The Portimão municipal assembly passed a motion of censure on the conduct of the President of the Hospitals of the Algarve (CHA) and called for the resignation of Pedro Nunes, according to the Left Bloc which put the motion forward.

The council claims that Pedro Nunes is responsible for the degradation of the National Health Service in the Algarve, with particular damage having been done to patients in the western Algarve and at the Barlavento Hospital in Portimão.

The GNR chased and arrested two men suspected of theft from a car parked in Sagres and who took off at high speed in a vain attempt to outrun the police.

The men, 59 and 26, have already been in court in Lagos accused of  "stealing from the interior of a vehicle and attempting to outrun a police officer," according to Faro Command.

The strike by the border control inspectors from the Aliens and Borders Service (SEF) said on Sunday that all categories of staff had been on strike at Lisbon, Oporto, Faro and Madeira airports.

At airports were guaranteed the legal minimum of services and delays of up to 2 hours have been the norm for departures of international flights.

Cavaco Silva has sent to the Constitutional Court the proposed government statute that aims to reduce pensions of over €600 a month.

The initial proposal from the Government aimed at savings of €728 million as laid out in the State Budget for 2014.

A 42% drop in the sale of property abroad to British buyers has been the result of the crisis years.

When the banking crisis struck in 2008, sales immediately began to taper off.

Newly released figures show the number of new holiday homes in Portugal bought by Brits fell by 31% compared to five years ago.

Spain is luring in new residents under its ‘Golden Visa’ scheme.

Investors looking for property are coming from the Middle East, parts of Asia and Russia.

The scheme, introduced on 1 October this year, allows non-EU nationals to gain an automatic resident permit on condition that they invest €500,000.

Almost three-quarters of British expats say they have a better overall quality of life in their new country than in the UK.

Richard Musty, international director at Lloyds Bank, said: "While the majority of people are happy with the UK as a place to live, our latest British Wealth research reveals nearly three-quarters (74%) of British expats report that they enjoy a better overall quality of life in their current country of residence.

Two Russian travel operators will fly in 30,000 tourists to the Algarve next year.

In its trade mission to Russia the government has secured a deal to bring significant numbers of Russian tourists to the Algarve.

The Economy Minister, António Pires de Lima, said that two of the largest travel operators in Russia will bring the tourists next year.