Xiaodong Wang, a Chinese national, recently granted a Golden Visa allowing Portuguese residency and unrestricted travel within Europe, is wanted in China for fraud and money laundering, money that he has used to buy a house in Portugal.

The Judicial Police arrested Wang to whom the Portuguese state recently had granted a residence permit under the Golden Visas scheme to attract foreign investment. Portugal already has awarded 542 gold visas to foreigners

The general secretary of the Socialist Party, António José Seguro, said on Saturday that the government has a "hidden agenda of cuts" in the order of "two billion euros."

"We want to stop the cuts, they should have stopped a long time ago, and we want to start the recovery of wages and pensions in Portugal. Instead, the government keeps cutting and has a hidden agenda of about two billion euros of further cuts that is is preparing to apply after the European elections," said Seguro.

Spain’s Adolfo Suarez has died, aged 81.

Mr Suarez was the country’s first prime minister in the wake of the dictatorship of General Franco and lead Spain to democracy.

King Juan Carlos personally appointed Suarez in 1976, only months after Franco died. Franco’s contribution to Spain had been nearly four decades of dictatorship after the brutal 1936-39 Civil War.

Russian roubles were already flooding into the London property market, but the current unrest in their country is bringing even more investment from well-to-do Russians.

Property agents report a surge of investment from oligarchs and professionals, such as bankers, lawyers and doctors.

The economic crisis is increasing the number of cases of alcoholism in Portugal with the reckless consumption of spirits on the increase, warns the president of the Portuguese Society of Alcoholism.

"What we noticed in studies of consumption patterns is that there has been a progressive increase in the consumption of spirits. Even in the case of young people this is the preferred type of drink,” commented Dr Augusto Pinto on the eve of the National Day of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Spanish banks will have to revalue thousands of houses and commercial premises.

The demand is coming from the EU regulators who are said to be conducting a finance audit to assess the banks’ strength.

Lufthansa pilots are likely to go on strike, but no date has been made clear.

A long-running dispute over pay and working conditions has led to a vote being taken on a possible strike.

Brazil has said it is investigating corruption and price-fixing allegations against 18 companies, including Siemens of Germany and Alstom of France.

Other companies from Spain, Canada, South Korea and the United States, among other countries were also named.