João Carvalho now has been sentenced to the maximum term for a triple murder, but will continue to enjoy freedom, for the present at least.
The court may next week decide to lock him up but in the meantime he is free, as he has been since 2005 when he killed his girlfriend and her parents in acts of violence that shocked Portugal.
The French government’s proposed eco tax, scheduled for 1 January 2014, was suspended but the protests have continued.
After waves of demonstrations in the country, especially in Brittany, the government decided not to implement the tax demand on the planned date.
The Spanish government has entered talks with Panama in the hope of easing a row over the expansion of the Panama Canal.
The group carrying out the work is lead by Sacyr, a Spanish company.
A pensioner facing charges of raping a child has been arrested in the Canary Islands.
Frank Burgon, 76, from Hartlepool, was released on bail in the UK but used his brother’s passport to flee the country in November. Posing as his brother, he travelled through several countries before settling in Gran Canaria.
Olhão’s €32 million budget was kicked out by an opposition voting in unison, claiming the figures concealed a hidden trick.
Olhão’s council will carry on managing the municipality from month to month until a new budget can be agreed. The council can spend the equivalent to 1/12th of last year’s budget every month in the meantime. This is 22% more than the 2014 budget was set to spend but it is hoped that restraint will be shown.
Lagoa council has ‘debureaucratised’ its contract procedure for its water customers.
The council admits that the current multi-document contract is not necessary and that 'administrative modernisation will encourage simplification of procedures in accordance with the provisions of Decree-Law n.º 194/2009 of 20 August, which establishes the legal regime for the municipal supply and distribution of water, sanitation, urban waste water and municipal waste management."
U.S. website 'The Inertia' is the reference point for tens of thousands of surfers worldwide. In a December report, the waves of Praia da Rocha gain a special mention and a series of shots by a local specialist surf photographer.
The observations are contained in an article entitled "Southern Portugal Steals Nazaré’s Thunder" and brings together a series of images by João Bracourt, aka Brek, regarded as one of the best surf photographers in Portugal today currently residing in Lagos.
Aircraft Accident Investigation chief Alvaro Neves said today that the cause of the Monchique helicopter crash was due to the aircraft hitting power cables. Neves added that this was a provisional finding as research was still being carried out but is looks pretty clearly to be the case.
As the final accident report will take one year to produce, initial findings have been published in case safety rules can be amended or improved.
