Despite a return to consumer spending in the UK, more shops in the country closed than new ones opened.

Nearly three times as many shops closed operations in 2014 compared to the year before.

The most popular tourist attraction in the UK remains the British Museum in London.

Following closely behind is another London attraction, the National Gallery, according to the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA).

Well known local biker, the 'Comandante', has been killed in a hit an run incident near Faro.

The GNR already has identified the black Audi A6 which yesterday was hit by the biker as the car performed an illegal U-turn and speed away from the scene of the accident, leaving fatally injured Vítor Silvestre to die at the roadside in Chelote near Faro.

The Minister for the Environment displayed his public relations finesse on hearing of the death of one of the lynx bred for repopulating Portugal and Spain's wilderness, commenting that 'these things happen.'

Kayakweru, a female Iberian Lynx born and raised in Silves and released in early February, has been found dead in the Mértola region, causes unknown, according to the Institute of Nature and Forest Conservation.

Iceland, once keen on joining the European Union, now has officially cancelled its application.

The country applied for membership in 2009. At the time, the financial crisis had hit and the currency, the krona, lost nearly half of its value. The demise of US investment bank Lehman Brothers resulted in the collapse of three of Iceland’s largest banks.

People in Spain are being wooed by a new political party, Ciudadanos (Citizens), which is emerging as a political force in the country.

Led by charismatic Albert Rivera, 35, the movement is deemed centrist, against Catalan separatism, committed to the EU, and has not been shy in pointing out corruption in politics, particularly the ruling People’s party. Some have called it the ‘Podemos of the right’.

The 'Algarve without Tolls' movement leaders have delivered a petition to parliament with 6,500 signatures, 2,500 more than is needed to ensure the topic again is debated by MPs.

A delegation from the movement delivered its "Petition for an end to tolls on the Via do Infante" to Guilherme Silva, the vice president of the National Assembly, and believes that the number of signatures collected in a short time “is quite indicative of the fact that the Algarve population continues not to give up over the tremendous injustice they have suffered for three years."

Sérgio Monteiro, the Secretary of State for Transport said yesterday that only through the privatisation of Portugal’s national airline TAP could the company access the capital needed to make it modern and competitive and allow the company to remain as the national flag carrier.

In his speech at an exhibition at the Air Museum in Sintra, Monteiro said the airline is and will always be a Portuguese flagship company, and said his goal is to create conditions and guarantees for the future of TAP and its workers.