A record amount of electrical and electronic waste last year was added to the growing mountains of global e-waste.

According to the UN, of the 41.8 million tonnes of discarded goods 60% were microwaves, fridges, washing machines, dishwashers, and small kitchen, bathroom and laundry appliances. Only 7% consisted of mobile phones, personal computers and printers.

Low additive, low-cost fuels went on sale at Portugal’s fuel station chains last Thursday with a price difference of just two to three cents from fuels with additives.

This saving will vanish on Monday as fuel prices will see an average increase of 2.5 cents to 3 cents on both gasoline and diesel.

British drivers caught on speed cameras in other EU countries are increasingly likely to be fined from 2017.

A fresh EU road safety directive is set to come into force later this year after having been approved unanimously in February.

Polis Litoral Southwest has received the go-ahead for 8 contracts at beaches, fishing harbours, and smaller coastal villages in the southwest Alentejo and the Costa Vicentina, an a cost of €3.9 million.

"The contracts will help the coastal areas of the southwest Alentejo and the Costa Vicentina become more resilient and also enhance the areas’ tourism potential and economies," said the the Secretary of State for the Environment, Paulo Lemos.

Faced with the observation today that his Dad occupies a senior in Portugal's premier energy company, the Secretary of State for Energy declined to offer any comment as to potential conflicts of interest.

After an unimpressive political career, Artur Trindade became a consultant for EDP in 2013, a move that has been pointed out in a complaint by the businessman Manuel Champalimaud.

The German government is to hold an emergency meeting to consider “all the pressing issues arising” from the influx of refugees in the country, according to a spokesman for Chancellor Merkel.

Local authorities have been complaining that they have insufficient funds to house the refugees and several states have asked for more federal funding to help.

Miguel Macedo, the Golden Visa minister who resigned last November as the net closed in on crooked civil servants, managed to distance himself from the recriminations, for a while.

Macedo claimed he was resigning for the noblest of reasons; that his ‘authority had been dimished’ but as this might have been a first in Portuguese politics, few believed that he was not somehow involved.

Prices for consumer goods rose in Portugal during the month of March.

This has put the rate of inflation at 0.4% for the month against a backdrop of -0.1% of average inflation across the euro region.