Princess Cristina, sister of the reigning Spanish monarch, has been acquitted of tax fraud but ordered to pay a fine of €265,000 for having benefitted from the embezzlement for which her husband was convicted.
The court in Palma, Majorca said “we must and we are acquitting Princess Cristina Federica...of tax fraud”.
The Council of Ministers this morning approved the law on the devolvement of powers to Portugal’s councils, with the notable exception of the Commissions for Regional Development (CCDRs) - as the Social Democrats had objected.
The first part of the devolution process can now go ahead with councils picking up the responsibility for a range of central government activities.
Lisbon is at it, to be followed soon by Oporto and Cascais but the Algarve’s mayors remain divided over imposing a per night Tourist Tax that has just seen the capital's council receive a cheque from Airbnb for €1.74 million.
An inevitably terse Airbnb spokesman said today that "As part of the agreement that Airbnb signed with Lisbon City Council regarding the collection of a tourist tax of €1 per night from May 2016 until the end of last year, Airbnb has delivered €1.74 million."
An illegally operated old people’s home was shut down this morning in Portimão following an anonymous tip-off.
The closure led to 22 elderly people being led away from the property, many of them will be taken care of by Social Services and referred to alternative housing.
The Judicial Police confirmed today that a bank robber, who held up a cashier at Crédito Agrícola in Lagos, has been arrested.
The suspect was armed with a replica of a pistol and forced an employee to hand over cash, a bundle of around €1,300.
The mayor of Olhão, António Pina, aims to head off another approaching row between the town hall and the population by issuing a pre-emptive press release concering his plans for the iconic twin markets that define the city’s river front.
Pina’s claim that the "municipal markets are one of our top priorities" has done little allay fears that the functioning of the markets will be impeded by his plans to turn the main Av. 5 de Outubro into a one way system, remove parking to the south of the markets and restrict delivery area parking.
Matos Correia, the chairman of the parliamentary committee looking into the dark and corrupt past of State-owned bank Caixa Geral de Depósitos, has resigned while accusing Socialist and Left Bloc committee members of "trampling over democracy."
The Social Democrat chairman quit, as he believes that left-wing parties have been "limiting the commission's objectives," and that this is illegal and anti-democratic.
The German carrier Lufthansa announced on Wednesday that it has agreed to raise the salaries of its pilots by 8.7% over four years.
Pilots have also been promised one-off bonus payments amounting to between €5,000 and €6,000. The pilots’ union Cockpit called this “around half a month’s salary”.
