Albufeira Council and the city’s promotional agency have presented plans for a New Year's Eve that aims to attract 150,000 people.

One of the aims is to spread the event across the city rather than everyone crowding into the main square.

As promised in Sunday morning’s algarvedailynews.com newsletter, here is the important information on the 'Anti Offshore Oil Drilling' class action that ASMAA lodged in Loulé’s Administrative and Fiscal Court, on how the class action is in danger of being kicked out of Court and on how we can make sure that doesn't happen.

At the end of this message, there is a link to letter for you to print off, fill in, scan and email to Loulé Court. Please help - it's five minutes max.

easyJet's trading update issued this morning, 28 September 2018, predicts strong trading in the fourth quarter and a full year headline profit before tax of £570 to £580 million.

A 'commercial IT platform' computer systems and website upgrade has been scrapped at a cost of £65 million and costs associated with Tegel airport, where the company inherited 'an inefficientr schedule,' have hit profits even though they are 'in line with expectations.'

Representatives of filmmakers from the United States are in Portugal this week to meet with Portuguese agents in the sector, the Lisbon-based Portuguese Film and Audiovisual Institute (ICA) revealed on Thursday.

This visit is to push the country as ideal for filming and is at the invitation of Tourism of Portugal and the Institute, following the creation of the Support Fund to Tourism and Cinema.

The pan-Algarve walking route, the Via Algarviana, at last is to receive a boost to its funding, in addition to measly Council contributions of around €3,600 each per year.

The Portuguese Tourist Board has awarded a grant to the route’s manager, Almargem, to produce a new and updated guide book, extend the route network, produce information in a wider variety of languages and promote its ‘many new features.’

Social Democratic Algarve MP, Cristóvão Norte, has been looking at the performance figures for the regional national health service and concludes that they don’t make happy reading.

Norte has sent his analysis to the press: "up to and including April, there was a decrease of 21% in scheduled surgeries, 6% decrease in first and subsequent consultations and, even more worrying, an increase of more than 8% in deaths recorded during hospitalisation and basic emergencies."

Portugal’s Prime Minster, António Costa, said the government and airports operator, ANA, will press ahead with the new airport at Montijo, hinting strongly that this will happen, whatever the Environmental Report concludes.

In a revelation that the government pays little attention to the environmental impact of its preferred projects, Costa said the government only awaits the environmental impact study before giving the green light to the 'Portela plus Montijo' project - Portela being the old name for Lisbon's Humberto Delgado airport, (pictured).

The Public Prosecution Service in Leiria has accused twelve people named in the report into the Pedrógão Grande fire last July which also tore through Castanheira de Pera, Figueiró dos Vinhos, Alvaiázere and Ansião.

The defendants stand accused, variously, of negligence and negligent homicide.