Portugal's general discussion (general events)

[Mike88]

Massive explosion in a building in Lisbon injures 5 people and 2 are missing:

https://twitter.com/Publico/status/1340634075896442880

Images show destruction caused by building explosion in Lisbon

At least five people were injured, one in serious condition, during an explosion followed by a fire in a residential building on Rua de Santa Marta, in Lisbon, with two still missing, the Firefighters said.

Speaking to the media on the spot, the commander of the fire department, Tiago Lopes, informed that the fire was extinguished on the front of the building, being, shortly after 9 am, still fought in the afternoon, although circumscribed and without danger of passing to adjacent buildings.

According to the councilor for Civil Protection of the City of Lisbon, Carlos Castro, there are five injured, one of whom was in serious condition, but nine people lived in the building, two of whom are missing and two were not in the building.

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"If the dogs do not detect any life, we have to enter, with the removal of the rubble in a meticulous way so as not to create further damage to the neighboring buildings," he said, stressing that it is a job that can take hours.

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According to councilman Carlos Castro, the explosion may have been caused by a gas explosion.

[Mike88]

GALP, Portugal's main petrol company, will shut down their production in Matosinhos refinery next year:

https://twitter.com/MSN_Portugal/status/1341013340886237185

Galp: closure of the Matosinhos refinery puts 350 jobs in question

Galp announced, this Monday, that it will concentrate its refining operations and future developments in the Sines complex and discontinue refining in Matosinhos starting next year.

As far as TVI was able to ascertain, that decision could jeopardize 350 direct jobs. The refinery will be transformed into a logistics center, which will house some of these workers, while others will have to be transferred, through the mobility plan, to the Sines complex. Still, it will not be possible to safeguard all workers.

This process, which has been talked about for the past 10 years, has been accelerated due to the covid-19 pandemic, since the service has been virtually stopped since the summer.

In a statement, Galp said that "structural changes in the consumption patterns of petroleum products motivated by the regulatory context and the Covid-19 context have had a significant impact on Galp's industrial downstreaming activities", and stated that "the supply and the distribution of fuels in the country will not be impacted by this decision ”.

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The Government has already reacted, saying that Galp's decision "raises concerns" in relation to the fate of workers, "demanding from the company all the commitment and social sensitivity to seek solutions for the near future".

[Mike88]

Competition Authority issues a multimillion record fine to supermarkets and beverage companies:

https://twitter.com/observadorpt/status/1341073891612127233

Competition applies record fine of 304 million to supermarkets and beverage suppliers for agreeing prices

Price concertation in the sale of beverages to consumers, almost all alcoholic, led to the imposition of total fines of 304 million euros in two cases brought by the Competition Authority. This amount of fines is the highest ever decided by the competition regulator in a process involving the main supermarket chains in Portugal and two beverage suppliers, albeit through two convictions.

The sanctioned practice is the same: indirect price concertation, a behavior that, according to the Competition Authority, has harmed consumers for almost 10 years, by preventing competition through prices, resulting in the practice of rising prices. More investigations are underway that cover the same chains and suppliers of other consumer products.

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Modelo Continente of the Sonae group was the company that received the highest fine: 121.9 million euros, followed by Pingo Doce from Jerónimo Martins, which was sanctioned at 91 million euros.

Continente Modelo: 121.9 million euros
Pingo Doce: 91.090 million euros
Sociedade Central de Cervejas (SCC): 29.5 million euros
Auchan: 22.250 million euros
Intermarché: 19.390 million euros
Lidl: 10.550 million euros
Prime Drinks: 7,010 million euros
E. Leclerc: EUR 2,060 million
SCC Administrator: 16 thousand euros
Director of Modelo Continente: 2 thousand euros

[Mike88]

Nature Conservation Institute opens investigation after the slaughter of 540 animals in a farm in Azambuja, Lisbon:

https://twitter.com/revistaSABADO/status/1341138976023982080

Portugal - ICNF opens process to investigate slaughter of animals at Torre Bela estate

The Institute for the Conservation of Nature opened a process to find out from the Torre Bela Tourist Hunting Area "the facts that have occurred and any illicit events" related to the slaughter of 540 animals on a mount in Azambuja.

The online newspaper O Fundamental reported on Sunday that 540 animals, mostly deers and wild boars, were slaughtered on a mount at Quinta da Torre Bela, in the municipality of Azambuja, in the past few days.

The slaughter, according to the newspaper, was "advertised" on social networks "by some of the 16 "hunters" who participated" in the initiative.

In a note sent today to the media, the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF) states that "it had no prior knowledge of this action", which took place in a hunting area licensed as a Tourist Hunting Area (ZTC) from Torre Bela Agricultural Society of Quinta da Visitação, SAG, Lda.

"The ZTC's Spatial and Exploration Plan provides for the exploitation of deer and wild boar, by the methods provided for in the law, which include mounts", adds the ICFN.

The ICFN also adds that, "considering the number of animals slaughtered" reported by the media, it started a process of investigations with the ZCT management entity to "investigate the facts and possible illicit acts in accordance with the legislation in force".

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[Mike88]

Shooting in a supermarket in Seixal, Lisbon suburb, between police and a gunman:

https://twitter.com/cmjornal/status/1341477534697926657

Man who shot GNR in Seixal died. There are two wounded officers and one suspect detained

Two GNR officers were shot during an approach near a supermarket in Fernão Ferro, in the municipality of Seixal, in the late afternoon of this Tuesday. One of the suspects involved in the feud was struck during the ensuing fire and died. The suspect has about 40 years old. There is also the registration of an injured woman: she was accompanying the suspect who died when the military approached.

One of the GNR soldiers was hit in the abdominal area and is in serious condition, having been taken to Barreiro Hospital. The other soldier was shot in the leg.

According to CM, it was a civilian patrol. The altercation between the suspect who shot and the military started in the hypermarket and, outside, there was an exchange of shots.

In a statement, GNR clarifies that the approach to the group took place following the execution of an arrest warrant.

"The Guard's military approached the suspect, who was accompanied by a woman, who reacted and fired at one of the officers, followed by an exchange of fire. From this situation, both the military and the woman were injured, and medical assistance was provided", explains the GNR in a statement, adding that a man was arrested for resistance and coercion.

The PJ is also at the scene to collect evidence. The traffic on that road, which connects Seixal to Barreiro, has been cut and a large and muscled police operation is set up on the spot.
The alert was given at 18h22.

[Mike88]

Floods in the north of Madeira island force evacuations and there are multiple damages:

https://twitter.com/TSFRadio/status/1342535971523371009

Thunderstorm in Madeira forces the withdrawal of people in the north of the island

The heavy rain that has been felt since Thursday night on the north coast of Madeira caused havoc this Friday. The crisis office is meeting to evaluate the procedures for the next few hours.

There are flooded houses and flooded roads. The correspondent of SIC in Madeira said, live on SIC Notícias, that at least 10 people were removed from home as a precaution and confirmed that the situation is serious in the archipelago.

On social media, several videos of bad weather circulate.

Cited by the Diario de Noticias da Madeira, the president of the Ponta Delgada parish council, in the municipality of São Vicente, José Miguel Freitas Luís, says the situation is serious. He adds that all roads are impassable and adds that several people had to be taken out of the house as a precaution.

The parish of S. Jorge is also being strongly affected. There are even records of some defeats. In Funchal, hail fell.

[Mike88]

Highest number of deaths in Portugal since 1920:

https://twitter.com/observadorpt/status/1345300192791302145

Not since 1920 has so many people died in a year in Portugal

The number of deaths in Portugal last year, was the highest in 100 years. Data from the eVM (real-time mortality surveillance system that analyzes death certificates), for January 1, indicate that 123,667 people died in Portugal last year.

According to the JN, this rise in the number of deaths compares with the 144,000 people who died in 1920, indicate the data contained in the archives of the National Statistics Institute (INE). Just as last year is associated with the Covid-19 pandemic, the years 1918 to 1920 were marked by a high mortality associated with the Spanish flu.

In 1918, 253 thousand people died in Portugal, in 1919 there were more than 154 thousand and in 1920 144 thousand people.

Analyzing the data since 1960 (when they started to be systematized by INE), until 2020 the worst year had been 2018, with 113,051 deaths. At the time, writes the JN, the highest number of deaths had been explained by the aging population and a heat wave. Now, it is due to the pandemic but also to the so-called collateral deaths (for lack of timely assistance). Covid-19, writes the newspaper, accounts for about half of the total excess mortality.

[Mike88]

5.4 magnitude earthquake felt in the Azores:

https://twitter.com/Renascenca/status/1348657461188829184

Magnitude 5.4 earthquake felt on four islands in the Azores

An earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale was recorded late Monday morning in the islands of Faial, Pico, São Jorge and Terceira, informed the Civil Protection of the Azores.

In a statement, the Regional Civil Protection and Fire Service of the Azores added that, according to the Azores Seismovolcanic Surveillance and Information Center (CIVISA), the event took place at 11:47 am local time (12:47 pm in Lisbon) and had a magnitude of 5.4 on the scale from Richter and epicenter about 67 km to WNW (west-northwest) from Capelo, on the island of Faial.

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[Mike88]

Prosecutor ordered police to spy on reporters regarding a judicial case:

https://twitter.com/JNegocios/status/1349127972289191937

A DIAP prosecutor in Lisbon decided, without authorization from a judge, to place the police in the footsteps of two journalists, one of whom was from Sábado magazine

The prosecutor Andrea Marques of the Department of Investigation and Penal Action of Lisbon ordered and the PSP fulfilled: to do vigilances to journalists. The targets of the Public Prosecutor were two: Carlos Rodrigues Lima, a Sábado magazine journalist, and Henrique Machado, a former journalist for Correio da Manhã, currently on TVI.

With such diligence, according to the case, the prosecutor wanted to know who both journalists were contacting in the universe of the courts, despite the fact that the investigation concerned only concerned a possible violation of the secrecy of justice in the E-toupeira case.

(...)

The due diligence was ordered to the PSP (police) without any warrant from an investigating judge, nor did the prosecutor in this case reveal any legal concern about breaking the journalist's confidentiality through surveillance. According to the law, only a higher court can order the breach of journalists' confidentiality.

Next Thursday, January 14th, Sábado will reveal all the details of the surveillance, photos and reports of the PSP, the profile of attorney Andrea Marques, as well as the war between the DIAP in Lisbon and the Judiciary Police.

[Mike88]

Highest number of deaths in Portugal since 1920

Interesting that it's exactly a century. But yeah, that's really bad.

However, how far back does it go if one takes the relative death rate instead of absolute numbers? I assume that in 1920 Portugal's population was quite smaller.

In 1920, Portugal had around 6 million inhabitants, so the death rate was 2.4%. In 1918, in the height of the Spanish flu, the death rate reached 4.2%. With the current population, 10,3 million, the death rate is 1.2%.

And the media is also reporting that the number of total deaths in the last few days are also breaking records: 11 January was the most deadly day since 2009, and not since the massive heat wave of 1981 that in two consecutive days have been more than 600 deaths.

[Mike88]

Queues of ambulances in several hospitals across the country yesterday. Situation is near breaking point according to doctors.

https://twitter.com/dntwit/status/1350417526014963713

Hard night. Ambulances lined up at Torres Vedras and Santa Maria hospitals

Photographs shared on social media showed the queue of about 10 ambulances for Torres Vedras's covid-19 emergency and the hospital administrator acknowledged this Saturday that the last night "was very complicated". Also at the Saint Mary Hospital, in Lisbon, there were queues outside the emergency room, according to photos also published on social networks.
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According to Marta Soares, firefighters ambulances are being held with patients in many of the hospitals in this country for hours. "We arrived at the hospitals, there are no stretchers, and often they are on our stretchers for hours, some inside the ambulances themselves, to the point that citizens have already died inside the ambulances themselves, and many times our stretchers are held there, in the corridors, in the emergency room, where these hospitals actually use our equipment to guarantee the protection of the patients, since they have no capacity for beds or stretchers "to make the reception, he described.
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According to Elsa Baião, chairman of the board of directors of West Hospital Center (CHO), to which the Torres Vedras unit in the Lisbon district belongs, "the situation was very complicated, because there was no capacity" and, as such , it was necessary to "create another ward with 21 beds", he revealed to the Lusa agency.

Hospitalization capacity for covid-19 increased from 45 to 66 beds. According to the administrator, today, "by 8:00 am the situation was calmer, despite the emergency room being still full".
(...)

[Mike88]

2021 Census: National Statistics Institute is hiring almost 11,000 volunteers to conduct the Census.

https://twitter.com/ECO_PT/status/1354091765305901061

Statistics Portugal is hiring for Census 2021. Applications close on February 15

The National Statistics Institute (INE) is in the process of recruiting 11,000 enumerators for Census 2021 under service providers. The Census is INE's largest statistical operation, which involves counting all citizens and families in the country, as well as all houses and buildings intended for housing.

The institute seeks people with a smartphone or tablet with an internet connection, good knowledge of the geographic area for which they apply, with availability to work on the weekend and part-time during the week, and preferably with a High-school degree and their own transport.
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The contract will have a duration of about two months, between April and June 2021 and, underlines the institution, "the payment for the services provided varies depending on the results presented (a census enumerator with 600 assigned accommodations and finishing his work in 6 weeks will receive an average of € 1500) ".
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The majority of inquiries in the Census are expected to be online rather the in person. The Census will occur during April and June.

[Mike88]

2020 Population: Not since 2015 that few babies were born in Portugal

https://twitter.com/Publico/status/1354381431582167042

Natalidade: Since six years ago that few babies were born in Portugal

About 85,500 babies were born in Portugal in 2020, the lowest figure since 2015, the year in which 85,056 “little foot tests” were carried out, reveal data released this Wednesday by the National Institute of Health Ricardo Jorge. Last year, 85,456 newborns were studied, 1908 fewer babies than in 2019 (87,364), under the National Neonatal Screening Program, which covers almost all births in Portugal.
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Lisbon was the city that tracked more newborns, totaling 25,014, less 1267 compared to 2019, followed by Porto, with 15,734, 33 more compared to the previous year. Braga registered 6538 births in 2020, minus 96 compared to 2019, and Setúbal 6459, minus 264, advance the data of the “little foot test”, carried out from the third day of life, through the collection of blood droplets on the child's foot . This test allows the diagnosis of some serious diseases that are difficult to diagnose in the first weeks of life and that can later cause severe neurological changes, liver changes, among other situations.

Although Bragança is the district with the lowest number of births (596), the number increased compared to 2019, with 33 more “foot tests” performed, the same happening in Portalegre, which tracked 631 babies, 10 more compared to the previous year . The autonomous regions of the Azores and Madeira also registered a drop in the number of tests performed, totaling 2051, 53 less than in 2019, and 1818, 77 less, respectively.
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The demographic balance will probably be almost -40,000, the highest figure since 1918.

Also, curious to see the data the 2021 Census will reveal. Current estimates, from different sources, put Portugal with a population between 10,100,000 and 10,300,000. In the last 3 census, 1991, 2001 and 2011, the INE failed, mainly in 1991 and 2001, in predicting the actual number of people living in Portugal compared with the Census results. We'll see.

[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.
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[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.
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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”. 
(...)

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.
(...)
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.

[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.