivals who claim its operation is illegal.

In its five years of existence, its users have organised 11 million stays in 35,000 locations in 192 countries.

China is on course to overtake other nations for the number of Christians living in the communist country.

It already has more Christian churchgoers than most European countries.

The world's largest fast food chain, McDonald's, is struggling to keep on top of its game.

Sales in the US took a knock when sales fell during the first three months of 2013. The drop of 1.7% was more than had been predicted.