Portugal's general discussion (general events)

[Mike88]

In Anadia, Aveiro district...

Accident in a distillery floods the streets of a parish in Anadia with more than 2,2 million litres (581,000 gallons) of red wine:

Two million litres of red wine flood streets of Portuguese village

The bursting of two wine tanks at Levira Distillery, in the town of the same name, in Anadia, led to a flood of wine. The company has already taken responsibility for any damage it may have caused to residents, while the City Council claims to have prevented, above all, the wine from reaching the river and causing an environmental disaster.

The situation happened this Sunday morning, with the Volunteer Firefighters of Anadia being alerted to a spill of many liters of wine. Upon reaching the site, they were able to dredge the liquid and take it to a wastewater treatment plant. So far, the causes for the bursting of deposits have not yet been determined.

“Our biggest concern was that the wine did not end up in the Cértima river and cause an environmental disaster. According to our Civil Protection coordinator, this monitoring is being carried out and the environmental problem is being avoided”, explains to JN the vice-president of the Municipality of Anadia, Jorge Sampaio. A meeting is scheduled for Monday with those responsible for the Levira Distillery. “We are also concerned about the economic loss of the company, and we are going to see the damage they had with this situation”, he completes.
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[Mike88]

Football Leaks hacker Rui Pinto gets a suspended sentence of 4 years and is receives an amnesty for 79 crimes because of the Pope's visit last August:

https://twitter.com/Publico/status/1701256072420270192

Rui Pinto escaped an effective prison sentence: he was sentenced this Monday to four years in prison on a suspended sentence. Know more:

Rui Pinto was sentenced to four years of suspended sentence for the crimes of attempted extortion, five for illegitimate access, three crimes of aggravated correspondence violation, within the scope of the Football Leaks process. Aníbal Pinto, accused by the Public Prosecutor's Office of serving as an intermediary in the extortion of Doyen, was convicted of the only crime he was accused of: attempted extortion, which earned him a two-year suspended prison sentence.

Judge Margarida Alves sentenced the hacker to pay three thousand euros to Doyen and 15 thousand euros to lawyer João Medeiros. Defendant Aníbal Pinto will have to pay 2,500 euros to Doyen.

The court says that it is "clear and crystal clear" that Aníbal Pinto was aware of Rui Pinto's plan to extort Doyen - the defendant wanted €500,000 to stop the publications.

The Portuguese hacker was acquitted of one crime of illegitimate access and one of computer sabotage due to lack of evidence and pardoned of 68 crimes of improper access and 11 crimes of violation of correspondence under the amnesty law.
(...)
The creator of Football Leaks has been free since August 7, 2020, “due to his collaboration” with the Judiciary Police (PJ) and his “critical sense”, but is, for security reasons, included in the witness protection in an undisclosed location and under police protection.
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[Mike88]

Porto mayor, Rui Moreira, retracts decision to remove a statue of a famous writer hugging a naked woman after big public backlash:

https://twitter.com/JornalNoticias/status/1702704727560237260

Moreira retreats and after all Camilo's statue remains where it is

For sharing the opinion of 37 “illustrious citizens” who asked for the removal of the statue of Camilo Castelo Branco, in Amor de Perdição Square, in Porto, citing the “bad taste” of the work and, believing the Mayor in the lack of a council deliberation to install the sculpture in that location, Rui Moreira gave the order to remove it. But this Friday, he backtracked. After all, the donation of Francisco Simões' work, approved by the Executive in 2012, “also provided for the placement of the structure in Amor da Perdição Square”.

Moreira backs down after thousands of citizens rebelled against the request to remove the work. In light of the initial petition sent to the mayor of Porto, a new online petition was created (For the non-removal of the statue of Camilo, in Porto), which in around 24 hours gathered almost eight thousand signatures. However, this Friday morning, on a visit to Mercado do Bolhão in connection with the equipment's anniversary, the mayor himself reinforced his position: “I valued that because, in the people who wrote that letter, we have the two greatest art critics from the city of Porto, clearly: Bernardo Pinto de Almeida and Miguel von Hafe Pérez. They certainly understand much more than you or I do about this matter.” Furthermore, he continued, “illustrious citizens” such as Mário Cláudio are also part of this group.
(...)
Despite guaranteeing that nothing would be done as a result of his opinion, upon realizing that this position is “supported by people who, in fact, have these parchments”, Moreira said it seemed “reasonable for the statue to leave there”. At the insistence of journalists in the face of a possible retreat by the mayor regarding the high number of people who are against the withdrawal, Moreira ended by saying: “It's good that we have a city where everything is discussed”.

What is certain is that, a few hours later, in the middle of this Friday afternoon, Porto City Council sent a new statement to the newsrooms stating precisely the opposite.

Since the “donation [of the sculpture by Francisco Simões] also provided for the placement of the structure in Amor da Perdição Square, a donation that had been approved by the Municipal Executive in 2012”, the mayor “cannot agree, without further ado, to what was requested by the petition.”
(...)
Upon learning of the controversy surrounding his sculpture, Francisco Simões appeared “perplexed”. He said, in statements to JN, that the work “was accepted by everyone without any fuss”. Furthermore, and given the interpretation made by the signatories of the letter sent to Moreira, the sculptor assured that the figure of the naked woman portrayed in the sculpture “is not of Ana Plácido”, with whom Camilo lived and was imprisoned in jail, but of the women which appear in the work “Amor de Perdição”.

Ilda Figueiredo, CDU councilor and one of the signatories of the initial petition, said she had always interpreted the female figure in the sculpture installed in Largo Amor de Perdição as being Ana Plácido. However, given Francisco Simões' explanations, she told JN that the controversy "no longer makes sense".

[Mike88]

Government cuts by 34% public funding for railways during 2023:

https://twitter.com/expresso/status/1705341581979517217

The Government recently submitted to the Assembly of the Republic (AR) a document that cuts the public investment initially proposed for works on the railway and subways in 2023 by 34%.

There are €461 million less investment in railways and meters between the initial OE2023 proposal and the latest quarterly report to deputies

Counting down to the presentation of the State Budget (OE) for 2024, the Government recently submitted to the Assembly of the Republic (AR) a document that cuts by 34% the public investment initially proposed for works on the railway and meters in 2023.

In October 2022, the Government proposed in the OE for 2023 structural investments of €1,344 million in the country's different railway corridors and in the Porto, Lisbon and Mondego metro lines. The Government's latest report to deputies reduces this set of public works to €883 million.
(...)

[Mike88]

Meanwhile in Northern Portugal, Barcelos to be precise, a beer procession:

[Mike88]

After the attack against the Environment minister, Duarte Cordeiro, 2 days ago by climate activists, yesterday, the Lisbon International Fair was also "attacked" as activists pained the main entrance facade with red paint against a conference of aviation that was being held at the site:

https://twitter.com/expresso/status/1706986555540119790

A group of climate activists from Climáximo threw red paint at the door of the Lisbon International Fair (FIL), where the World Aviation Festival is taking place, an event dedicated to the aviation sector.

[Mike88]

And another protest: In the 3rd event in less than a week, climate activists blocked one of Lisbon's main highways:

https://twitter.com/SICNoticias/status/1709142536336372175

A group of activists from the Climáximo group blocked traffic on the Second Circular, in Lisbon, this Tuesday. Activists sat on the road and held a sign calling for an end to fossil fuels: https://bit.ly/46cs8Wp

The young people then occupied the side of the road and the pedestrian bridge that crosses the Second Circular, next to the Lisbon Towers. Two activists hung from ropes on the pedestrian bridge.

[Mike88]

Madeira island hit by several wildfires. Police has strong suspicions of arson:

https://twitter.com/MeteoTrasMontPT/status/1712473593609867679

https://twitter.com/MalhoRinaldo/status/1712480552123847165

It's being difficult to control the fire that started on Wednesday in the parish of Prazeres, in Madeira, leading to a hotel being evacuated. There are currently new fires, with the flames rising from Prazeres to Fonte do Bispo.

"The very strong wind makes any type of combat difficult. The fire that broke out near the villages started moving towards the forest area," the president of the Forestry Institute, Manuel Filipe, explained to RTP.

"We are trying to control it, with the means we have", but "projections are being the main problem", he added.

The person in charge also said that near Prazeres, during the morning, there were "complex situations" near the houses, with no information yet on whether any of them burned down.

All fire departments are on the ground. There are 92 firefighters with 26 vehicles fighting the flames in the municipality of Calheta.

This morning a school and the health center in Fajã da Ovelha were closed, as well as access to the parish.

The Madeira archipelago has been under an orange meteorological warning since last week due to the persistence of high maximum temperature values, which exceed 30 degrees daily, a situation that will continue until 6pm on Saturday.

Madeira has also asked additional help from the Lisbon central government.

Update: The Police has arrested a man, 45 years old, suspect of igniting the wildfire in Madeira. The man was caught in flagrant as he was starting another fire.

[Mike88]

A Hamas leader was invited to give a class at an University in Lisbon a few years ago:

https://twitter.com/expresso/status/1712589730188030134

Leader of the political arm of the terrorist group participated in an open class at a Portuguese university

This story is being reported by Expresso newspaper and has a lot of secrecy:

A leader from the political arm of Hamas was invited to give an open class on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at a university in Lisbon a few years ago, according to the weekly Expresso.

The newspaper does not specify which university held the open class, but states that there was some controversy among some of the students who attended the colloquium.

During the class, passages from a manual were read, which praised Hamas. In addition to showing a propaganda video, at the end a DVD praising the movement was also distributed to participants.

One of the students who participated in the debate told the newspaper that “it was a very controversial class”, requesting anonymity. The two professors who organized the debate guarantee that they do not remember classes with a Hamas representative.

[Mike88]

Flash floods in Northern Portugal as Aline storm hits the country:

Braga city:
https://twitter.com/MeteoTrasMontPT/status/1714744693500596359

Vila do Conde city:

Several schools have not opened because of floods or are opening with big delays as students and teachers are having difficulty in traveling on roads. Several Monuments and Museums in the Lisbon area are also closed because of the bad weather. So far, at least 5 people had to be relocated.

[Mike88]

Lisbon's 2023 Web Summit is being boycotted as company after company cancels their presence after Paddy Cosgrave's criticism of the West support for Israel:

https://twitter.com/ECO_PT/status/1715661024433422705

Amazon joins Google and Meta and also cancels participation in the Web Summit

The Web Summit lost another technology giant. Amazon Web Services confirmed to Bloomberg that it will not participate in the event that takes place from November 13th to 16th, in Lisbon.

The software services division of the technology company led by Jeff Bezos was one of the Web Summit partners and its vice president, Vishal Sharma, was one of the speakers.

Amazon joins Meta, owner of Instragram, and Alphabet, owner of Google, who also canceled their participation in reaction to statements by Web Summit CEO Paddy Cosgrave about the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Siemens and Intel had already announced the same decision on Thursday, following in the footsteps of several venture capital funds.

After classifying Israel's reaction to the Hamas attack on social media as “war crimes”, Cosgrave has faced a storm with participating companies and investment funds, which not even the apology, issued by the founder of Web Summit last Tuesday, is able to contain.

For now, neither the Government nor the Lisbon Chamber have a defined position on the multiplication of company boycotts of the summit. “The Ministry of Economy and the Sea has no comment to make”, reacted an official source when contacted by ECO. The same says the Lisbon City Hall.

[Mike88]

World's longest living dog registered in Leiria, Portugal:

https://twitter.com/GWR/status/1620936535188340737

World's oldest dog died this Sunday at the age of 31 in Leiria district. RIP Buddy.

[Mike88]

The universe works in mysterious ways:

In 2016, a viral moment was caugh on camera with Cristiano Ronaldo throwing a CMTV microfone to a lake after becoming annoyed with a reporter from the same channel. Ronaldo and CMTV, a TV channel, owned by Correio da Manhã newspaper, that is known for its sensational news and that has a viewing share of 5-6%, had always a bad relationship due to the stories CMTV reported regarding Ronaldo and his family.

The 2016 viral moment:

But now, Cofina, the company that owns Correio da Manhã and CMTV, is going to be bought by new shareholders and one of them is... Cristiano Ronaldo, who is expected to own 30% of the company.

And now it's official: Cristiano Ronaldo now owns 30% of Cofina Media company.

The shareholders of Cofina have approved the sale of the company to a consortium of Cofina staff and Cristiano Ronaldo. 99.64% of those present voted in favour and 0.36% abstained. No votes against.

CMTV, Cofina's flagship TV channel, was also involved in a hilarious fiasco, fail, whatever, that went viral, during last week's coverage of the floods in Northern Portugal, and even involved my hometown. I mean, just watch:

[Mike88]

Immigrant population reaches a record high: More than 1 million people until last week.

https://twitter.com/dntwit/status/1717666957233975734

Immigrants, More than one million with residence permits

It is a historic record: for the first time the number of immigrants with residence permits exceeded the threshold of one million.

According to official data released this Thursday by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, 306,000 new residence visas were granted this year which, added to the 781,915 registered in 2022, results in 1,087,995 - more than one million.

This number is, however, even higher if we add the 154 thousand CPLP residence permits and the approximately 60 thousand temporary protection visas for Ukrainian citizens, that is, close to 1.3 million foreign citizens already live legally in Portugal. This significant increase in new authorizations - more than double those granted last year - also changed the "top 10" of most representative nationalities.

Thus, Brazil continues to lead, alone, with 400,759; followed by Ukraine (77,680); from the United Kingdom (56,983); from Angola (55,983); from Cape Verde (54,335); from India (47,558); from Italy (30,914); from Guinea Bissau (36,036); from France (30,656); and Nepal (30,366).
(...)

There are around 300,000 pending residence permits still to be issued according to the Interior Affairs Ministry, but these permits could suffer strong delays as the current border control agency, SEF, is set to close this weekend and be substituted by a new one, AIMA. This change has been quite chaotic and confusing.

[Mike88]

Economic numbers: GDP shrinks -0.2% in the 3rd quarter, while inflation drops to a 2-year low, 2.1%.

https://twitter.com/ECO_PT/status/1719288716315795871

Economy contracted 0.2% in the third quarter due to the “significant reduction” in exports.

The economy suffered a contraction of 0.2% in the third quarter, due to the “significant reduction” in exports of goods, reveals the National Statistics Institute this Tuesday. In year-on-year terms, GDP grew 1.9%, a slowdown compared to the year-on-year growth of 2.6%, a value revised upwards.

“Compared to the second quarter of 2023, GDP registered a decrease of 0.2%, after a chain growth of 0.1% in the previous quarter“, says INE, which revised upwards the values for the second quarter, in which was registering a chain of stagnation, given the new information incorporated.

“The contribution of net external demand to the chain rate of change in GDP became negative, after having been positive in the second quarter, reflecting the reduction in exports of both goods and services, including tourism”, explains the estimate quickly. The economists interviewed by ECO all anticipated a drop in exports, which in the case of goods would have been aggravated by the shutdown of Autoeuropa, and in services by a slowdown in tourism.

The contribution of domestic demand “went from negative to positive in the third quarter, with increases in private consumption and investment”, adds the same note. Santander's chief economist, who anticipated a 0.2% quarter-on-quarter contraction, explained precisely that “the main drivers of growth” continued to be “domestic demand, with private consumption making a very positive contribution” , Rui Constantino said that the investment “will have continued on a path of weak growth in the context of higher financing costs”.
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[Mike88]

Three Credit Agencies now have Portugal with an A rating:

https://twitter.com/ECO_PT/status/1725631565193990648

Moody's raises Portugal's rating despite the political crisis

In the midst of the political crisis, the North American agency Moody's decided to raise Portugal's rating by two levels, from 'Baa2' to 'A3'. It is the third agency to review the Portuguese debt rating upwards this year, after Fitch and DBRS. “This is the best record since 2011”, notes the Ministry of Finance, in a statement to newsrooms.

Moody’s, which tends to be the most cautious of the rating agencies, points out, however, that there are “political risks” – after António Costa resigned due to “corruption investigations” – that cast a shadow on the economic and budgetary trend in the country. And these risks can “slow down progress in investment and reforms linked to the Recovery and Resilience Plan [PRR]”. Still, the agency believes that Portuguese institutions resolve the political issue “in an effective and transparent way”.
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[Mike88]

Good news for the Socialists, presumably?

Yes and no. Yes, because this could be used, not sure it will though, as the markets have more confidence in a future PS win and government. No, because this can also mean that the markets believe that neither side, PS or PSD, leftwing or rightwing, will change much of the current fiscal and economic policies and/or strategies.

[Mike88]

We had like 3 or 4 big storms in just one month. The amount of rain and wind was just through the roof. However, if the North and Center are soaking yet, the South is still with high levels of drought.

% of water in the soil: https://www.ipma.pt/pt/agrometeorologia/smi/

[Mike88]

Another big police raid in the Alentejo region against slavery and human trafficking. 28 people arrested:

https://twitter.com/RTPNoticias/status/1726923409987080329

The Judicial Police is carrying out a major operation to combat human trafficking in Alentejo this Tuesday, resulting in almost three dozen arrests.

Suspects withhold victims' salaries and make fortunes, displaying various outward signs of wealth

The National Counterterrorism Unit of the Judiciary Police launched another major operation to combat human trafficking this Tuesday morning, with dozens of searches and at least 28 arrests in the areas of Évora and the town of Cuba, according to the CNN Portugal. There are hundreds of inspectors involved.

The suspects, in addition to trafficking in human beings, must also be held accountable for criminal association, forgery of documents and money laundering, for the way in which they exploit, in sub-human conditions and semi-slavery, for profit, hundreds of foreign workers in agricultural fields, especially from upper Alentejo.

They withhold the victims' salaries and make a fortune, displaying various outward signs of wealth. The scheme, taken with carbon paper from others already dismantled by the PJ, begins with the recruitment of labor in the victims' countries of origin, attracted to a better life in Portugal - with accommodation, decent wages and working conditions, which turns out to be a deception.
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[Mike88]

Police arrests 20 people suspect of forging water analysis for human consumption in several municipalities:

https://twitter.com/dntwit/status/1727286823951671513

PJ arrests 20 suspects for falsifying water analysis for human consumption

Operation "Water Drop" focused on the fraudulent activity of a laboratory responsible for collecting and analyzing water intended for human consumption, waste water, bathing water, swimming pools, streams, boreholes and wells, among others.

According to the PJ, the targeted laboratory, "which is duly accredited, falsified all sampling and analysis procedures relating to the control of water for human consumption contracted by the managing entities (City Halls, Intermunicipal Entities or other entities to which it was granted concession that public service), in collusion with some of the employees, directors and local elected representatives of these entities".

The laboratory's fraudulent activity, adds this criminal police body, was also evident at the level of wastewater control, in the analyzes carried out to assess compliance with discharge licenses from the Wastewater Treatment Stations of several municipalities.

According to the PJ, the falsification aimed to reduce laboratory costs, putting into question the trust and reliability of the analysis results and, consequently, the quality of the water ingested daily by the communities.

The 20 detainees, aged between 25 and 61, are employees and directors of the laboratory, employees, directors and local elected representatives of Management Entities and/or companies (municipal councils and concession companies) and will be presented for judicial interrogation to apply coercive measures. considered appropriate.
(...)

The police raids are focused in 4 City Halls: Vila Real (PS), Vila Pouca de Aguiar (PSD), Vila Flor (PSD) and Alfândega da Fé (PS).

[Mike88]

Yikes!! National Anthem fail in the December 1st Independence Restoration celebrations:

I believe she's singing a part of the Anthem that is not usually sang or used, but, still, akward.

[Mike88]

NHS crisis: Closed pediatric emergency at Santa Maria da Feira Hospital forces mother to call 112 (Portuguese 911) just in front of the hospital's door.

https://twitter.com/RTPNoticias/status/1731315810730168552

INEM was called to help a child outside the Santa Maria da Feira Hospital. The child's mother decided to call the Medical Emergency Institute because the Pediatric Emergency Department was closed.

The child, who reportedly had convulsions at home due to a high fever, was transported by his mother to Hospital S. Sebastião, in Feira.

When she arrived there, the mother found the pediatric emergency department closed, a closure dictated by the doctors' refusal to exceed the overtime hours established by law and which had already been announced, but which was not known to the woman and other parents who went to that service.

With the child prostrate due to his fever and without any assistance, the woman was advised to call Linha Saúde24. This service ended up triggering the INEM team, which is located on the Hospital premises, approximately 30 meters from the emergency room.

The child would end up being assisted by this team, next to his mother's car, right in front of the emergency room, until he was stabilized.

She was then transported by Feira firefighters to Gaia Hospital, where she was assisted by a medical team.

The event generated outrage among some people who were there and witnessed what happened.

JN learned from a hospital source that the child did not present with seizures at that time and that, if he did, he would have been treated in the general emergency department (adults).

Several emergency services have been affected by doctors' refusal to work overtime beyond the 150 hours per year provided for by law. The Executive Board of the SNS, I. P. (DE-SNS) published this weekend the deliberation regarding the operation of the emergency services network in the week of December 3rd to 9th.

[Mike88]

Police arrests 20 people suspect of forging water analysis for human consumption in several municipalities:

The wiretaps from this investigation are worthy of being hung on the wall:

- Let them boil the f*****g water. (...) Look, if we have the phone tapped, we're both going to jail.

- Oh, oh, if I go to jail because of this, half of the country was in prison.

- If you go, I'll go with you, we won't have anyone bringing us cigarettes.

- Also, d**n it, with so much corruption in the country, who doesn't go there... By altering a s****y microbiology, we're going to end up there, but I don't know... if it's a crime.

- Look, we're going to have a serious problem, we lacked a sample in Mós [parish].

- Oh, make one up, f**k it, I don't care.

- They're pseudomonas [bacteria], doctor.

- Oh, it doesn't matter (...) Oh man, let everyone die... Oh, but does anyone die? Nobody dies, Ms Teresa.

Exquisite.

[Mike88]

New Lisbon airport: Independent Committee reveals their results and proposes Alcochete as the site for the new airport.

https://twitter.com/dntwit/status/1732032100117962915

Commission indicates that Alcochete is the best option for a new airport

One of the longest "soap operas" in the world, alongside Coronation Street , with a lot of "drama, deceit and revenge", had a new chapter today. The Independent Committee, tasked to give data for the best site to built a new airport, presented, this afternoon, their findings and they concluded that Alcochete, around 40 km (25 miles) from Lisbon city and in the south bank of the Tagus river, is the best site for the new airport. The Committee also proposes a "dual solution" in the short term with the new airport in Alcochete being complementary to the current Portela/Humberto Delgado airport. The final decision will be made during 2024, by the new government to be elected in the March 2024 snap elections.

(I will only believe in the new airport when I see it)

[Mike88]

Private healthcare: Number of private health insurance continues to break records.

https://twitter.com/SICNoticias/status/1733858505168503181

More than 3.5 million Portuguese people have health insurance

During the pandemic the number of subscribers grew and has been increasing. The increase in demand has not left the private health sector indifferent, which, in response, has taken advantage of the situation to expand the business.

According to the accounts of the Portuguese Association of Insurers, published by Jornal de Notícias, in 2019 there were 2.8 million health insurance subscribers, in 2022 this figure stood at 3.4 million and in the 1st half of this year there were already 3,6 million.

This is an attractive and voluntary alternative, but only for those who have a budget that can support this monthly expense, since the cost of health insurance is, at this time, around 360 euros per year.
(...)

Data since 2005: (% share of population above 16 years old with private healthcare insurance)

2005: 19.6%
2010: 19.7%
2015: 24.0%
2020: 32.9%
2022: 35.0%
2023: ~39% (1st semester data with current population numbers)