Violent gang on trial for ten Algarve robberies in 2017

justiceThe violence used in a series of robberies in Faro, Olhão and São Brás de Alportel has shocked the prosecution lawyer as four men stand trial in Faro Court for the crimes committed in 2017.

"The Public Prosecutor's Office of Faro Court delivered the final arguments in a trial of four defendants accused of being involved in ten violent assaults during the year 2017 in isolated areas of the three municipalities.

Duarte Lima in yet another bid to avoid jail

duarte limaConvicted fraudster, Duarte Lima, today lodged another appeal in an increasingly futile attempt to stay out of jail

The latest appeal is to the Constitutional Court to avoid starting a  six-year prison sentence handed down in the BPN-Homeland case.

Olhão Council admits roadworks are severely affecting businesses

roadworksThe main restaurant street in Olhão, Avenida 5 de Outubro, currently being dug up, is to have more pavement space for diners. Work is progressing slowly with businesses complaining of a severe drop in low season trade.

The Council, aware that the civil engineering contract is not progressing as planned, sensibly has decided to exempt affected businesses from paying commercial rates until the conclusion of the work, which now is scheduled for the end of May.

May to 'consult widely' in desperate attempt to create Brexit Plan B

brexitLenTheresa May is still Britain’s prime minister this morning after surviving yet another day as a wholly unconvincing, ‘head of Brexit,’ aided by an opposition that fails to take advantage of the hand it had been dealt.

The latest May's supremacy, a vote of ‘no confidence’ tabled by the opposition leader, saw rebel Conservatives and MPs from the all-important Democratic Unionist party, swing behind the prime minister to defeat the motion with a majority of 19.

Parliament to debate legalisation of cannabis

cannabisParliament is to debate the legalisation of cannabis for recreational use. With one in ten Portuguese having tried the drug and with almost half a million active consumers, it may be seen as pointless continuing its classification as illegal, according to pro-drug pressure groups.

The usage figures increase in the 25 to 44 years age group, according to a national survey prepared by the Intervention Service on Admissible Behaviors and Dependencies (SICAD) in 2016/17.

Former Socialist Minister Armando Vara starts five year jail sentence

faceocultaFormer socialist minister Armando Vara has surrendered himself to the tender ministrations of Évora  jail to start his five-year sentence.

Vara had been convicted of three charges of trafficking of influence in the long-running Face Oculta trial.

Algarve Councils take out injunction to halt Post Office closures

cttcounterThe Association of Municipalities Terras do Infante, ie Aljezur, Lagos and Vila do Bispo, plus Lagoa Council are going ahead with an injunction to halt the closure of the CTT post offices in Aljezur, Praia da Luz, Sagres and Carvoeiro.

Representatives from four municipalities met managers from CTT in Lisbon on January 14, and "concluded that the current process will lead to the destruction and degradation of a public service that will penalise the population, small and medium-sized enterprises, tourists and the foreign resident community."

Local journalist dies in Castro Marim head-on collision

INEMHelicopterA head-on collision between two cars on the EN122 at Castro Marim left two men dead this morning; one of them was the well-respected local journalist, Domingos Viegas from Jornal do Algarve.

The accident occurred on the road linking Castro Marim to Vila Real de Santo António. Viegas was 46-years-old and leave a wife and two children. The victim in the other car was 21-year-old Daniel Neves from Castro Marim.