Producers of Italy’s much loved “frizzante” (fizzy) wine have been hit by a string of thefts of newly-planted vines from the hills of Veneto and Friuli-Venezia-Giulia, the two regions where the popular sparkling wine is produced.
The booming prosecco industry, worth more than €1.7 billion a year, saw production rise to 355 million bottles last year, a considerable leap from the 306 million in 2014.
The Marés Vivas music festival, which takes place every July, has been moved for the first time to an area just 100 metres from the Douro River Estuary nature reserve. This 150-acre areaq is protected by law and is home to around 220 species of birds, including eagles, kingfishers and cormorants, and a top European most site for bird-watching.
Local campaigners have written to headline act Elton John, who will be performing with other British singers including James Bay and Tom Odell, asking him to take a stand against “environmental damage”.
Former BES supremo Ricardo Salgado has revealed during questioning in the Monte Branco money laundering case that in July 2014 an under-the-counter €8 million payment was made to Zeinal Bava at Portugal Telecom.
The payment, Salgado explained, was for Bava personally as he had pushed for the purchase of the Brazilain telecoms operator Oi back in 2010.
The missing banker accused of diverting at least €20 million of clients’ funds to feed her gambling addiction, has been arrested in Lisbon.
Ana Mafalda Carvalho Spinola Prazeres was detained by the Judicial Police and was up before a judge on Saturday on charges of fraud, breach of trust and falsifying documents.
Chinese police are being sent to the streets of Rome and Milan in an effort to crack down on the Asian crime syndicates operating in Italy.
The gangs are thought to be behind counterfeit goods, drug trafficking and extortion.
The economy in the eurozone grew faster in the first three months of 2016 than analysts had predicted.
Eurostat reported that GDP rose 0.6% in the first quarter and achieved this despite the turmoil in global markets at the beginning of the year.
The anti-tolls demonstration in Boliqueime on Saturday was not without moments of tension between the police and demonstrators.
Supporters of CUVI (Users Commission of the Via do Infante) tried to block the EN125 completely but were dissuaded after duty GNR called up Intervention Squad colleagues lurking nearby.
At the same time as receiving a mass influx of refugees fleeing war, Germany is investigating war crimes in Syria.
The work has been driven by the number of witnesses and survivors entering Germany as well as the number of suspects, some of whom appear to be German nationals.
