Ethics subcommittee look into MP's travel expenses fiddle

parliamentPortugalFerro Rodrigues, parliament’s president, has requested an inquiry into expenses after MPs from the Azores and Madeira have been caught fiddling their travel expenses.
 
One MP already has resigned after Expresso outlined the scam where the weekly travel allowance of €500 was being pocketed and actual travel costs also were being reimbursed.

Official trafficking and slavery figures are nowhere near the truth

sextrade2The Foreigners and Borders Service workers union says that the number of cases of human trafficking and modern day slavery in Portugal is around twenty times the number official reported - and then some.
 
SEF inspectors report far more cases of labor exploitation than the number that gets reported in the official figures with the union referring to a "surveillance deficit” to describe the reason for the discrepancy.

Altice faces massive fine for “jumping gun” over purchase of Portugal Telecom

alticeLogoTelecommunications giant Altice - in hot water already over the way it has ‘restructured’ Portugal Telecom - is now facing a massive fine for jumping the gun over its 2015 purchase deal.

Reuters news agency broke the news on Wednesday, suggesting the company that frequently leaves Portuguese customers infuriated over the time it takes to respond to callouts could have to fork out as much as 2.3 billion euros.

Bank of Portugal blames auditors for BES debacle

Bank of Portugal blames auditors for BES debacleFrequently “blamed” for failing to identify the rot eating away at Banco Espírito Santo before it was too late, the Bank of Portugal is now attempting to pass the buck and blame auditors KPMG.

If the so-called ‘administrative procedure’ is successful, KPMG could be fined up to €2.5 million, say reports.

New date set towards Portugal’s “trial of the century”

New date set towards Portugal’s “trial of the century”A new date has been set on the bumpy road towards Portugal’s ‘trial of the century’, focusing on the alleged corruption of former prime minister José Sócrates.

Almost four years since the 60-year-old was arrested and later held in preventive custody - first in jail and then ‘under house arrest’ in Lisbon - superjudge Carlos Alexandre has finally scheduled September 3 for the so-called opening of judicial instruction, the final date by which Sócrates and the other 28 defendants can request an optional procedural phase, directed by a magistrate.

Lisbon Oceanarium travels to Olhão to raise awareness about endangered seahorses

Lisbon Oceanarium travels to Olhão to raise awareness about endangered seahorsesA shuttle from Lisbon’s Oceanarium has travelled to the Algarve to take part in the ‘Semana da Ria Formosa’ event and raise awareness about the estuary’s highly endangered seahorse population.

The shuttle arrived on Tuesday (April 17) and will remain at Olhão’s Jardim Pescador Olhanense until Saturday (April 21), giving schoolchildren as well as the general public a chance to learn more about how to become more “sea-friendly”.

Red fruits and red wine can protect against mental illness

Red fruits and red wine can protect against mental illnessA Portuguese study has confirmed the importance of ‘good intestinal flora’ in staying healthy and happy - stressing that substances present in red fruits and red wine improve intestinal flora, reduce inflammation and contribute to the prevention of depression and neurodegenerative diseases.

Abstract sculptures raise eyebrows in Porto

Abstract sculptures raise eyebrows in PortoThe work of recently-deceased Portuguese sculptor Alberto Carneiro is raising eyebrows in Porto even before it has been completed.

Presented as “three metaphors for trees”, the simplistic erections look, say locals, very much like penises, or "rather unpleasant suppositories".