Navy divers defuse explosive device washed up on Algarve beach

marineflareThe Coordination Centre for Maritime Rescue in Lisbon in conjunction with the Port Authority in Olhão and a detachment of divers from the Portuguese Navy responded to news of a mystery object washed up on the beach on the island of Culatra off Olhão.

When the intrepid divers arrived they found a highly dangerous marine flare which are notoriously dangerous.

Portimão tourist attraction rife with rats and garbage

portimaofortOne of Portimao’s few buildings of historic interest, the Mirador de Santa Catarina in Praia da Rocha at the mouth of the Arade river, is visited by thousands of tourists each year but now is in an advanced state of disrepair and poses risks to visitors.

The famous and much-photographed fort that looks out over the Arade has hundreds of visitors every day in the summer season but now is all but abandoned and is an eyesore with a broken elevator full of garbage, attendant wildlife including rats and mice, and a real risk of someone falling down the elevator shaft.

Saturday - the ‘great debate’ on the Algarve's motorway tolls

4788"About two years after the introduction of tolls on the Via do Infante by the current government and with the worsening of the crisis, the Algarve is on the brink of social and economic disaster," says the Committee of Users of the Via do Infante (CUVI.)

The great debate open to the public will be held in conference room of the Business Centre of the Algarve Region (NERA) in Loulé from 3pm.

Algarve’s 'The Right Juice' to debut at the Atlanta Film Festival

oranges2The Algarve film ‘The Right Juice’ will make its world premiere on March 30th 2014 at the Atlanta Film Festival, USA.

This is the first film by Kristjan Knigge, a Dane who grew up in the Algarve, and the project has been locally, funded, filmed and produced.

Government’s ‘zero licensing’ cuts red tape but raises fines

piresdelimaThe expansion of the Portuguese Government's new ‘zero licensing’ regime will strengthen the monitoring of restaurants and service sector businesses while at the same time raising the upper limit for fines.

The Economy Minister Pires de Lima today called for a change in the way the state sees businesses but local councils see their incomes dropping further as the state cancels or takes over much of their role in regulating local businesses.

Room rental agency Airbnb aims to be number one

bedroomThe room letting website Airbnb is on the march to reach its goal of being the world’s largest hotelier.

The company, began in 2008, is in talks to raise money which would value the company at more than $10bn (£6bn).

Portugal beer sales up, reversing a decade of decline

superbockimageBrewing giant Unicer managed to increase beer sales in Portugal last year, the first rise in a decade of falling consumption.

Unicer’s last bumper year was 2004, the year in which Portugal hosted the European Cup in which Portugal reached the final, losing to Greece.  

Algarve waste company in series of ‘open days’

rubbishALGAR is to open its doors to the public once a month to show what it does for the Algarve in waste disposal and recycling.

The first such day will be the 16th of April when the dedicated and the curious can ‘get to know’ the landfill site at Portimão and the facilities that serve Faro, Loulé, and Olhão. This initiative will be repeated monthly on the third Wednesday of the month.