Ricardo Salgado lied to BES Committee of Inquiry

SALGADO2It is no surprise that Ricardo Salgado was involved in the sort of offshore schemes that have been laid bare by revelations from the Panama Papers but he has now been caught out lying to the BES parliamentary committee of inquiry.

The Portuguese prosecutor is now involved in investigations into ES Enterprises based in the British Virgin Islands which was used for years to house an Espírito Santo slush fund.

Eagle eyes on drones in Spain

bonellieagleA special eagle patrol to protect the official residence of Spain’s royal family.

Zarzuela Palace, on the outskirts of Madrid, will have a special bird patrol detailed to protect the skies.

Portugal's replacement Minister for Culture is a diplomat and poet

MinisterCultureLuisLuís Filipe Castro Mendes will leave Strasbourg to fill the vacancy at the Ministry of Culture on April 14th, according to the website of the Presidency.

Poet and novelist, Luís Filipe Castro Mendes was born in 1950 and graduated in 1974 in Law from the University of Lisbon since when he developed his diplomatic career in Luanda, Madrid and Paris.

Plans laid to seize Hitler’s house

hitlerbookSeventy years after Hitler’s death, Austria is planning to seize his birthplace.

The country’s interior ministry announced that it intends to carry out a compulsory purchase of the house in Braunau am Inn, a small town of 17,000 near Linz and just across the Inn river from Bavaria.

German bricks thrown at housing crisis

construction2The German can-do attitude has been displayed once again in its building programme, with the number of permits to build new dwellings hitting a ten-year high.

Germany’s housing market is booming, fuelled by demand and lower mortgage interest rates. Pressure is greatest for, but not confined to, new flats.

German tourist rescued from cliff near Monte Clérigo beach

beachalmograveFirefighters were successful in rescuing a stranded German tourist near Monte Clérigo beach, Aljezur, who was stuck on the cliff with the tide rising.

The tourist was picking up pebbles at an isolated beach next to Monte Clérigo and tried to climb to safety as the incoming tide cut her off.

Potential Novo Banco bidders excluded due to court action

novobancoshinylogoThe Novo Banco road-show is back in New York, having visited London this week and New York the week before.

A hopeful Sérgio Monteiro, on €25,000 for his inconvenience,  is accompanied by bank boss Stock da Cunha and two other Novo Banco directors, Francisco Cary and Jorge Cardoso and aim to sell off the loss making bank to a rich American financial institution.

Portugal's Minister of Culture resigns over physical threat to journalists

ministerCultureSoaresPortugal’s Minister for Culture resigned today after a row and subsequent calls for his head after he threatened two journalists with a good slapping.

João Soares, the son of the former president Mário Soares, is no great loss to culture nor current politics if reports of his cronyism are correct.