The eurozone economy was said to be in robust recovery mode last month.

The economic momentum continued during June and apparently was not dented by the chaos of one of its members, Greece.

Portugal needs an "efficiency shock" in its landfill figures and water supply losses, according to the Minister of the Environment Jorge Moreia da Silva, speaking today at the Smart Waste Portugal conference.

According to the minister, the country has made excellent progress in water infrastructure, waste water treatment, bathing water quality, the number of blue flags on Portugal’s beaches, reducing landfill, promoting recycling and producing renewable energy – but it is all relative.

Consumers in Portugal returned to the shops during April and May this year, pushing up retail sales by 0.7% and 0.2% respectively.

While earlier months of 2015 saw sales falling, the good news for retailers is that every month so far of this year has been considerably better than the same month in 2014.

The figure is an improvement but the taxman still is owed €5.5 billion in VAT from last year which, plus uncollected income tax and corporation taxes, adds up to €13.5 billion.

The tax take rose in 2014 to record levels, in part due to increased VAT collections, but the year-end national accounts show a gaping hole in the country’s financial position despite the Tax Authority's increasing use of coercive collection methods which yielded €1.147 million last year.

Money in British bank deposit accounts will be guaranteed only up to a maximum of £75,000 with effect from 1 January 2016.

The announcement was made by the Bank of England and results from EU regulations which fix €100,000 as the guarantee limit. When in 2010 that level was agreed, it equalled £85,000.

Portugal’s weather service predicts air temperatures rising from today to a sweltering 40°C or more in many Algarve locations next week.

In Faro, a rise to 38°C is expected next Friday but for Alcoutim and Portimão the prediction is for a Friday temperature of 42°C (107.6°F).

The living room television as the key entertainment centre in a household is rapidly heading to be included in the category of ‘quaint things of the past’.

More people, particularly younger ones, have been converted streaming TV programmes and video on tablets and smartphones, according to new data from Ofcom, the communications watchdog.

The death of a Caribbean man in police custody in the Netherlands has sparked three consecutive days of unrest in an area of The Hague.

Mitch Henriquez, 42, from the Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba, died from apparent asphyxiation on Sunday. Comparisons have been made to a number of cases in the US where protests have erupted when the police were suspected of the excessive use of force.