Portugal is the world’s leading cork exporter, helped by international promotion campaigns such as Intercork III and EU funding, the chairman of the Portuguese cork association Associação Portuguesa da Cortiça (APCOR), João Rui Ferreira, told Lusa news agency.

Portugal has come a long way in recent years to become the world leader in cork exports. But it is now also at the cutting edge of developing technology, competitiveness and industrial dynamism, which has improved its expertise in innovation and human resources, Ferreira said.

On 18 August, the window period to submit public comment on the South African Revenue Services (SARS) and National Treasury’s amended draft tax law proposal to overturn the 183-day tax exemption rule, closed.

“Therefore, South African tax resident employees working outside South Africa (SA) in low-tax or tax-free jurisdictions like Mauritius, Singapore, Cayman Islands and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are now holding their breath to hear whether the South African government will do away with the rule or not,” says James Bowling, chief executive officer of Monarch&Co - a leading facilitator of residency and citizenship programmes in hand-picked territories around the globe.

Survey of 5000 Brits in the EU finds losing the right to reside is their biggest Brexit fear.

A survey of more than 5000 British citizens living in the EU has found that 4 out of 5 are worried that Brexit will strip them of their automatic right to live in their country of residence.

The UK Government has consistently said it will not act unilaterally to guarantee the right of 3mn EU citizens to remain in the UK until it has agreement that the EU 27 will do the same for the estimated 1.3mn UK nationals living in the EU.

Expert Market, Europe’s leading B2B marketplace, has conducted new research into the factors that affect thegender pay gap in the EU. By modelling current pay gap trends into the future for five economic factors (hours worked, sector, age, industry and job type), we have identified both the countries and the groups of women who will see the gender pay gap close quickest.
Surprisingly, Romania took the top spot with a potential gender pay gap closure date of 2018 with women aged between 25 and 34, working a skilled manual role within the private hospitality industry most likely to achieve equal pay first.

Gibraltar continues enjoying GDP growth at around 8% for 2015 and virtually full employment.

In the last 30 years, The Rock’s economy has undergone a huge transformation, from one dominated by, and reliant upon, the garrison and related public-sector activities, to an economy which is driven by the private sector.

Sue Ellen Allen, who lived for years in the Algarve as a fugitive on the run from American justice, will have the honour of sharing First Lady Michelle Obama's box in the House of Representatives during the president’s last State of the Union address.

A White House announcement following Tuesday's address said that Allen and a small group of other special guests “personify President Obama’s time in office and most importantly, they represent who we are as Americans: inclusive and compassionate, innovative and courageous.”

With over 3,770 estimated deaths, 2015 has been the deadliest year on record for migrants and refugees crossing the Mediterranean, trying to reach Europe.

In comparison, approximately 3,270 deaths were recorded in the Mediterranean in 2014. Globally, IOM estimates that over 5,350 migrants died in 2015.

The Prime Minister has announced this week that the UK has delivered on its promise of resettling 1,000 vulnerable Syrian refugees by Christmas.

Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions, the Prime Minister confirmed the UK had reached the milestone and stressed that the government would continue its focus on resettling those in the region who are most at risk.

By hitting the target, the government has shown it is well on track to resettle up to 20,000 Syrians through the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement (VPR) Scheme over the next 5 years.