A delighted Secretary of State for Fiscal Affairs, Paulo Núncio, said today that the recovery of monies owed to the Tax Authority had surpassed €1 billion as at October 25th.

This is the highest figure since 2009 with 75% of the money coming from the corporate sector where business owners had fallen behind on VAT and company taxes, many cases will have been for non-payment advanced corporation tax on assumed, but non-existent, profits.

The UK has catapulted itself into the top position within the G7 as the best country for doing business.

It ranked as sixth easiest in the world for starting and running business, rising two spots in the last year, and overtaking the United States, the world’s largest economy.

Britain is enjoying a boom in household income, a welcome change from the long and dreary years of the Great Recession.

Disposable income for households has finally managed to creep up beyond the high before the 2008 crash for those in retirement.

The European Parliament has voted to end agricultural subsidies being used to support bullfighting in Spain.

The subsidies are worth more than €140 million a year.

The European Parliament today passed a law to end mobile 'roaming' fees by 2017.

The law was approved as part of a larger package that sought to strengthen 'net neutrality' protection across the European Union, but which failed to close major loopholes that could be used to create internet ‘fast lanes.’

Two French pilots have fled the Caribbean and managed to return to France despite being under judicial supervision for their alleged role in drug smuggling.

In a case widely dubbed as “Air Cocaine”, four Frenchmen were given prison sentences in the Dominican Republic.

The new Passos Coelho government was announced today with the prospect of new ministers being in post for a matter of days before a vote of ‘no confidence’ brings down the coalition.

Maria Luís Albuquerque and Rui Machete have clung on to their briefs as ministers of state (Finance and Foreign Affairs) and Paulo Portas remains as deputy prime minister having had his magnanimous offer to vacat his post in favour of socialist leader António Costa rejected out off hand.

A British father-of-two has died while in police custody in Spain.

Antony Abbott, 36, was reported dead two hours after his arrest at the Hotel Palm Beach in Benidorm late on Thursday night. The arrest was reported to have been for rowdy behaviour after drinking.