The Parliamentary Group of the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) has reminded the Minister of Agriculture Assunçao Cristas of the various initiatives that she championed from 2011 and which seem to have evaporated as soon as she became a minister.

For example she "recommended that the Government urgently provide the investment to open a regional slaughterhouse in the Algarve, in the face of seriousness of the situation and the unbearable financial costs entailed for Algarve producers and the significant increase in the consumer price also resulting from this situation." Now that she is in the government it would seem she is ideally placed to fulfil her promise.

The company that has been developing the infrastructure in and around the Alqueva dam (EDIA) has objected strongly to the League for the Protection of Nature’s (LPN) allegations that it had run riot around the lake area, felling trees needlessly and breaking all sorts of eco-guidelines as determined by various environmental laws.

In a statement the company repudiates the unfounded allegations from LPN, which it considers is for the sole purpose of denigrating the company’s image.

In 40 years Portugal has managed to go from the most fecund country in Europe to the one with the lowest birth rate.

This dire situation was outlined and discussed at a conference held by the National Council of Ethics for the Life Sciences (CNECV) entitled "Demographics, Birth and Public Policy" using statistical data from Pordata.

The Portuguese population increased by 1.7 million between 1960 and 2010 but "last year hit a record of low for births with 89,841” a number significantly lower than the 107,598 recorded in 2011 which itself was a poor year, according to demographics expert Maria João Valente Rosa.

The european director of ratings agency Standard & Poor's argues that Portugal should apply for a second bailout to help ‘facilitate the work of the government.’

Frank Gill said today there are strong reasons why Portugal is likely to ask for more financial help when the current Troika funding arrangement ends next Spring.

At the largest tourism fair in the world in London, Lisbon has won the Amadeus & WTM Travel Experience Award to add to an impressive tally of gongs this year as a top ‘value for money’ destination.

Portugal continues to scoop awards as one of world’s destinations with the best quality to price ratio. This time Lisbon was awarded the top spot in this category sponsored by the World Travel Market and the Amadeus group.

The total wealth of the 870 millionaires in Portugal has increased by €7.5 billion, despite the economic crisis plaguing the country.

A report by Swiss bank UBS concludes that there are 85 more stonkingly rich people in Portugal, defined as those having assets of €22.4 million or more, than in 2012 .

According to the report on the Ultra-rich of the World for 2013, this increase means that 870 millionaires Portuguese have a joint wealth of €75 billion, representing an increase of 11.1 % compared to 2012.

The JESSICA fund already has contributed to the renewal of the historic center of Vila Real de Santo António, but there is now more money available for urban regeneration projects in the Algarve.

The highest property taxes in the developed world are to be found in the UK.

Residents of the UK pay twice as much as the international average, according to the influential think tank Policy Exchange.