The founder of ElBulli told journalists that his new foundation is now 95% complete.

Ferran Adrià unveiled his plans for a “cooking laboratory” and museum along with a database of recipes.

Truffle farmers in France have launched a campaign to help people identify prized Perigourd truffles.

Many of those farmers believe that “fake” Chinese imports have been doctored by unscrupulous chefs with synthetic aromas sprayed on so that they smell like a real truffle.

Barcelona is to further its concern for the “co-existence between residents and animals” by introducing new laws to protect animals.

Dogs must be walked on a lead, may not be left home alone for more than 12 hours and owners must clear up the poo. Any owner in defiance of the regulations could be fined up to €1,500.

The Automobile Association of Portugal today reported that the market for vehicles grew 44.3% this February compared to February 2013, reaching a total of 12,702 units sold.

In a statement the Association noted that in aggregate the in first two months of 2014 the car market had risen by 38.3% over the same period of 2013 with 23,608 vehicles sold.

Portugal’s national debt rose to €217.31 billion in January 2014, according to depressing data from the Bank of Portugal. This is the highest debt figure ever officially registered since these things started to be recorded.

At the end of December 2013 the national debt had reached €213.39 billion which represented 129% of Portugal’s Gross Domestic Product. By the end of January this year, despite some promising economic data, this actually had risen by nearly €4 billion to the €217.31 billion figure.

More British manufacturers are taking their companies back to the UK after decades of experimenting with operations in developing countries.

One in six companies has “reshored” production in the last three years, up from one in seven reported in 2009, according to manufacturers’ association EEF in its Backing Britain report.

Energy bills in the UK have rocketed by 55% in the last decade.

Despite the use of energy dropping by 17%, prices have gone from an average of £69 per month in 2002 to £106 a month by 2012.

The Spanish government was trying to convince the world that it is beginning to recover, but the IMF was not buying it.

IMF head Christine Lagarde angered the authorities there when she instead insisted that the austerity drive must continue.