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Confusion confronts new government

5040Portugal’s head of state has given the green light to Pedro Passos Coelho and his centre-right Forward Portugal (PaF) coalition to follow up on their first term in office and form a new government. But that doesn't mean the inconclusive outcome of the general election is all sorted. Far from it.

President Aníbal Cavaco Silva’s decision to deny an unprecedented left-wing alliance the opportunity to govern has gone down well in Brussels and across conservative Europe, but it has caused a commotion at home.

Portugal – one million pensioners live on less than €250 a month

fruitThe president of the Portuguese Federation of Food Banks Against Hunger, Isabel Jonet said that she had the feeling that the financial position of households had improved since last year despite an increasing call for food aid.

Jonet said there will always be a need for food aid for as long as there exist "a million seniors living on less than €250 per month and two million people living on less than €420 a month."

Vilamoura World - building starts in January 2016

vilamouraVilamoura World, the name for a series of developments that aims to double the population of the tourist resort, has started to build as the master developer revealed today that it is to invest €10 million on phase II of L'Orangerie, a golf development.

The 400 hectare development announced in early September includes the construction of over 5,000 residential units in 18 themed development areas over the next 10 years.

Resort crackdown starts to turn Magaluf

mallorcaThe raucous party resort of Magaluf is being tamed.

Its new major believes the crackdown on lewd behaviour and binge drinking has cleaned up the party town of Majorca.

Portugal's reckless 'swaps contracts' to be ruled on in British courts

santander2A Lisbon court has refused to listen to submissions or rule on the validity of ‘swaps’ contracts between the bank Santander Totta and the capital’s Metro company.

The court refused to evaluate the controversial agreement as the contract states that in the event of a dispute, the case will be heard and settled in England.

'No confidence' motion aims to topple Portugal's government

parliamentPortugal's opposition Socialist and left-of-centre parties today pledged to topple the Passos Coelho minority government in a ‘no confidence’ motion.

The Socialist Party leader, Antonio Costa said that Portugal’s President Cavaco Silva had stirred up "an unnecessary political crisis" by last night naming Pedro Passos Coelho as the next prime minister.

Revealed: the full scale of offshore investment in the UK

londonhouseA staggering £263bn has been invested in property in England and Wales by companies registered offshore since 2000, an investigation by Property Week has revealed.

The analysis of Land Registry data lays bare for the first time the full scale of offshore investment into the UK and shows that the total amount invested each year has risen from just £2bn in 2000 to £32bn in 2014 - a 1,500% increase.

Spaniard becomes world’s richest person

zarashopA Spaniard has pipped Bill Gates as the richest man on earth.

The fashion tycoon and founder of Zara and other shops sped ahead of Bill Gates by nearly $2 billion, according to Forbes magazine calculator.