"The scheduled TAP strike is serious and threatens the company in the short term," is the Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho’s considered view of the mess created by the angered TAP pilots union being fobbed off by TAP's management and its political overseers.
The PM added that not only is the problem at TAP "serious" but also that there is no alternative but to privatise the ailing carrier.
Rodrigo Rato, who led the International Monetary Fund from 2004-2007, was arrested in Madrid on Thursday over charges of tax fraud and money-laundering over his personal wealth.
His was followed at the IMF by Dominique Strauss-Khan.
Five years after the start of project to widen the famous Dona Ana beach, Lagos, the work that finally started on Monday is to be challenged by a demonstration called by Almargem which demands that the Portuguese Environment Agency stands down its contractors.
The addition of 140,000m3 of sand, the extension of the beach by a maximum of 40 metres and work to make safe the friable cliffs has been called "the destruction of ancient and stunning sea landscape" by the eco-organisation.
Portugal's Minister of the Economy has expressed surprise at the latest strike notice by TAP pilots and said he had no explanation except that "the pilots intend to put the government under a threat to halt the state company’s privatisation."
The minister, António Pires de Lima, was taken aback by the strike announcement that will see pilots down tools for ten days starting on May 1st, calling it inexplicable, and asking the union to reconsider its decision.
Four of Portugal’s largest sardine fishing organisations are contesting the latest government edict to restrict this year’s catches on the grounds of securing future supplies
Artesanalpesca, Barlapescas, Olhãopesca and Sesibal have complained at a government resolution that limits sardine catches to the south of Peniche on the west coast.
Political parties in the UK, anxious to attract voters for the May general election, have been filling the airwaves with promises. But not all have given consideration to expat votes.
The Conservative Party has said it would restore the right to vote for British citizens for life. This is dependent on it winning the election.
The petition raised by the Algarve Without Tolls organisation has been rejected by the government and will not be debated in parliament.
The 6,500 signature petition against the continuation of tolls on the Via do Infante motorway was kicked out by the parliamentary commission for Economic and Public Works on the grounds that a case "has already been debated following the exercise of the right of petition."
In its continuing attempt to staunch its losses, Sainsbury’s has decided to turn a considerable amount of food space inside its shops into areas selling other goods.
It has selected 1.5 million square feet of space, equivalent to nearly 40 supermarkets, which will no longer be used for grocery items.
