Sunseeker opens in Vilamoura for luxury motor yacht sales and charters

sunseekerPredator57Sunseeker has opened a sales office at Vilamoura marina, marked by an opening party last weekend. Sunseeker is recognised worldwide as a premier manufacturer of luxury motor yachts based in Poole in the UK.

Many existing Algarve-based Sunseeker yacht owners were present at the launch with a backdrop of three Sunseeker vessels, the San Remo, the Predator 57 and Predator 84.

Legionella health centre has plumbing stripped out and replaced

legionellaA health centre in Vila Real de Santo António has had its plumbing stripped out and replaced after legionella had been detected more than once.

A routine analysis on August 12 showed that legionella, the cause of the often fatal Legionnaire’s disease, again was lurking in the old pipework.

Churchmen meet to defend IMI property tax exemption

fatimaimage2Those responsible for Church finances across Portugal have met in Fátima to agree a response to the Tax Authority as a recent avalanche of property tax demands has led to disquiet and anger.

The Church is exempt from IMI property taxes under an agreement in 1940, updated in 2004, which states that property used for Church purposes does not have to pay Imposto Municipal sobre Imóveis (IMI).

Olhão mini crime-wave - 'round up the usual suspects'

olhaoportOlhão’s mini crime-wave continues with several incidents reported in the past two weeks.

The ferry service ticket office was broken into and €1,500 in cash, rolls of blank tickets and some personal property was stolen, a total of €8,000.

The commander of the port of Olhão, Pedro Nunes Ferreira, said that three suspects have been identified and he is awaiting fingerprint evidence to be matched.

Talks 'failed' on divisive EU-US trade agreement

worldThe controversial trade deal between the US and the EU has collapsed, the German economy minister said on Sunday.

After three years of talks, there has been no sign of progress, leaving negotiations effectively dead, according to Sigmar Gabriel who also serves as Germany’s vice-chancellor.

Barroso should lose pension for 'bringing EU into disrepute'

barrosoOver 75,000 European Union staff already have signed a new petition demanding the former EU President José Manuel Barroso should be stripped of his pension because he took a job with international financial services company Goldman Sachs.

The petition claims that Barroso is guilty of ‘bringing the European Union into disrepute’ rather than just being greedy.

Corruption! Taxpayers 'ripped off for years' by firefighting air support cartel

fireforestAn investigation in Spain is revealing how the Portuguese taxpayer has been ripped off for years by overpaying for aerial support services for firefighting teams.

Transcripts of witness statements in a long-running Spanish investigation into price-fixing and bribery in the lucrative firefighting market have made clear that Portuguese officials have been paid for years to leak price sensitive bid information.

Passos Coelho's 'woman scorned' speech displays selective memory

psdPortugal’s former Prime Minister, Pedro Passos Coelho, said today the the government’s economic model has failed and asks, "Who puts money into a country run by communists lefties?"

The current leader of the opposition doubts that António Costa’s Socialist Party government can attract investors to generate growth for Portugal as the economic model has failed and that "we should stop pretending we are rich when we are not."