"We have, in this area, conditions for generating employment and economic outcomes in the short term," said Portugal’s Environment Minister, Moreira da Silva, speaking in Brussels of his green objectives for Portugal's economy.

The minister said the green economy must be a priority for Portugal, at a time when it is nearing the end of the assistance programme, as this is an area of ​​rapid economic growth in Europe.

The arrest of seven people and the seizure of cocaine, heroin and cannabis in industrial quantities, plus firearms was the result of a well planned operation by the Polícia de Segurança Pública (PSP) on Thursday.

A delighted PSP spokesman reported that all detainees, "mother, sons, daughter and neighbours," were suspected of drug trafficking and that, except for the mother, none of them appear to have a legitimate occupation.

The ‘Algarve Encanta’ roadshow has ended after three intense days of gastronomic excess in Spain, with 380 Spansh travel agents and tour operators feasting courtesy of the Algarve’s regional tourist board.

The promotional campaign ended well with a "quite positive mood," the forecast of new business opportunities and with many new contacts being made, according to the board’s president, Desiderio Silva.

In the first ten months of this year consumption of electricity has fallen slightly in Portugal but the proportion supplied by renewable energy sources including wind and water has reached an impressive 57% of the country’s total.

Electricity consumption dropped worryingly at the start of the year but now has seen its fourth consecutive monthly rise.

The leader of the National Confederation of Agriculture, João Dinis, fears that many of the Algarve’s farmers will join farmers across the country and simply stop farming due to new legislation with compliance insisted on by Finanças and the Social Security department.

Dinis demands a specific tax status for those cases where farm income is low. The cost and complexity of regulation means otherwise that farmers will give up and production will cease.

A new tax is being considered in the UK on foreign property owners there.

Chancellor George Osborne is believed to be giving thought to a capital gains tax levied on property owned by foreigners as one way to address fears of a price bubble in London and the South East.

The former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has described himself as an “ex-politician” although he is still serving as an MP.

Mr Brown has been MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath area since 1983.

More protests have taken place in Rome as demonstrators against austerity clashed with the police.

At least 16 people, including four officers, were injured and eight protesters were arrested, as traffic ground to a standstill and people fled the tear gas.