News

Weather - Black Wednesday is here

Paul Rees 27 February 2018

Following the weather service's lack of forecasting success for the Algarve in the past 48 hours, the IPMA has pressed ahead with another set of warnings including the arrival of 12 metre waves that are set to crash into the cliffs of the western Algarve and west coast of the Alentejo.

The rainfall predicted for Monday and Tuesday can be described as patchy, even elusive, but this is to change on Black Wednesday with promises of heavy rain, high seas and, for good measure, hail.

Finnish woman dies in 8 storey fall from Portimão building

Paul Rees 27 February 2018

A 54-year-old Finnish woman died today after falling from the 8th floor of a building near the Martinho Castelo Branco School in Portimão.

The alert was given at 12.42 on Tuesday, February 27th. The local Bombeiros rushed to the scene, as did a team from the National Institute of Emergency Medical (INEM).

Police officers injured in Olhão hammer attack

Paul Rees 27 February 2018

Three officers from the Public Security Police were attacked by a man wielding a hammer and a hoe.

The attack took place in Olhão at around 6 pm on Tuesday.

Portugal's youth has little hope of affording housing

Paul Rees 27 February 2018

Unemployment, unstable jobs, short-term contracts and low wages make it "very difficult" for young people to afford housing, warns a Caritas Europe study released on Tuesday.

The majority of young people in Portugal can not rent or buy a house because of unstable jobs and a very high-priced housing market, reads the document.

Farmers well-aware of the environmental damage caused by pig slurry

Paul Rees 27 February 2018

Portugal’s pig farmers are fully aware of the problems their porkers create, with the resulting effluent having an uncanny way of finding its way into the country’s rivers and over-powering waste water treatment plants.

The sector is looking for sustainable, practical solutions to overcome existing environmental problems and want to look at safe ways of using pig effluent as an agricultural fertiliser to take the pressure off treatment plants and help clean up affected rivers.

Alojamento Local - Airbnb has a solution for noisy neighbours

Paul Rees 27 February 2018

airbnb2 As the government's working group takes its time in unpicking the current Alojamento Local, short-term tourist rental, rules and regulations, in an effort to create something workable, Airbnb has its own solution to one of the trickier aspects of this booming market.

In July 2017, the Socialist Party had the idea that if a rental licence was applied for in a building covered by condominium rules, the other property owners could decide whether or not their neighbours AL license could go ahead. This is fraught with problems.

Ria Formosa islands - Polis fails as 14 properties escape demolition

Paul Rees 27 February 2018

A team from Polis Litoral Ria Formosa landed on Culatra early this morning, along with 40 Maritime Policemen in case there was any trouble in seizing 22 island properties prior to their demolition.

Of the properties due to have their walls daubed with numbers, signifying possession by the State, only eight legally could be processed as Loulé court had accepted embargos lodged by 14 property owners.

Revolutionary, activist and 'Captain of April' - João Varela Gomes dies at 93

Peter Booker 27 February 2018

João Varela Gomes (1924 - 2018) died peacefully on Monday 26 February at the grand old age of 93, writes Peter Booker.

Although Varela Gomes (JVG) is eulogised for his contribution to the fight against the Salazar dictatorship, the editors of Portugueses Célebres in the series Portugal Século XX did not find space for him among the 2,350 entries.

For decades, JVG was outstanding in the struggle against Salazar´s right-wing regime. He actively supported the candidature of Humberto Delgado for the Presidency of the Republic in 1958 and he was also involved in the Cathedral Conspiracy in 1959. Incredibly, the army allowed him to stand for election to the National Assembly, and he became notorious for his rhetoric and incitement of his audience to stand up against the regime.