The Minister of the Sea, Ana Paula Vitorino, and the Secretary of State for Fisheries, José Apolinario, have opened the 31st Olhão Seafood Festival but at an earlier meeting in the town hall the minister revealed that she is working on an unprecedented coastal management plan that will devolve power and responsibilities to local councils.

"We are working with the municipalities to do something unheard of in the Algarve,” said the minister, who said the goal is "to establish a partnership between the Central Administration, Docapesca, Ports of Sines and the Algarve Authority, Local Government, municipalities and the mayors group AMAL, to establish policy priorities for the Algarve."

An exhibition opens in Quarteira on August 11th celebrating nature, the sea and the sand and the textures of the Algarve’s natural landscape along her shores.

‘Oceanus’ is being held at the Praça do Mar Gallery in Quarteira where Maria Libéria Matos’ work will be on display until September 10th, while at the eastern end of the town, dead fish litter a well known natural area.

The Government announced that new laws regulating new private transport services such as Uber and Cabify will be ready in September.

Secretary of State for the Environment, José Mendes, has had detailed discussions with representatives from the taxi industry associations (ANTRAL and FPT), and says the government has listened to them regarding the drafting of the new law.

The Iberian Imperial Eagle population is said to have been brought back from the threshold of extinction.

The historic boom in numbers is due, in part, to the birth this season of 15 chicks in Andalusia’s Doñana national park. They are the offspring of six of the nine adult breeding pairs in the park, one of Europe’s most important wetlands.

Spain’s electoral predicament is a threat to the country’s economy, according to Moody’s Analytics.

Spain appears to be no further forward after its second election in six months produced a very similar outcome as the first. The acting government in power since December has limited powers.

At least three people are dead, others injured and a thousand evacuated from homes, hospitals and hotels as wildfires burned for two days on the island of Madeira, spreading last night to the capital Funchal.

One woman died when her home caught fire near the centre of the city and others have been seriously hurt with at least 37 homes and the Choupana Hills luxury hotel destroyed.

Rail workers at Eurostar said on Wednesday that they are planning a seven-day strike during August.

The dispute is over their work-life balance which members say is being undermined repeatedly.

Whiter-than-white family man, Lloyds Bank boss António Horta Osório has been enjoying the company of ‘an old friend,’ ex-Blair adviser Dr Wendy Piatt in a luxury Singapore hotel.

The multi-millionaire Portuguese banker has prided himself on his family image and insisted that all Lloyds staff adopt a code of family based ethics.