Portugal's general discussion (general events)

[Mike88]

Clients in a restaurant flee from the police and hide in a tunnel but had to be rescued by the police or they would drown:

https://twitter.com/Record_Portugal/status/1354748653802573828

Coronavirus - Restaurant customers escape the police through flooded tunnel and end up rescued

The Lisbon Police (PSP), through a division of Loures, on the 23rd of January carried out the inspection of a recreational group in Camarate that was functioning as a restaurant establishment.

The establishment had its doors closed and was working improperly. As far as PSP tried to enter in order to inspect within the scope of the preventive measures and compliance with the Covid-19 standards, it did not get any response either from the owner or from the customers who were inside.

Moments later, the police found that customers were fleeing from the back of the space into an outflow tunnel "of considerable length, which it is not possible to see its extent beyond 10 meters," describes the PSP statement.

The authority adds that the tunnel, in addition to having no light, was equipped with enough curves. The exit was about 50 meters after the entrance, going "to flow into a stream that, in turn, flows into the Trancão River", he adds.

Knowing the location of the offending customers, the police tried to contact them but received no response. A running source of rainwater was entering the tunnel and, for fear that the offenders would be trapped in the tunnel, "the Camarate Volunteer Firefighters were called to the scene in order to rescue the offenders," explains the authority.
(...)

[Mike88]

Man arrested after using the national flag in cleaning:

https://twitter.com/JornalNoticias/status/1355802268629573636

Detained for using national flag in cleaning

A man was detained by the PSP early Friday afternoon for a crime of outrage at a national symbol. He was caught by a patrol wiping his feet with a Portuguese flag.

PSP Lisbon Command source told the CM that the crime occurred at 2:30 pm on Friday, next to the Military College. Two agents saw the man wearing a national flag, it is still unknown how he obtained it, to clean several pieces of clothing and the shoes he was wearing. He was immediately approached and arrested. The same police source explained that the man was notified to appear in court.

[Mike88]

2.7 magnitude earthquake felt this morning in Lisbon metro area:

https://twitter.com/LastQuake/status/1355845550709608449

A 2.7 magnitude earthquake on the Richter scale, with an epicenter located about 10 kilometers south of Oeiras, was felt this Sunday, at 11:44 am in the Lisbon area, reported the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere.

The earthquake was felt in São Domingos de Rana, Oeiras, Caxias, Paço de Arcos and Carcavelos. Ao i, a 75-year-old resident of a building in the Historic Center of Paço de Arcos, explained that she was unaware of the earthquake. "I was cleaning up the kitchen, honestly, I didn't notice anything", she revealed. However, a neighbor of hers, 48, explained that "the furniture shook a lot, the floor shook all over." "I am very afraid of the replicas, I hope this will not happen again," she said.

"This earthquake, according to the information available so far, did not cause any personal or material damage and was felt with maximum intensity III (modified Mercalli scale) in the municipalities of Cascais and Oeiras", it is possible to read in the statement sent by IPMA to the media.

[Mike88]

2020 economy: GDP falls 7.6% in 2020, but the economy still grew 0.4% in Q4 compared with the Q3.

https://twitter.com/JNegocios/status/1356538802286825473

The historical drop in GDP is unprecedented in INE's current statistical series and is related to the effects of the pandemic, which has placed the world in a deep recession

Portugal's gross domestic product suffered a 7.6% drop in 2020, according to the quick estimate published this Tuesday by the National Statistics Institute (INE).

The historical drop in GDP is unprecedented in the current statistical series of INE and is related to the effects of the pandemic, which put the world in a deep recession, due to the sharp contraction of exports and consumption, which penalized sectors such as tourism, trade and restoration.

The 7.6% contraction in 2020 comes after the 2.2% growth in 2019 and is "the most intense in the current series of National Accounts, reflecting the markedly adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on economic activity", explains the note from INE.

The annual drop in GDP is the first since 2013, the year in which the Portuguese economy contracted 0.9%, at the end of a three-year cycle of recession due to the request for international assistance.
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With regard to the fourth quarter, the INE's rapid estimate shows a 0.4% growth in chain, an evolution that is surprising since the restrictions were worsened in that period due to the advance of the pandemic in the country.
(...)
In comparison with the fourth quarter of 2019, Portugal's GDP decreased 5.9%, worsening the negative variation of 5.7% in the third quarter.

For performance in the fourth quarter, "the contribution of domestic demand to the annual variation in GDP was less negative than that observed in the third quarter, reflecting, to a large extent, the less intense decrease in investment, despite the more pronounced reduction in private consumption. ", says INE.

They add that "net external demand made a more negative contribution in the fourth quarter, with a more intense contraction in Exports of Goods and Services than that observed in Imports of Goods and Services".
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The detailed results of the Quarterly National Accounts for the fourth quarter of 2020 will be released on February 26, 2021.

[Mike88]

Several explosions heard in a Lisbon suburb after a fire reached a gas cylinders warehouse:

https://twitter.com/JornalNoticias/status/1357860192025595906

Fire in gas warehouse causes several explosions in Sesimbra

A fire in a gas cylinder warehouse in the town of Aiana-de-Cima, in Sesimbra, in the district of Setúbal, caused several and strong explosions, which scared the population.

The alert was issued at 23.15 hours on Friday and, according to the District Relief Operations Command (CDOS) of Setúbal, the first indications pointed to "a fire in a shed where a vehicle and several bottles of gas were" . With the means of assistance in place, it was confirmed that it was a warehouse where there was a vehicle and about 30 gas cylinders for resale, which may have been the cause of several explosions.

Francisco Jesus, Mayor of Sesimbra, confesses that it was "a great scare". On his Facebook page, he explained that "the explosions heard throughout the territory of Sesimbra were in a gas warehouse, in the Roça area (between Alfarim and Aiana)". He further confirmed that "there are no victims to register yet. Only material damage".

The several explosions that followed the fire alarmed the inhabitants of the region, being very strong and, therefore, visible and audible quite a distance from the place, according to videos that were recorded by people and posted on the internet.

The warehouse is located on a farm and is not located close to homes.

Eleven vehicles and 24 operational personnel from the Sesimbra Fire Department, GNR and Civil Protection were mobilized to the site. The fire was said to have subsided around 00.30 hours.

[Mike88]

Movement "Doctors for the Truth" ends: Group of doctors and medical professionals that rejected the severity of the pandemic closes all online pages. The movement had links to CHEGA.

https://twitter.com/Visao_pt/status/1359171058574721027

End of “Doctors for the Truth”: CHEGA and the affinities that VISÃO uncovered

Without pomp, but wounded by circumstances, the Doctors for Truth movement suspended its activity and closed its website and pages on social networks. “Our will and our determination to disseminate science and to expose alternatives are still alive and will continue, but the concentrated and repressive environment in which we live and which has been accentuated since our foundation, advises that for now we do not go further in this format. We will suspend our page and our website until we are all free again ”, announces in a statement posted on the official website of the movement associated with the negative theses about the seriousness of the pandemic. According to the Observer, the coordinator Alfredo Rodrigues referred to the end of the group in a video broadcast on Facebook, with accusations inside it: “The overwhelming majority of the group's members always failed when it was necessary to be present”.

Since October, Doctors for the Truth have come under criticism because of their stances against the management of the pandemic - the gravity of which it contested - the widespread use of masks, the isolation of asymptomatic patients and the use of PCR tests. Social networks were his thing, but his actions and opinions, many of them without any medical and scientific basis, led the Ordem dos Médicos to open an inquiry into the group's activities. Officially, the movement and its objectives will now be ... rethought.

CHEGA hidden with movement from outside?

It was in December that a VISÃO investigation allowed to illuminate the backstage of Doctors for Truth and uncover the profile of its coordinator. From the outset, Chega's long arm in the multiplication of movements “for the truth” that sprang up on Facebook and grew there like mushrooms stood out. André Ventura's party, its members and supporters contaminate and share pages of alleged journalists, jurists, nurses and teachers “for the truth”, all with thousands of followers, real or fictional, sometimes throwing weapons for denialism or feeding other conspiracies.

At the time, VISÃO spent a few days at Doctors for Truth's virtual address, then with almost 43,000 followers. The idea will have started out with the best of intentions: bringing together health professionals concerned with the sick and the health of children, young people and older people in times of pandemic. But it soon became apparent that the “house” set up on Facebook had no insurance against “infiltrations”. 
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Good riddance for these bunch of loonies.

[Mike88]

Controversy as a new petition wants to stop Lisbon city hall's requalification project of Empire Square which will remove the coats of the Portuguese Empire of arms in the gardens:

https://twitter.com/Lusa_noticias/status/1357741420300410880

New petition against removal of coat of arms from Praça do Império in Lisbon with 5,500 signatures.

In 2016, Lisbon city hall (PS majority) approved, with the opposition voting against, the decision of the jury of the ideas contest launched to renovate the garden of Empire Square that did not provide for the recovery of the floral coats.

Several voices later appeared against the decision, petitions that were submitted to the Lisbon Municipal Assembly, considering that the removal of the floral crests from that garden "was a crime" against the city.

However, just over a month ago (December 29) the contract was awarded by the Lisbon municipality to the company Decoverdi, Plantas e Jardins, in the amount of about 730 thousand euros, according to the base public procurement portal.

Then, a new online petition appeared, entitled "Against the erasure of the coat of arms of Praça do Império, with the first signatory of the president of the Nova Portugalidade Association, Rafael Pinto Borges, and the signatures of former ministers António Barreto and Bagão Félix, as well as the former Mayor of Lisbon Carmona Rodrigues.

In the list of subscribers are also deputies to the Assembly of the Republic Telmo Correia (CDS-PP) and Paulo Neves (PSD) and the presidents of the Belém and Estrela parishes  - both of the PSD - Fernando Ribeiro Rosa and Luís Newton.

The elected representatives of the Lisbon Municipal Assembly Aline Beuvink (PPM), Diogo Moura (CDS-PP), José Inácio Faria (MPT) and Rodrigo Mello Gonçalves (independent, ex-PSD) are other proponents of the petition, which today at 16:30 had 5,510 signatures.

"The changes that the Chamber intends to impose on Empire Square will in no way enrich it. Unfortunately, for the sake of our Lisbon, the promoters of the project did not understand the spirit of the space and much less what it represents for the city, for Portugal and the world ", is defended in the text.

The subscribers consider that the project was commissioned by the municipality of Lisbon "with the clear, undisguised and purely ideological purpose of removing the coat of arms, in particular those that allude to the former Portuguese overseas, in an act of regrettable cultural Talibanism".

Therefore, they request the suspension of the current project and defend the promotion of a new one that does not foresee formal and conceptual changes, valuing the entire existing structure and fully preserving it for the future, including all floral, historical and overseas coats of arms, there represented.
(...)
The garden of Empire Square was built in 1940, at the time of the "Exhibition of the Portuguese World", an event commemorating 800 years of Independence from Portugal and 300 years of Restoration of Independence.

Years later, as part of another exhibition, 30 floral compositions in the form of a coat of arms representing the arms of Portuguese capitals and former overseas provinces were placed there. 

[Mike88]

Unemployment stood at 6.8% during 2020:

https://twitter.com/ECO_PT/status/1359463464796831744

Unemployment rate stands at 6.8% in 2020, below all forecasts.

In the last three months of 2020, the unemployment rate stood at 7.1%, 0.7 percentage points (pp) less than in the previous quarter, according to data released this Wednesday by the National Statistics Institute ( INE). The four-quarter average indicates that, for the year 2020 as a whole, the unemployment rate stood at 6.8%, below the estimates of the António Costa's government, the Bank of Portugal and the Council of Public Finance.
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All in all, in the year in which the pandemic started, the unemployment rate was 6.8%, a jump of just 0.3 pp compared to 2019, much lower than was estimated. Even so, in the rate of underutilization of labor, there was a jump of 1.2 percentage points to 13.9%. It should be noted that, especially in the first months of the pandemic crisis, the inactive helped to “hide” unemployment.

Also, more data from the INE:

Population on the Q4 2020: 10,305,300
Active population Q4 2020: 5,232,700
Population employed Q4 2020: 4,859,500
Population unemployed Q4 2020: 373,200

The population numbers seem to indicate that the population in Portugal grew in 2020, but the 2021 Census, due to start in late March, will confirm this or not.

[CumbrianLefty]

Movement "Doctors for the Truth" ends: Group of doctors and medical professionals that rejected the severity of the pandemic closes all online pages. The movement had links to CHEGA.

What.....a.......SURPRISE!!

[Mike88]

Movement "Doctors for the Truth" ends: Group of doctors and medical professionals that rejected the severity of the pandemic closes all online pages. The movement had links to CHEGA.

What.....a.......SURPRISE!!

Gasp!! xD

[Mike88]

3.5 magnitude earthquake felt, this evening, in Rio Maior, 51 miles/82 km from Lisbon:

https://twitter.com/LastQuake/status/1360360554070745095

A magnitude 3.5 earthquake on the Richter scale was recorded on Friday night, near Rio Maior, in the district of Santarém.

According to a publication on the social network Twitter, the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere, the shock was registered at the stations of the Seismic Network of the Continent at 22h08, with an epicenter in the town of Alcobertas, about eight kilometers north of Rio Maior .

This earthquake was felt throughout the West, in the municipalities of Caldas da Rainha, Alcobaça and Benedita.

Up to this point, there has been no record of casualties or property damage.

[Mike88]

2021 Census: 60,000 people applied for 11,000 vacancies to conduct the Census.

https://twitter.com/observadorpt/status/1363934416343547907

Census 2021. INE received 60 thousand applications for 11 thousand vacancies

The National Statistics Institute (INE) was looking for 11,000 census takers for the 2021 Census, but received almost six times as many applications - 60,000 - despite the pandemic and the possibility of face-to-face contact with citizens. The application period ended on Sunday and the selection will be made by the local authorities during the month of March.

The vacancies were for service contracts, with a duration of about two months, between April and June. According to the announcement published by INE, the salary varies according to the “results presented”. For example, “a census enumerator with 600 assigned residencies and finishing his job in 6 weeks will receive an average of € 1500“.

In a statement, the institute revealed, this Monday, that “about 60 thousand applications were received at national level”. The selection will be made by the municipalities, "only candidates who best fit the defined requirements are called for selection interviews". After this selection, there will be a training period. The Censuses start in April and will be carried out “preferably over the Internet”. “As of April 5, all residencies will receive a letter with the necessary information for responding to the 2021 Census on the Internet, distributed by the enumerators”, says INE.
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[Mike88]

Police identifies a young man who confessed raping a girl in a social media live podcast in Viseu:

https://twitter.com/JornalNoticias/status/1364300004827877378

Viseu Police seizes cellphone to young man who said he raped girl

A young man was identified by the Police (PSP) of Viseu after stating in a live video from the social network Instagram, that he raped a girl.

In the right promoted by humorist Fábio Alves, he asks what was the most "bizarre and erotic" thing practiced during a sexual act.

The young man, now identified by the PSP, starts by replying that he cannot tell on the social network, but a friend who is next to him says that he raped a girl, leaving her until she was rescued by INEM.

The young man ends up confirming the violation: "I left her there and then INEM went to get her (...)". Asked by the comedian if he actually committed the violation, the young man adds: "Believe me, it was only once".

Viseu's PSP commander, Vítor Rodrigues, confirmed to JN that the criminal investigation elements when they realized the video on Instagram are being investigated. "We identified the young man, who is from the Viseu area and, as a precautionary measure, we apprehended the cell phone that will be sent for examination," he said.

Also according to the superintendent, it is not clear whether the claim of the raoe is true or not, having only one certainty: "In recent times we have not received any complaints related to rape," he said.

[Mike88]

Crimes: Trial of the lesbian couple who killed and dismembered a man's body in order to steal his money, started today.

https://twitter.com/sapo/status/1364503584797323265

Dead for 70 thousand euros: the case of the young man murdered and dismembered by a couple in the Algarve goes to trial - SAPO 24

The defendants, a nurse and a security guard, are accused by the Public Ministry (MP) of the death of Diogo Gonçalves, in March 2020, in order to seize the money he had received in compensation for the death of his mother - run over in Albufeira, in 2016. The case ended in the death of the 21-year-old, after being drugged and asphyxiated.

The two women are accused by the MP for crimes of qualified homicide, desecration of a corpse, two crimes of illegitimate access, a crime of computer fraud, simple theft and use of a vehicle.

Maria and Mariana were girlfriends and lived together. After being arrested, writes Expresso newspaper, they shared a cell in Tires' chair, but ended up getting angry, separated and now each accuses the other of having been the real instigator of the murder.

According to the MP, the defendants, Mariana Fonseca, 24, nurse, and Maria Malveiro, 21, security, “went to the victim's home, a computer engineer, located in the Silves area, where they gave him disguised drugs to make him fall asleep and then squeezed his neck until they kill him ”. The objective was to steal money from him, as he had received 70,000 euros in compensation for the death of his mother, run over in Albufeira area in 2016.

After having removed several valuables, including his cell phone, from his home, they took him “in his own car to the defendants' house, located in the Lagos area”.

The weekly Expresso newspapers details what happened next. The next day, after having breakfast, they chopped up the corpse in the garage with a cleaver they stole from a supermarket. "They cut off his head, arms and feet. They still thought about removing his teeth, but, as the boy's tongue had been stretched forward (that's what happens to suffocation victims), they gave up. They also couldn't cut the legs, because the blood started to splash and they got scared. They put everything in big garbage bags and went to rest ".

Also as in the series, the body was stored in several trash bags, and these were left in two places. Those that contained part of the body, the trunk and the severed fingers, were thrown into the sea next to Forte Beliche, in Sagres. The rest, with their heads, arms and feet, were abandoned in Pego do Inferno, near Tavira.

The MP indicated that, during those days and until they were detained on April 1, the defendants made payments and picked up with the victim's debit card and cell phone. In total, they had used just over 2 thousand euros.
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[Mike88]

INE confirms GDP fall of -7.6% in 2020:

https://twitter.com/ECO_PT/status/1365260398459576323

Statistics Portugal confirms historical GDP drop of 7.6% in 2020

The pandemic caused a 7.6% drop in the Portuguese economy in 2020 compared to 2019, confirmed the second estimate from the National Statistics Institute (INE) released this Friday. The last Government forecast made in October pointed to an annual contraction of 8.5%, but Finance Minister João Leão had already admitted that the performance of GDP had been better. The stronger performance of the fourth quarter compared to the one anticipated contributed to this result, continuing the economic recovery.
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The biggest negative contribution (-4.6 percentage points) came from domestic demand, mainly due to the contraction in private consumption. Net external demand (exports minus imports) made a negative contribution of three percentage points, "mainly reflecting the unprecedented decline in tourism exports".

Overall 2020 numbers:

GDP: 202,7 billion euros
GDP per capita: 19,688 euros
Unemployment: 6.8%
Debt: 270,5 billion euros
Debt %: 133.5%
Deficit: -5.1%

[Mike88]

Violence in football: Benfica files complaint against vandalism and death threats towards their President.

https://twitter.com/observadorpt/status/1365980190996914176

Benfica will file complaint for death threats to Vieira and vandalism in the Houses, “Rua Vieira” movement demarcates itself from these actions

Benfica will move forward with several complaints of the strips that have been posted not only in the vicinity of Estádio da Luz but also scattered throughout the city of Lisbon and in the Benfica Club Houses throughout the country.

The final straw arrived at dawn from Thursday to Friday, after the elimination of the "reds" in the Europa League against Arsenal, with a stripe with death threats to Luís Filipe Vieira, president of the club. “Vieira, resign or we will kill you” and “Death to the Vieira family” were the two inscriptions placed on transparent canvases in black ink in the vicinity of Luz, in the tunnel leading to the stadium through the Colombo entrance.

“These types of demonstrations are negligible and discredit all the protests that various movements have made. We also appreciate that you do not send us messages to threaten family members of officers or anyone else. If you want to help orderly, on 03/03/21 at Cosme Damião roundabout and Casas do Benfica all over the country !!!! Just to make it clear, this last stripe left in Luz, was not made by the same group that made all the others they have seen on the Internet. Benfica doesn't give up! ”explained the“ Movimento Rua Vieira ”on its Facebook page, following a text with the image of a conversation sent in the same direction.
(...)
Benfica officials will also complain about the vandalization of several Benfica club houses, with inscriptions against Luís Filipe Vieira and the current "red" leaders who have already been condemned by Domingos Almeida Lima, vice-president of the Board who regretted that they were acts “presumably done by people from Benfica ”.
(...)

[Mike88]

Aviation regulator knock down Lisbon new airport project:

https://twitter.com/Publico/status/1366723014650454016

Regulator blocks construction of Montijo airport

The National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC) announced the rejection of the request for prior appraisal of the feasibility of the construction of the Complementary Airport in Montijo, thus halting the progress of the project.

The request had been made by ANA - Airports of Portugal and was now "struck down" by the aviation regulator.

At issue in the process presented by ANA is the lack of an opinion on the part of the municipality of Moita, one of the cities in the confluence area of the Montijo air base.

"Within the scope of the instruction of the request, ANA annexed, among other elements, opinions from the Municipal Councils of the potentially affected municipalities, either for unobstructed surfaces or for environmental reasons, with the existence of two favorable opinions, two unfavorable and the failure to present an opinion by one of the Chambers ", says the ANAC in a statement released this Tuesday.

The law, explains the regulator, determines that "it constitutes a basis for preliminary rejection on the absence of a favorable opinion from all the municipal councils of the potentially affected municipalities".

For this reason, ANAC considers that "it is obliged to reject the request outright, in compliance with the principle of legality and the mandatory command of the legislator contained in the aforementioned legal provision, with no technical assessment of the merit of the project".

In February last year, the Minister of Infrastructure, Pedro Nuno Santos, defended in Parliament the change of the current airport certification legislation.

“The legal framework that regulates these matters obviously needs to be revised, because it is absolutely incomprehensible that it was the mayor of Moita to deny” an opportunity that affects the country, defended Pedro Nuno Santos.

"It should not be the president of the Moita City Council to decide for the country, for the Lisbon region and even now, if we want to get closer, for Alcochete, Barreiro and Montijo", added the minister with the portfolio of infrastructure.

In reaction to the Government's intentions, the mayor of Moita, Rui Garcia (CDU), at the time rebelled against this Government position and even spoke of “cheating”.

"In common language this is called cheating, but from the point of view of governance, I don't know what to call it," Rui Garcia told Renascença.

ANA - Aeroportos de Portugal and the State signed, on January 8, 2019, the agreement for the expansion of Lisbon airport capacity, with an investment of 1.15 billion euros until 2028 to increase the current airport of Lisbon and transform the Montijo air base into a new airport.

The new airport controversy goes on, and on, and on... A saga that began in... 1969. Yep xD

[Mike88]

Violence in the suburbs of Lisbon: Police attacked by a mob that wanted to stop the police to detain a person.

https://twitter.com/cmjornal/status/1366756601844162561

PSP attacked by a group of 30 people in the neighborhood of Oeiras. See the images

An alert for noise on a public road ended with a siege of PSP agents in Navegadores neighborhood, in Talaíde, Oeiras. Two officers were injured and three members of the same family were arrested.

According to the Metropolitan Command of Lisbon, the case occurred at 1:00 am on Tuesday, when a patrol responded to a report that a group of people were making excessive noise.

But as soon as the patrol arrived, it was surrounded by a group of 30 people, some with sticks, stones and bottles in their hands. A 51-year-old man even assaulted one of the policemen and was arrested.

This situation ignited even more the spirits. Family members and friends of the detainee tried to avoid detention and only the arrival of reinforcements prevented this. The videos posted on social networks demonstrate only the end of the police intervention.

At this time, two relatives of the first detainee, aged 24 and 26, were also arrested. Throughout the situation, the agents were threatened with death. At the police station, a knife was discovered in the possession of the 51-year-old man who had been initially detained.

The three detainees are charged with crimes against authority, threats and illegal possession of a weapon.

[Mike88]

Covid-19: F**k fair in Monção canceled, once again, because of the pandemic.

https://twitter.com/Publico/status/1367172438136664071

F**k fair falls to the ground again because of the pandemic

For the second consecutive year, the already famous Feira da Foda (F**k Fair) will not be held, an event that marks the calendar of the parish of Pias, of the municipality of Monção and that, in general, distributes “good mood” throughout the country as soon as it is announced , for obvious reasons. But the fact is that the theme of the fair is food: it is dedicated to roast lamb in the style of the land and, thanks to the popularity that gave it its baptism name, it was in a good rhythm of growth and affluence. This was exactly one year ago, when it was one of the first events to be canceled due to the declaration of a pandemic. "Tears come to my eyes, believe me," Agostinho Correia, of the Confraria da Foda and the parish council of Pias, which organizes the event, commented to Fugas, after confirming the cancellation of this year's edition.

The fair, which opened in 2017, should have had a mega edition in 202o, after its success in 2019, in which it received about 35,000 visitors: “We were going to more than double the space and triple the seats”, recalls Correia, adding that there would be a kind of upgrade, even in the concept, including "more comfort" and "decorations alluding to the dish" that gives the party its name. "When we started, from Porto down, nobody knew what Foda was and people sometimes laughed or admired, now everyone knows what it is", says the co-founder.

Therefore, everything was prepared to grow the fair. "The idea was to have a covered space with some 3500m2 and seating for 1250 people", says Correia, indicating that, although the plans were in cod waters because of the pandemic, these remain and should come into force in 2022. And there is already a date, to keep hope: 1, 2 and 3 April.

The fair, which has the official motto “Degustar da Foda”, focuses on showing the “typical dish” consisting of the “Monção style lamb, in a clay bowl, taken to the wood oven”, well accompanied for another jewel in the crown, the “Alvarinho, red and sparkling”. The highlights of the program usually also include “tasquinhas, producers of cattle, agricultural machines, market stalls, regional handicrafts, popular music and Minho festival”.
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How was the fair born?

The name is "assumed" as provocateur, says co-founder Agostinho Correia. The official website of the event created to promote the typical local dish, summarizes “The genesis of Foda”. The story told is like this: the inhabitants who went to the fair to buy rés (cattle) were faced with sly sellers, who, so that the animals appeared to be fatter, put “salt in the forage, which forced the cattle to drink a lot of water”. "At the fair, the cattle appeared with their bellies full of water and heavy, looking really well cared for, very fat. The unwary, who were unaware of the 'morning' bought those authentic" water balloons "and, when they realized the deception , exclaimed in a good Minho way: “What a great f**k!” And from here, comes the the expression, says the fraternity: the term has become “popularized, over time, and the dish has come to be called Foda.” In such a way, it is read in the organization's texts, which is “Often, at festive times, you hear women from Minho exclaim: 'O Maria, have you ever f****d the f**k?'.

I was actually planning to go last year. Let's see if next year there is the opportunity.

[Mike88]

Infarmed approves costly medicine after intense social pressure for treatment of a 24 year-old woman with cystic fibrosis:

https://twitter.com/Publico/status/1369300163517382671

Infarmed approves treatment request for Constança Bradell.

Infarmed approved 14 requests for the Special Use Authorization (AUE) of Kaftrio, for the treatment of cystic fibrosis, including six from Lisbon North University Hospital Center (CHULN), a source from the agency confirmed to Lusa.

Among the approvals is the request for the use of Constança Bradell's medicine, which exposed, on social media, the delay in the approval in Portugal of the treatment for cystic fibrosis, a genetic, hereditary and rare disease.

The CHULN clinical director said on Monday that innovative treatment could soon reach five more patients at that hospital, which includes Santa Maria Hospital and Pulido Valente Hospital.

Constança Braddell used social media to expose the fight against cystic fibrosis, at a time when the disease began to have a serious impact on her daily life.

After the indignation generated on social media about the case, Infarmed clarified that he had not received any request for AUE from Santa Maria Hospital, which accompanies the young woman's case. A source from CHULN explained to PUBLICO newspaper that Constança was being negotiated in the early access program for the medicine, but the hospital decided this Monday to make the request for AUE to ensure that the young woman had access to the medicine.

[Mike88]

Airlines crisis: Groundforce Portugal, a subsidiary company of TAP Air Portugal, in crisis as workers demand unpaid salaries and the main Private shareholder has his shares pledged.

https://twitter.com/ECO_PT/status/1369186218177662981

Groundforce at risk of insolvency. Nationalization is a last resort.

Groundforce remains without money to pay salaries and negotiations between the private shareholder and the Government are at a deadlock. Nationalization is seen as a last resort, although it is not excluded, but insolvency is also an option on the table.

The owner of Pasogal (which owns 50.1% of Groundforce), Alfredo Casimiro, and the Government have been in the past few days negotiating the release of money for the overdue wages of 2,400 workers. The financing was an advance on services to be provided to TAP (which, in addition to holding 49.9% of Groundforce, is also a customer).

For this, the entrepreneur was asked to give his participation as a guarantee. But part of these actions is already under another pledge, making the deal impossible. There is already more than a pledge on part of Casimiro's shares in Groundforce, according to ECO, making it very difficult to keep the support patterns as they were being defined.

TAP is trying to understand the conditions of these existing pledges, in particular what the value is, whether or not it is being executed and in favor of who it is. Part of it relates to the bank (which will initially not have an interest in managing participation by offering the possibility of selling or possibly another entrepreneur), but there is another pledge that is not held by the bank.

Trying to resume the same solution, but with the pledge holder is one of the possibilities. If it is not possible, then it will be necessary to explore other options. Insolvency is a possibility, but it would oblige TAP to come up with a plan B for the expected resumption of the summer, which could include doing its own handling, creating a new company or hiring services from Portway.
(...)

[Mike88]

Minister of Infrastructures files a court complaint against the main shareholder of Groundforce for tapping and leaking a meeting about the Groundforce crisis to the media:

https://twitter.com/ECO_PT/status/1369727289785778176

Minister advances with criminal complaint against Casimiro for disclosure of private conversation

The Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, Pedro Nuno Santos, filed a criminal complaint against Groundforce's private shareholder, Alfredo Casimiro, for the unauthorized recording and disclosure of a private conversation between the two about TAP. At stake is a two and a half minute recording of one of the meetings, on March 2, about the situation of the handling company.

"The Minister of Infrastructure and Housing advanced with criminal participation in the Public Ministry against Alfredo Casimiro", revealed an official source of the ministry to ECO, when questioned about the recording. The Public Prosecutor's Office will now investigate whether there was a crime in improper recording and disclosure of private conversation.

The conversation is part of a larger meeting and a section on TAP is cut off. In this, Casimiro is heard to question the minister about the injection of public money into TAP and whether the private shareholder, Humberto Pedrosa, is also placing capital in the same proportion. Pedro Nuno Santos replies that he does not and explains that the Government is still negotiating with Brussels, but that in the context of the restructuring of TAP it should be required that part or all of the 1.2 billion loan be converted into capital.
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It is not possible to understand from the recording why the private shareholder of TAP was being the subject of conversation between them, but it may have been a parallel with the situation of financial difficulties of Groundforce (which is 50.1% owned by Pasogal de Casimiro and 49.9% by TAP). The conversation took place at the beginning of negotiations between Pedro Nuno Santos and the businessman to try to find an emergency solution for the overdue wages of 2,400 workers.

Shortly after the exchange on TAP, Casimiro took the floor, saying he regretted that they had not reached any conclusion, that they had not found a solution to present to the workers and also due to the negative impact that the situation has for himself, the minister and for the state. The businessman also guarantees that he tried all the possibilities to reach an agreement.

The recording ends in the middle of a sentence in which the shareholder says there is a "serious" problem and the minister's response is not heard. ECO tried to contact businessman Alfredo Casimiro, but it was not possible to obtain a comment.
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[Mike88]

Not since 1886, has there been so few marriages in Portugal:

https://twitter.com/Publico/status/1371791071622131713

Instituto Nacional de Estatística: For 134 years, there were not as few marriages as in a pandemic year

In 2020, 18,889 marriages took place in Portugal, according to preliminary data published this Tuesday by the National Statistics Institute (INE). This means that, in the year of the pandemic, the number of marriages was the lowest ever, reaching even the historic mark of being the lowest in 134 years, since the INE long series contains data from 1886.

On the same day that it publishes vital statistics for the past year - with data on births and deaths - INE updates the database on the number of marriages with the figure for December (1499), which makes it possible to find the number preliminary for the year as a whole.
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The health crisis ended up dictating a historic drop in the number of marriages, according to data from the statistical institute. In INE's long series - which starts in 1886 - two years with low numbers of marriages stand out: 2014, when the troika left Portugal after the financial rescue program that implied austerity policies since 2011; and 1918, the last year of the first world war that began in 1914. In 2014, 31,478 weddings took place and in 1918 30,236 were celebrated. It was these records, already low, that have now been exceeded.
(...)
On the other hand, in the entire long series, the year with the highest number of marriages took place in 1975, a year after the revolution of April 25, 1974, when, according to INE records, there were 103,126 marriages.
(...)

[Mike88]

3.4 magnitude Earthquake felt this morning in the Lisbon area. Epicenter was just 13km away from Lisbon city center:

https://twitter.com/LastQuake/status/1372489227221471232

According to information updated by the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA), the Lisbon region was hit by a magnitude 3.4 earthquake (Richter) whose epicenter was located about ten kilometers northwest of Alcochete.

The initial information showed that the earthquake had an epicenter about eight kilometers east of Loures.

The quake was recorded at 9:51 am on the continent's Seismic Network stations.

On Twitter, several users say they have felt the shock.

Earthquakes are classified according to their magnitude as micro (less than 2.0), very small (2.0-2.9), small (3.0-3.9), slight (4.0-4.9 ), moderate (5.0-5.9), strong (6.0-6.9), large (7.0-7.9), important (8.0-8.9), exceptional (9, 0-9.9) and extreme (greater than 10).

Contacted by Lusa, the Lisbon District Relief Operations Command (CDOS) indicated, shortly after 10:00 am, that it had no record of occurrences associated with this earthquake.

The Lusa agency received reports that the quake was felt in several municipalities in Greater Lisbon, such as Lisbon, Loures, Odivelas, Cascais, Amadora and Sintra.

[Mike88]

Chinese businessman sentenced to 25 years in jail for the ordering of a deadly fire in a building in Porto in 2019:

https://twitter.com/cmjornal/status/1372510764951552005

25 years in prison for Chinese businessman accused of deadly fire in building in Porto

A Porto city Court sentenced a Chinese businessman to 25 years in prison this Thursday, accused of setting two fires on a building in that city and causing the death of one of the tenants, in order to eliminate obstacles to real estate speculation.

The man convicted of murder, fire and coercion will also have to pay a compensation of 160,000 euros to the son of the deadly victim of the fire, which occurred on March 2, 2019.

The accusation and the pronouncement confirm that the businessman commissioned two employees to start the fires because he was determined to resell, without tenants, the building he had bought near the Mercado do Bolhão, on Alexandre Braga street, number 100, in Porto, and was unable to negotiate the exit of the only tenants left on the third floor: an octogenarian and three children.