Lone Britsh rower rescued 20 miles off Lagos

sagreslifeboatA lone British rower has been rescued after he got into difficulties in the ocean to the south of Lagos.
 
The Maritime Authority said the 35-year-old man was rescued about 30 miles south of Lagos in an operation coordinated by the captain of the local port and which took place during the afternoon and evening of last Friday.

Sonae sells two Algarve shopping centres

sonaeAlbufeira Shopping and the Continente Shopping Centre in Portimão have been sold to Square Asset Management for an undisclosed sum. Both will continue to be managed by Sonae Sierra.
 
The trade in shopping centre assets is brisk: on Monday, January 22, AXA Investment Managers announced that it had reached an agreement to buy Dolce Vita Tejo for €230 million.

Tagus fishermen file €100 million pollution lawsuit against Government

FishDeadThe Tagus fishermen's movement has filed a lawsuit at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg against the Portuguese government, claiming compensation of €100 million for ‘a decade of inactivity.’
 
"The government has been negligent, incompetent and conniving," said Mário Costa of the Fishermen's Movement, adding that  there is a law firm providing the movement with pro bono legal support, and the action, based on ‘a decade of inactivity,’ was sent to Strasbourg and accepted on Thursday 1st February.

Centeno football tickets case sheved

MinisterCentenoFinancePortugal’s Attorney General, Joana Marques Vidal, said today that the archiving of the investigation in the Mário Centeno ‘tickets for tax relief’ case, followed "the usual procedure."
 
This case focused on alleged benefits given by Finance Minister, Mário Centeno, in exchange for tickets to a Benfica-FC Porto football match.

Banks charging customers €5 million a day in 'account maintenance' fees

caixageral2Portugal’s banks are charging their customers a total of €5 million a day in account fees.
 
In recent years, bank charges have risen steeply with a current account now costing an average of €63 per year for ‘maintenance.’

Loulé ratepayers to fund city's northern bypass

LouleCamaraBuildingLoulé council at last has the go-ahead to complete the northern bypass from the Querença roundabout, next to the sports hall, to join up with the road near the São Brás de Alportel roundabout to the east.
 
The protocol has been signed for the council to adopt a section of the ER270, the former National Road connecting Fonte de Boliqueime to Tavira.

Portimão’s cruise terminal - another five years allowed for an environmental study

cruiseshipThe Portuguese Sea Minister, Ana Paula Vitorino, said that growth at Portimão’s cruise terminal was 53% higher than last year as the city welcomed 71 cruise ships and around 30,000 passengers.
 
The entity that runs the Algarve’s ports is still the one based in Sines as this management function has yet to be returned to local control despite plans to do so.

MPs demand protection for Algarve wetlands - plus UPDATE

LagoasBrancasSmallFour Algarve MPs from the ruling Socialist Party are recommending the classification and preservation of wetlands in the region.

The MPs have submitted a draft resolution to parliament recommending that the government preserves and classifies the Algarve's key wetland areas, including, it was hoped, the Lagoa wetland that currently is threatened by the construction of a Continente supermarket. (* see Update below)