Portugal's general discussion (general events)

[Mike88]

There is something that feels completely absurd in the idea of a sanctuary laying off employees, but alas, I guess that is how the world works now.

Yeah, plus Fátima's finances have always been surrounded in a big mystery. The media is also reporting that they don't publish their annual accounts since 2006. The lay off of many workers is creating some controversy as there were huge investments in a new modern church, urban development in the last few years. This controversy may not go away. We'll see.

I understand.

By the way, does the other headline mean that there were no medicine courses in any private universities in Portugal before this year? If so, why?

Yes, it's the first private school medical course to be approved in Portugal, and there were no private medical courses before this decision. The university, Catholic University of Lisbon, will start receiving students maybe this year and definitely next year.

The debate of private medical courses in Portugal is going on for many years. Supporters of the idea say that because vacancies in the public medical universities are very few a year, plus adding the high grade of admission, 18/19 out of 20 grades, many students leave the country to study in foreign universities or drop the idea of forging a medical career. Opponents of the idea say that to be a doctor you need very high grades, plus that there are already many doctors without any vacancy to specialize in and others, like the Medical Bar Association, says that private universities will have "insufficient resources" and could fail to provide students full access to study all pathologies. To add, that the wage of a NHS doctor in Portugal is quite small and many work in public and private hospitals at the same time. The argument that this will create doctors to be unemployed is also used.

Private universities had always interest in having private medicine courses but very high investments and other legal issues made it hard. But governments, both PS and PSD, saw with interest this possibility as vacancies in public universities were drooping and the current minister suggested the solution is to finally open a private course.

I believe these are the main reasons, that I'm aware of.

[Mike88]

There is something that feels completely absurd in the idea of a sanctuary laying off employees, but alas, I guess that is how the world works now.

Yeah, plus Fátima's finances have always been surrounded in a big mystery. The media is also reporting that they don't publish their annual accounts since 2006. The lay off of many workers is creating some controversy as there were huge investments in a new modern church, urban development in the last few years. This controversy may not go away. We'll see.

I understand.

By the way, does the other headline mean that there were no medicine courses in any private universities in Portugal before this year? If so, why?

Yes, it's the first private school medical course to be approved in Portugal, and there were no private medical courses before this decision. The university, Catholic University of Lisbon, will start receiving students maybe this year and definitely next year.

The debate of private medical courses in Portugal is going on for many years. Supporters of the idea say that because vacancies in the public medical universities are very few a year, plus adding the high grade of admission, 18/19 out of 20 grades, many students leave the country to study in foreign universities or drop the idea of forging a medical career. Opponents of the idea say that to be a doctor you need very high grades, plus that there are already many doctors without any vacancy to specialize in and others, like the Medical Bar Association, says that private universities will have "insufficient resources" and could fail to provide students full access to study all pathologies. To add, that the wage of a NHS doctor in Portugal is quite small and many work in public and private hospitals at the same time. The argument that this will create doctors to be unemployed is also used.

Private universities had always interest in having private medicine courses but very high investments and other legal issues made it hard. But governments, both PS and PSD, saw with interest this possibility as vacancies in public universities were drooping and the current minister suggested the solution is to finally open a private course.

I believe these are the main reasons, that I'm aware of.

Do medicine faculties have numerus clausus (i.e. only a set number of students can enroll to the courses each year) in Portugal?
In Italy, where medicine courses at private universities have always existed, they do have it.

Yes, each year medical universities open a limit number of course vacancies, but the government always criticizes it for being to small, and then you have the pressure of the government on private universities to invest in medicine courses to increase the number of vacancies, that is now reality.

[Mike88]

Yes, each year medical universities open a limit number of course vacancies, but the government always criticizes it for being to small, and then you have the pressure of the government on private universities to invest in medicine courses to increase the number of vacancies, that is now reality.

I see. In Italy instead the pressure is always (but for obvious reasons especially this year) to abolish numerus clausus (although it still has not happened).

Universities want to increase vacancies but the problem is the constant and structural lack of funding many universities have and that makes them to limit vacancies.

In other news:

Starting from today, throwing cigarette butts to the ground is worth a fine of up to 250 euros:

https://twitter.com/JornalNoticias/status/1301420175380508674

From Friday, cigarette butts on the floor will cost between 25 and 250 euros in fine under a law published a year ago.

The Law No. 88/2019 to reduce the impact of cigarette butts, cigars or other cigarettes on the environment approves measures for the collection and treatment of tobacco residues and punishes with fines between 25 and 250 euros for throwing butts onto the public road.

Under the law, cigarette butts, cigars or other cigarettes containing tobacco products are now treated as solid urban waste and, therefore, their "disposal in public space" is prohibited.

Published on September 3, 2019, the law provided for a "transitional period of one year from the date of entry into force" so that entities could make the necessary adaptations.

According to the law, "commercial establishments, namely, restaurants and bars, establishments where recreational activities take place and all buildings where smoking is prohibited, must have ashtrays and proper equipment for the disposal of undifferentiated and selective waste produced by its customers, namely receptacles with tilting lids or other devices that prevent the spread of waste in public space ".

(...)

In addition to fines of 25 euros to 250 euros for those who throw butts to the ground, the law also determines that it constitutes an offense punishable by a minimum fine of 250 euros and a maximum of 1,500 euros if commercial establishments, companies that manage public transport, municipalities, concessionaires of public transport stops, higher education institutions, hotels and local accommodation do not place ashtrays or clean the waste produced.

(...)

Inspection is the responsibility of the Food and Economic Security Authority (ASAE), city councils, Municipal Police, Republican National Guard, Public Security Police, Maritime Police and other police authorities.

[Mike88]

Trial of hacker Rui Pinto to start today:

https://twitter.com/RTPNoticias/status/1301803436439080962

Rui Pinto's trial will start with exceptional security measures - RTP Notícias

Rui Pinto's trial begins this Friday. The hacker accounts for 90 crimes. Rui Pinto wants to prove that it was the man who raised the alarm against corruption. He was the Whistleblower, the denunciator and not the criminal.

The trial was going to take place in the largest courtroom at the Justice Campus in Lisbon, but the day before the security forces' report forced a change of location.

The process will take place in a room on the 6th floor, with a more limited capacity, and the session will be transmitted by videoconference in another building.

[Mike88]

Police hunt for man who murdered his ex-wife on the middle of a street in a parish in Lamego ends as he is found dead just meters near to the crime scene, 23 days after the crime.

https://twitter.com/tvi24pt/status/1302330798897586177

Body of man who murdered ex-wife in Lalim was near the crime scene

The body of the alleged perpetrator of the murder of a woman last August 14, was found in the parish of Lalim, in Lamego.

In a statement, the Judiciary Police reported that Henrique Carvalho's body was located in a forested area, close to the murder site.

According to the authorities, everything indicates that the man ended his life shortly after he killed his ex-partner.

The case sparked some social alarm, with a three-week hunt for the man.

[Mike88]

Massive wildfire in Oleiros, Castelo Branco, ongoing:

https://twitter.com/TSFRadio/status/1305578576457072640

"Very violent fire." Fogo in Oleiros has 60 kilometers of perimeter (37 miles).

It is a "very violent fire" with "60 kilometers of perimeter". In 29 hours, the fire that started in Oleiros and passed to Proença-a-Nova, has destroyed "500 hectares per hour". The estimate, although "abstract", is that of Civil Protection.

In a briefing by the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority, operational commander Luís Belo Costa said that the fight has been very difficult due to the conditions on the ground due to the violence of the fire, which has already destroyed some houses, at least "one of second homes, vacant houses. and agricultural sheds ".

To the journalists, the commander confirmed that there were residents who were removed from their homes as a precaution. Luís Belo Costa admitted that the fire fighting is evolving favorably, but anticipated that there is a lot of work to do on the ground in the coming hours.

The fire is somewhat controlled now, but there's still 10% of fire to be controlled. The fire burned an area almost double the size of the city of Lisbon and more than double the city of Porto:
https://twitter.com/VOSTPT/status/1305973541339357184

[Mike88]

Subtropical storm Alpha arrives at the coast of Portugal:

https://twitter.com/metofficestorms/status/1307024458918637573

[Mike88]

2021 census: INE will cooperate with police and the Department of General Health (DGS) in order to conduct the census.

https://twitter.com/tvi24pt/status/1309138590765592589

Covid-19: 2021 Census relies on collaboration from DGS and security forces

The Department of General Health the security forces will collaborate with the National Statistics Institute (INE) to prepare and put into practice the fieldwork for the 2021 Census.

The decision was approved this Thursday in the Council of Ministers, which explains that this collaboration is part "within the scope of the preparation and execution of field work related to the XVI General Census of the Population and the VI General Census of Housing".

Due to the covid-19 pandemic, INE even considered the possibility of postponing the process, which takes place every 10 years, but ended up deciding to proceed with the 2021 Census which will count on the work of about 15,000 people .

The Census will thus proceed with a contingency plan that guarantees the quality of the work and safeguards the risks for the population in general - who responds to the questionnaires - and for those who are doing this work.

In November, the process for gathering information will be tested and in January 2021 the personnel recruitment process will start, according to information provided by Dinheiro Vivo, which indicates that INE aims to be able to carry out this work with about half of the employees that were needed in 2011.

The 2021 Census will be the first to favor online surveys.

(...)

[Mike88]

Police forces: Officers have six months to remove racist tattoos and "curly mustaches" are forbidden.

https://twitter.com/Publico/status/1309529765632765953

PSP agents have six months to remove racist tattoos and are prohibited from wearing curly mustaches

A new executive order signed by the PSP national chairman has ruled how police officers have to act, dress and look:

PSP agents will have six months to remove tattoos that "contain symbols, words or drawings of a party, extremist, racial or violence-promoting nature", which are now expressly prohibited. This stems from an order signed last Tuesday by the national director of the PSP, Manuel Magina da Silva, which updates the so-called “rules regarding the uprightness, presentation and wearing of uniforms”, which were defined more than 12 years ago.

(...)

The new directive will force police officers to remove any racist tattoos in any part of the body. One of the stewards in the police force, Nuno Carocha, says that "These types of tattoos are totally unacceptable on PSP, even in non-visible areas". It's unclear how many officers have it, but there will be punishments for not removing tattoos.

[Mike88]

Part of Lisbon subway tunnel collapses near a station, 4 people injured:

https://twitter.com/cmjornal/status/1310957677913276420

See the images of the place where the collapse occurred on the Blue Line of the Lisbon Subway

The collapse of a gallery in the Lisbon subway, at Spain Square station, this Tuesday, caused four slight injuries and led to the interruption of the circulation on the Blue line, between that station and that of São Sebastião, confirmed the source of the company.

Speaking to journalists, the president of Metro de Lisboa, indicated that the incident happened when a reinforced concrete structure was demolished. Apparently, a “technical error” related to the works on the site will be at stake, but an investigation was opened to ascertain the causes with all rigor.

Of the injured, three were situations related to anxiety attacks, added a representative of the Lisbon Chamber, explaining that “a piece of stone fell on the carriages”, and that the driver had to make an emergency stop. About 300 people were on the subway train affected.

Circulation will continue  interrupted for at least two days, the journalists were told, with Metro, together with Carris, reinforcing the creation of alternatives for passengers.

[Mike88]

Defense ministry wants to ban from the army expressions that are derogatory to both men and women:

https://twitter.com/revistaSABADO/status/1311205487317331969

Portugal - Ministry of Defense forbids expressions like "behave like a man"

The Defense Ministry wants to eliminate, in the Armed Forces, oral expressions that describe women "in a non-evaluative or even derogatory way", even when "used in insults to men". Among them, it is given as examples, "stop being a sissy", "you look like a girl" and "behave like a man". Written expressions that indicate genres are also prohibited, being replaced by "neutral terms".

The decision is contained in a document, from the general secretary of the ministry directed by João Gomes Cravinho, to which the Correio da Manhã had access, with the title "Directive on the Use of Non-Discriminatory Language".

[Mike88]

Defense ministry wants to ban from the army expressions that are derogatory to both men and women:

Defense minister cancels the directive against "discriminatory language" in the Armed Forces.

https://twitter.com/dntwit/status/1312147856724168704

Cravinho cancels directive against "discriminatory language" in the Armed Forces

The Minister of National Defense signed this Friday an order to annul a directive that ordered the use of "non-discriminatory language" in the armed forces.

In the dispatch, to which the DN had access, João Cravinho implies that the said order was sent in absentia. "I became aware of the sending by the General Secretariat of Offices (...) with the title 'Directive on the use of non-discriminatory language', addressed to EMGFA, Ramos, and the central services of the ministry, supplemented later by the letter (...) As it lacks superior approval and because it is a working document that does not show an adequate state of maturity, these letters should be considered annulled ", writes the Minister of Defense.

The decision comes at the culmination of a week in which criticisms from the most representative associations (officers and sergeants) to the said directive accumulated and caused unease among the military, starting with the fact that it was a secretary-general who signed the directive.

(...)

[Mike88]

17 illegal migrants fled from Tavira, Algarve, military barracks last Thursday morning. 16 were already found and captured by the police:

https://twitter.com/dntwit/status/1312323262060195840

Four more fugitive migrants captured. Only the last of the group that fled Tavira is missing

After the Spanish Guardia Civil, on Friday afternoon, found one of the migrants in Ayamonte (Spain), this Saturday there were "four more captured by the GNR in Castro Marim", with only one of the men who was part of the escape missing, said the source from the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) to the Lusa agency.

Portuguese SEF sources indicated on Friday that the man found in Spain was located by the Spanish authorities in Ayamonte, the town closest to the border with the Algarve, about 40 kilometers from Tavira, from where the group had escaped in the early hours Thursday.

On Thursday, nine were intercepted and during Friday, authorities located three more migrants.

(...)

On Thursday, 17 migrants fled the barracks of the Tavira detachment of the Army's 1st Infantry Regiment, where they waited for the enforcement of the court order and were quarantining, after two of them had been diagnosed with covid-19 after their irregular entry into Portugal.

The group that landed on September 16 without documents on the Deserta island, in Faro, was composed of 28 migrants: 24 men, who were installed in the barracks in Tavira, three women, one of them pregnant, and a minor.

The three women were installed in the Santo António Housing Unit, in Porto, while the minor was handed over to the Family and Minors Court in Faro.

The Minister of Home Affairs on Thursday called for the opening of an investigation into the escape of the migrants, to find out "the circumstances of the said escape and possible disciplinary responsibilities of elements" of the SEF and PSP.

On the same day, Eduardo Cabrita, said that Portugal is discussing with Morocco, at an advanced stage, a legal immigration program, which he hopes to conclude soon.

This was the sixth illegal landing on the Algarve coast involving migrants from North Africa.

[Mike88]

Economy: Exports recover and are almost at the same level of 2019, as Bank of Portugal upgrades GDP forecast to -8.1%, compared to 9.5% projected in June.

https://twitter.com/ECO_PT/status/1314512234123587586

Exports already almost cured of the pandemic. Imports fall 11.6%

After a 30% drop between April and June, national exports began to show the first signs of recovery in July. In the eighth month of the year, this path continued to be followed, having dropped only 1.4% in August, according to data from the National Statistics Institute (INE). Meanwhile, the purchase of goods from abroad fell only 11.6%, after having fallen more than 20% in July.

Both sales abroad and purchases show signs of recovery, after three months of being heavily impacted by the coronavirus. Both indicators continue to fall, but show an improvement over the past months. Exports fell 1.4%, after falling 7.3% in July, while imports decreased 11.6% from a 20.4% decrease in July.

(...)

https://twitter.com/expresso/status/1315279888576843777

GDP sinks, but recovers faster than in the troika period

The Portuguese economy is experiencing an unprecedented contraction, associated with the covid-19 pandemic. But the recovery is expected to be much faster than in the last crisis, marked by the international rescue of the country. This is the unanimous opinion of the Bank of Portugal and the economists heard by Expresso. This week, at the presentation of the “Economic Bulletin” of the Bank of Portugal, the governor, Mário Centeno - former Minister of Finance and president of the Eurogroup -, made a point of marking the distances from the last crisis, which had a “long recessive period it's very strong".

The institution eased the scenario for this year, expecting a contraction of the gross domestic product (GDP) of 8.1%, and no longer 9.5%, and Centeno pointed out that the “recovery that we project is rapid, sustained by the policies adopted and preparing the Portuguese economy to respond to the challenges ”. The governor went further: "I do not risk saying recovery in V, due to the high uncertainty, but many indicators point in that direction."

(...)

[Mike88]

Several universities and high schools in Lisbon were vandalized with racist graffiti last Friday:

https://twitter.com/revistaSABADO/status/1322166465043324928

Catholic University vandalized with racist messages

The Portuguese Catholic University (UCP), in Lisbon, was vandalized with racist and xenophobic messages during the dawn of this Friday. On the walls of the university, phrases like "Long live the White Europe", "Long live the white race" and "Out with the blacks" were written.

(...)

A complaint was made to the DA office, the UCP confirmed to Sábado. The images are being analyzed.

UCP's dean, Isabel Capeloa Gil, also considered that this is "a direct attack on the university and its values" and challenges "discrimination based on race, gender or other factors". The Catholic official even considered that what was written on the walls of the university are "unacceptable acts" and the walls have already been cleaned.

In addition to the Catholic University, photographs of racist messages appeared in social media in schools in Portela, Olivais and Sacavém, all in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area.

[Mike88]

This week was also marked by a huge crowd that gathered in Nazaré to watch the traditional big waves. Last Thursday, the gathering violated all Covid rules and caught authorities off guard:

https://twitter.com/observadorpt/status/1321852655975735297

Crowd in Nazaré: authorities caught off guard

Nazaré city hall and the Captaincy of Nazaré decided to cut pedestrian access to the road to Farol, to contain the excessive concentration of people that watches the giant waves and ensure safety conditions, informed the captain of Porto.

“Pedestrian access is going to be banned and we are going to appeal to the dispersion of people concentrated near the Forte de S. Miguel to try to reduce clusters,” Zeferino Henriques, commander of Porto da Nazaré (district of Leiria), he told Lusa.

At issue is the presence of thousands of people who concentrated on the cliffs of Praia do Norte, after having been announced on social media that giant waves were expected for Wednesday and Thursday. The scenario "attracts many foreign and Portuguese surfers to surf on Praia do Norte and simultaneously people from various countries who travel to watch", told the Mayor of Nazaré, Walter Chicharro to Lusa.

(...)

[Mike88]

What's the risk that Portugal will go into full lockdown before Christmas? Is the tourist sector too important for a travel ban?

There's the government proposal to impose a "though" lockdown in early December, where there are 2 national holidays, to, according to governmental officials, "save Christmas". But this is just an idea and many are criticizing the announcement of a confinement a month before, saying it doesn't makes sense. Other ideas is to declare the state of emergency but not with the same characteristics as of the March one, and impose curfews and mandatory tele-working. However, these are all ideas and there's no big consensus on what the path forward should be. The government will announce new measures during this Saturday.

A travel ban is impossible, IMO. The tourism sector is very important in the Portuguese economy and Portugal is, I believe, the forth EU economy with the biggest share of tourism in GDP, around 19%. Azores and Madeira have a different system than the rest of the country. Every tourist arriving at the islands has to do a test and so far, the number of cases in both island are overwhelmingly from tourists, 80%+.

[Mike88]

Legionella outbreak in Vila do Conde/Póvoa de Varzim:

https://twitter.com/ominhopt/status/1325868282801479682

64 cases of 'legionella' detected in the north of the country (46 in Póvoa de Varzim)

Sixty-four cases of Legionnaires' disease have been reported since October 29 in the north of the country, with 46 belonging to the same outbreak located in Póvoa de Varzim and Vila do Conde, according to the Director-General of Health.

Asked today at the covid-19 regular update conference on the 'legionella' outbreak in these two locations in the north of the country, Graça Freitas began by stating that, despite there being “an epidemic of covid, other diseases continue to manifest up and the system is glad that it can detect them ”.

"Legionnaires 'disease is a seasonal disease, it is time to have this type of disease, and what we found is that since the 29th of last month in the North region 64 cases of legionnaires' disease have been reported", he added.

(...)

The Director-General of Health wanted to leave “a word of tranquility” to everyone in this region: “this is not a disease that is contagious, from one person to another. It passes through environmental sources, through aerosolization of this bacterium called 'legionella' and through inspiration or inhalation ”.

(...)

The news is a bit misleading. It seems that the outbreak center is in Vila do Conde but my hometown hospital is receiving patients from Vila do Conde, as normal as both cities are basically "twin cities".

[Mike88]

In the 1st night of curfew, due to Covid-19, a shooting occurred in one of Lisbon's main avenues:

https://twitter.com/cmjornal/status/1326092402864627712

Footage - Shooting creates panic on Liberty Avenue in Lisbon

A shooting, at dawn on Tuesday, caused panic on Avenida da Liberdade, in Lisbon.

Several men were following in two different cars when they fired several shots in progress. The snipers managed to escape.

Bullet wrappers were found at the scene.

According to what CM reported with the authorities, the shots left only marks on a building in an adjacent artery of that avenue.

For the field, elements of the PSP, Municipal Police and inspectors of the PJ were highlighted for their respective expertise.

Traffic was cut off for several hours.

[Mike88]

Portuphiles, do you guys have any good statistics in relation to the Portuguese decriminalization of drugs? I am writing an argumentative essay on the decriminalization of drugs and was wondering if you guys had any good sources.

Hi there!

What kind of sources do you need? I found some essays online, they are all in Portuguese, sorry. I found this one: https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/uploads/04a1698a-6d38-4147-b9fd-d07a5235b276/drug-policy-in-portugal-portuguese-20111206_0.pdf

and this one: https://www.scielo.br/pdf/sssoc/n114/n114a07.pdf

This blog has also some statistical graphics, but don't know if they're usefull:

https://cartacampinas.com.br/2017/09/coleta-de-dados-mostra-o-sucesso-inequivoco-da-descriminalizacao-das-drogas-em-portugal/

The Guardian also had a very good report on the issue that is even highlighted in the Portuguese NHS website:

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/dec/05/portugals-radical-drugs-policy-is-working-why-hasnt-the-world-copied-it

Hope this helps

[Mike88]

Protest of restaurant owners in Porto city against the Government ended in tensions between protesters and the police.

https://twitter.com/JornalNoticias/status/1327303601987801089

Clashes between protesters and police in protest of restaurant owners in Porto

Entrepreneurs from the restaurant and hotel sectors who gathered this Friday afternoon in Aliados, in Porto, for yet another protest from the "Bread and Water" movement, were involved in clashes with the police.

The demonstration "Bread and Water", by businessmen from the restaurants, bars and shops, scheduled for this Friday, at Aliados Avenue, in Porto, was marked by clashes between protesters and PSP agents.

The protest, which started at 4 pm, was attended by several hundred entrepreneurs who contest the measures imposed by António Costa in the context of the new state of emergency.

During the demonstration bottles were thrown at police agents and one of the demonstrators was reportedly identified by the police.

In addition to throwing bottles, protesters put coffins [symbolizing the death of the sector] on fire, forcing police intervention.

[Mike88]

Update on the Legionella outbreak: Two factories in Matosinhos are closed as tests show bacteria in cooling towers.

https://twitter.com/observadorpt/status/1328834476869365760

Legionella. Cooling towers at two factories are suspended in Matosinhos. There are 97 cases and 9 dead

Since the 29th of October, there has been an increase in the number of cases of legionella in the northern region. So far, there have been a total of 9 deaths and 97 confirmed cases, of which 72 are clusterable, on the coast of the geographical area of the Póvoa de Varzim / Vila do Conde Health Center Group and the Matosinhos Local Health Unit.

The origin of the outbreak is still to be determined, but the Northern Regional Health Administration (ARS) of the North believes that the geographical dispersion of the cases “is compatible with an eventual environmental source subject to the effects of climate change from the Bárbara depression, which occurred in the territory during the incubation period of these cases ”.

In a statement, the ARS do Norte said that local health authorities are developing epidemiological and environmental research, in accordance with the rules and guidelines of the Directorate-General for Health, being “attentive to the evolution of the situation and will take measures additional information necessary to control the situation ”. “As a result of this investigation and as a precautionary measure, the ULS Health Authority of Matosinhos, suspended the operation of the cooling towers of two industries, located in the municipality of Matosinhos.”

(...)

[Mike88]

GDP growth: Economy grows 13.3% compared with the 2nd trimester, but falls -5.7% annually:

https://twitter.com/ojeconomico/status/1333367050551455744

Portuguese economy down 5.7% in the third quarter.

The National Statistic Institute (INE) released today the final GDP numbers from the 3rd trimester in Portugal. The economy grew 13.3% compared with 2nd trimester but fell -5.7% compared with the 3rd trimester of 2019. Private consumption and exports helped to improve the economy in this 3rd trimester. However, it's expected another drop in growth, in the last trimester of 2020, due to the Covid restrictions in the last few weeks, since mid October. GDP could still pass the 200 billion euros mark, but it's still in doubt. Unemployment also dropped a few points in October to 7.5%.

Another report, this weekend, painted a grim picture for the Portuguese economy within the EU. Expresso newspaper looked at the projected 2020 numbers and concluded that Portugal is falling, year after year, in the raking of GDP per capita:

https://twitter.com/expresso/status/1333005365319970816

GDP per capita. Poland and Hungary have never been this close of stealing Portugal's place

The 2020 projected numbers show that Portugal is on the verge of being surpassed by Hungary and Poland in the ranking of income per inhabitant. Portugal is currently placed at 18th place, with 77% of the EU average, but Poland and Hungary are surging at 76% and 75% respectively. Slovakia and Romania are also very close at 72% and 71% respectively. If the numbers play out, Portugal could fall to 21th place by the end of 2021, and further down in the future as Romania is having a very strong economic performance, putting Portugal on the top bottom of Europe's poorest countries.

[Mike88]

Police officer run over by a prison guard who has beating his wife on the street:

https://twitter.com/RTPNoticias/status/1338113892782837762

Évora's PSP agent was killed when he tried to end a situation of domestic violence

It was the aggressor who killed the policeman. He ran away, but was eventually arrested. The suspect is a prison guard.

In a note published on the website of the Presidency of the Republic, it can be read that "it was with deep consternation that the President of the Republic became aware of the death of Principal Agent António José Pinto Doce, victim of a brutal trampling in fulfillment of his mission in Rossio de São Brás, in Évora ".

"Another national example of someone who, even though not in service, gave his life for his neighbor and to whom Portugal owes a tribute", adds the note.

President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has already spoken personally to the Agent's widow, "addressing the most heartfelt condolences also to his children, family and friends, as well as to the Public Security Police, whose National Director receives this afternoon in Belém, and in particular to Évora District Command where António José performed his mission on a daily basis ".

[Mike88]

Several people run over during a shellfish protest in Murtosa, Aveiro district:

https://twitter.com/cmjornal/status/1338515512914030596

Several people run over during shellfish protest in Murtosa.

Several people were run over during a protest with about 300 shellfish gatherers (bivalve catchers), this Monday, in Murtosa. The professionals have been in protest for several weeks, as they are prevented from going to sea because of the analyzes made to the waters.

According to what the Correio da Manhã was able to ascertain, a shellfish gatherer who is not from the area started the march when he was prevented by the other protesters and elements of the GNR from selling seafood that he caught elsewhere.

Two people were injured, both with fractures.