A new species of salamander has been identified in the Monchique mountains. The December 19th discovery last year was made by naturalist and photographer Philippe Evrard who was on a field trip.

Evrard is collaborating with the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF), the University of Oporto and the University of Lisbon in the compilation of the "Atlas of Amphibians and Reptiles of Portugal," an extensive new publication that is categorising and describing each of the nation’s amphibian and reptile types.

The first of baby of 2016 was born as the Lisbon fireworks lit up the night sky at exactly midnight.

Francisca entered this world at the Alfredo da Costa maternity hospital in Lisbon where attending nurses logged the birth at just seconds into the new year.

The Left Block has demanded the "immediate termination" of the Algarve Central Hospitals management organisation.

The Left Bloc has announced that early in January it will deliver to Parliament via an Algarve MP, a draft resolution proposing "the immediate termination of Algarve Central Hospitals."

Researchers from the Centre of Economics and Fraud Management (Obegef), at the Faculty of Economics in the University of Oporto, estimate that economic crime in Portugal currently enjoys an annual turnover of around €50 billion.

This figure is rising 6-8% a year despite government attempts to identify fraudluelnt transactions and subject them to the courts or taxation.

The company that runs the ATM network in Portugal has reported 93.4 million withdrawals amounting to €3.7 billion in the run-up to Christmas, which, with spending in shops using bank cards, added up to a recent record.

The amount spent per transaction is a rise on recent years - in fact it is the highest per head spend since 2000.

Despite enhanced security at the many public New Year’s Eve celebrations in Portugal’s main cities, the authorities say there is no specific threat.

Portugal is on level four of a five point scale of threat, so policing will be visible in many areas of the major Portuguese cities with police wearing bulletproof vests and carrying machine guns.

Despite Pharol, the former Portugal Telecom, losing 68% of its value, Portugal’s PSI 20 stock index was up 11% over the past year due to gains by some of the country’s big name companies.

Jerónimo Martins, EDP and Galp Energia boosted the overall stock climb, with a stunning performance by Altri, up 92%, ensuring double digit growth overall.

The Socialist Party’s Environment Minister has ensured Polis Ria Formosa’s remit has been extended for another year to facilitate more property demolitions and evictions.

In a cruel blow in the face of Socialist declarations to the contrary, the Environment Minister, João Pedro Matos Fernandes said that "demolitions will not be carried out on first homes without relocation."