The proclamation at the end of last week’s United Nations climate change conference in Morocco was rather wordy, but the central point was clear: “Our climate is warming at an alarming and unprecedented rate and we have an urgent duty to respond.”

What is not clear is where do efforts to curb global warming go from here, now that Donald Trump has been elected leader of the free world?
Portugal’s Prime Minister António Costa was among the delegates from almost 200 countries who gathered in Marrakesh to push ahead with the Paris Climate Agreement adopted at the end of last year.

Portugal has won two new ‘two-star’ ratings in the 2017 edition of the Michelin Guide to Spain and Portugal, and seven new ‘one star’ distinctions.

The Yeatman (Vila Nova de Gaia) and Il Gallo d'Oro (Funchal) each now boast a 'two star' rating, joining Ocean in Porches and Vila Joya in Albufeira (pictured).

Luís Figo’s Madrid home has been burgled and as estimated €500,000 worth of watches and jewellery stolen from the former footballer and his wife, Helen Svedin.

Criminals apparently took ‘bundles of cash’ while Figo and his wife were out, late on Tuesday night.

The woman who owned the poor moggie that was put in a clay pot on top of a burning pole, in a bizarre ritual, finally has been to court.

The Court decided to sentence Rosa Santos, 64, (pictured) to pay a fine of 90 days at €5 per day, which is €450.

Portimão Judicial Police officers have detained three youngsters suspected of involvement in four robberies, two of them involving assault, which took place in Albufeira on June 9th this year.

According to a police statement, "the three suspects, all members of a group, decided to rob passers-by who were walking alone and were unable to defend themselves."

According to the latest Yearbook of Portuguese Municipalities, no doubt a riveting read, Albufeira council is in the 'top 3' of medium-sized municipalities (between 20,000 and 100,000 inhabitants) for displaying the best 'financial efficiency.'  In fact, the seaside municipality is number three in the country in this category, but behind Lagoa council which topped the list with a rating that exceeded those in all size categories. 

The ranking is based on an analysis of a range of financial indicators related to the levels of revenue, expenses, debt, liquidity and operating results, among several others.The yearbook results are checked over by the Order of Certified Accountants and the 2015 edition shows Portuguese municipalities' debts decreased by €450 million in 2015 to €5.784 billion.

The governor of the Bank of Portugal, Carlos Costa, opened a conference sponsored by Jornal Econômico and PwC by giving a run-down of past mistakes “that cannot be repeated.”

The governor continued in his quest of setting up a ‘bad bank’ to take over the banking sector’s bad debts, by saying that the current situation paralyses banks and the credit supply to the economy, even though banks, in their day-to-day activity, are in a much better situation than they have been.

The Iraqi ambassador to Portugal, Saad Mohammed Ali, has been targeted in a scam to hand over €30,000 to ‘forget the case’ involving his sons who so badly beat up a local youth that he needed reconstructive surgery.

Someone claiming to be Rúben Cavaco’s lawyer, Rúben being the youth that was attacked in Ponte de Sor by the ambassador’s twin sons, tried to set up a meeting with the Iraqi ambassador to receive a pay-off in return for his alleged client Rúben dropping any further claim for compensation.