Ignoring the row over reported numbers of successful Golden Visa applicants, Portugal’s real estate association has applauded the Government for the recent rise.

Luís Lima, president of the Association of Real Estate Agents (APEMIP), in a well-timed press release noted that the process of granting Golden Visas "finally is normalised" and salutes "the effort made" by the Minister of Foreign Affairs (pictured), who "fulfilled the order to resume the pace of processing applicants."

The ever-helpful roads company Infrasetrutura de Portugal has warned tourists that they must get to know Portugal’s various electronic toll payment systems such as Via-T, Easytol and TOllCard.

To these electronic systems can be added a bewildering variety of toll payment schemes that many tourists find easier to ignore.

Millions of people in Russia have been forced below the poverty line as a result of the country’s economic predicament.

Nearly 20 million Russians are trying to survive on less than 9,452 roubles (€125) a month, the minimum subsistence level set by the Russian government.

Portugal has not increased it terrorist alert level but national authorities are following intently the inquiry into today’s explosions in Brussels that left over 30 people dead, with more expected to die as a result of the blasts.

The bomb attacks this morning at Brussels’ Zaventem airport and on the city's metro has kicked European security services into overdrive but Portugal remains calm with the proviso that it can upgrade its security level at short notice.

The Judicial Police have arrested three men in connection with the gunning down of a Romanian in Almancil.

The 18-year-old died from shotgun blasts fired from a moving car last Saturday night. Three cartridges had been discharged.

America's FBI has said it thinks it has discovered a way to unlock an encrypted iPhone used by a terrorist.

Apple had steadfastly refused to meet FBI demands to hack the phone and both parties were due in court on Tuesday to see if Apple could be forced to develop software to decrypt its products.

Either, the Foreign Minister, Augusto Santos Silva, has overstated the number of Golden Visas issued as a result of his push to clear the backlog or, the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) is mistaken in reporting 209 Golden Visas issued in January and February.

In early February, Silva reported to parliament that a "task force" had cleared more than 850 Golden Visas from the backlog of around 3,500 but this afternoon the SEF announced that its staff had processed 209 applications this year to the end of February.

Marketing giant Amazon has been hit by another staff walkout.

Workers at an Amazon warehouse in Koblenz, Germany have begun a new round of strikes aimed at pressuring the firm to increase pay.

The German market is second only to the US, but nevertheless Amazon refuses to recognise Germany’s collective pay deals for the mail order and retail sector.