On/Off Miró auction back on

miroLondon auction house Christie's is to auction the Miró works after all, having pulled the sale earlier this month due to legal problems in Portugal as to whether the works could legally be sold or not.  

Christie's said on Thursday that the sale of 85 works by Spanish artist Joan Miró will be rescheduled for June but declined to give more details on the date, or the decision to finally sell the paintings.

Outer Hebrides is Europe’s top island

hebridesThe Outer Hebrides was up against still competition, but it managed to bag first place as the most popular island destination in Europe and the fifth most popular in the world.

Lewis and Harris was voted number one by travellers who reported back on the travel website TripAdvisor.

Beach holidays out, wine and culture in

wineThere has been a dramatic shift in tourism industry thinking away from 'sun & sea' holidays, towards Portugal's wine, culture and history.

While the Algarve and Portugal Tourism Boards pay lip service to smaller market segments, while concentrating on summertime family holiday promotion, the reality is that tourists are growing up and away from the week’s vacation on the beach and out and about into the country’s vineyards and museums.

Dangerous air pollution lands UK in court

pollutionairThe UK is to be taken to court for failing to tackle excessive air pollution.

Legal proceedings have been launched by the European Commission, having warned Britain last May that it was facing “immediate enforcement action”.

US marijuana sales reach a new high

cannabisCannabis sales in Colorado have taken the state by storm, bringing in unexpected tax to the state’s coffers.

The crop seems likely to become an annual billion-dollar legal industry by next year.

Austerity measures are killing, not curing

beggarNearly two thirds of the respondents to an opinion survey released ths week, some 61.7%, feel that the bailout in Portugal has "killed" rather than "cured" and most also believe that the policies developed with the Troika of lenders during the bailout years will continue for the foreseeable future.

The Eurosondagem survey about austerity policies implemented by the Troika were presented in Lisbon and showed that more than half of respondents believe that austerity has lowered the country's economic and social standing.

‘Votes for expats’ campaigner Harry Shindler receives MBE

shindlermbeHarry Shindler, veteran of the allied landings at Anzio in WWII and tireless worker for Anglo–Italian relations and expat voting rights, was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire in a presentation by Her Majesty's representative the Ambassador to Italy, Christopher Prentice.

Shindler has worked thirty years and more for Anglo-Italian relations, for the rights of British ex-pats in Italy and Europe, the Italy Star Association, and perhaps most importantly of all, to keeping the memory alive of the British servicemen who fought and died to liberate Italy in World War II. Harry’s work includes talks in schools and universities, to educate young students and raise the awareness of young people on why the war was fought.

Battersea for the Brits

batterseaThe new dwellings at the Battersea Power Station are to be offered to Londoners first before being made available to investors from overseas.

The building of residential properties at the former power station is entering its second phase.