Portugal Safety and Security Report 1st February 2023
Yesterday the organization Transparency International published the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) report for 2022. Portugal maintains the 2021 score of 62 and decreases one place from 32nd to 33rd position, out of 180 countries.
Portugal remains below the average for the Western Europe and the European Union which has 66 points, but ahead of Spain which scored 60 and Italy 56. According to the report the ‘gold’ visa program in Portugal “increased the risks of corruption” and “put pressure on the real estate market”, according to the report. Portugal is criticized for postponing the abolition of that “controversial program”,
When I worked with INTERPOL we met with the Transparency International team as part of Interpol’s own anti-corruption strategy was conceived with nearly all Golden Visas being issued for property purchase with buyers from just one or two countries meant that there was a high risk of corruption and related crimes such as money laundering. The report is right in highlighting this in the case of Portugal.
Also yesterday the PSP reports that, in five years, it recorded 1,615 crimes of animal abandonment and 2,278 for situations of mistreatment, in a total of 4,402. While the GNR accounted for 5,330 crimes, 3,385 of which were for mistreatment of animals and 1,945 for abandonment. The GNR also reports that it issued 18,690 administrative offenses for this offense in the last five years.
The Public prosecutor’s office recently asked the Constitutional Court (TC) for a declaration of unconstitutionality of the norm that criminalizes with imprisonment those who, without legitimate reason, kill or mistreat pets because the TC has successively annulled these convictions, with the argument that they lack constitutional coverage.
This position of the TC is based on the principle that nothing in the Constitution provides for deprivation of liberty (in other words a prison sentence for the person convicted) with regard to the rights of animals. The TC should only pronounce its sentence on this matter in the coming months.
The British Embassy in Lisbon has contacted Safe Communities Portugal and other associations with an update on the issue of residence documentation for UK nationals and their family members under the Withdrawal Agreement (WA).
As you will all be aware, over the last few months the Portuguese administration has made significant progress in rolling out appointments so UK nationals, who are registered on SEF’s Brexit Portal, can obtain a biometric WA residence card. We understand the majority of those registered on the portal have now booked or attended an appointment. However, SEF have informed us that there are still some UK nationals who have not responded to the email invitations, or who have not attended on the day.
We are grateful for all you have already done to encourage people to take action (and to flag issues to us), and we would appreciate your ongoing assistance in trying to reach those who are yet to engage with the process. From what SEF tell us, appointment availability now appears to be very good across the country, and it is not too late for UK nationals to register on the portal if they haven’t done so already.
“Despite the progress made, we know there are some important outstanding issues still to be resolved, the main one being a process for family members to obtain a WA residence document. The good news is that last week SEF opened a process for family members who previously held an EU residence document – see their announcement from 23 January on Facebook here. Although SEF have confirmed that some UK nationals have already managed to add their family members to their account on the portal, we know others have had difficulty. SEF have also not yet published any guidance on the process. We continue to engage with SEF to encourage them to do so and to raise the issues being reported to us”.
With that have a safe week ahead.
News
Majority of informal caregivers need urgent psychological support
Data from a national survey reveal that 83.3% of informal caregivers felt in a state of ‘burnout’ and 77.9% recognized that they needed psychological support. Less than half of these seek and use this help
Most informal caregivers admit they have already felt in a state of emotional exhaustion and more than seven in ten need urgent psychological support, according to a study to be released on Tuesday.
Data from this national survey, which will be presented in Lisbon, reveal that 83.3% of the informal caregivers surveyed admit to having felt in a state of ‘burnout’ and that 77.9% recognize that they need psychological support, but less than half of these seeks and enjoys this help.
“The data tells us this: they need it, they want it and they have already tried to get psychological support”, psychologist Ana Carina Valente, responsible for the study and professor at ISPA – University Institute of Psychological, Social and Life Sciences, told Lusa, stressing that the results show that “there is psychological suffering in caregivers”.
The national survey, carried out by Merck, with the support of the Movimento Caring for Informal Caregivers, also shows that 78.5% consider that their mental health status influences the performance of their role as informal caregivers and about half say they are unable to laugh and see the positive side as before.
Although 77.9% recognize the need for psychological support, less than half of them seek and use this support: “The psychological support response in Portugal, for example, from the National Health Service, is not an effective response”, considers Ana Carina Valente.
Kamov helicopters await Ukraine’s “technical visit” to assess donation
The Ministry of Defence says that “the scheduling of a technical visit” by Ukrainian representatives is being articulated to assess the state and the sending of the six Portuguese Kamov helicopters (which are Russian built) – all inoperative, to the front of combat against Russia.
While the Government continues to study the possibilities of contributing with training or Leopard 2 tanks to the war effort in Ukraine , the six Portuguese Kamov helicopters, Russian-made and all inoperative, remain in Portugal.
The Portuguese offer was announced in October by the Minister of National Defence (MDN), Helena Carreiras, but the process regarding the aircraft has not yet been concluded. “A technical visit by representatives of the Ministry of Interior and the State Emergency Service of Ukraine is currently being articulated between the authorities of the two countries, after which the aircraft can be sent”, replied the office of the Minister of Defence to Express.
Inflation drops to 8.3% in January
The year-on-year rate of change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell to 8.3% in January, compared to 9.6% in December, according to the flash estimate released today by the National Statistics Institute (INE).
According to INE, “based on the information already collected, the year-on-year rate of change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) will have decreased, for the third consecutive month, to 8.3% in January 2023, a lower rate in 1.3 percentage points (pp) to that observed in the previous month”.
As for the underlying inflation indicator (total index excluding unprocessed food products and energy) it registered a variation of 7.0% in January (7.3% in the previous month).
INE adds that the average change rate in the last 12 months was 8.2% (7.8% in the previous month).
The Portuguese Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) recorded a year-on-year change of 8.6% in the month under review (9.8% in the previous month).
Potholes in public roads have been worrying Lisbon residents for seven months
Holes have existed since July of last year and have not yet been covered, despite successive complaints from residents.
The holes in the public road in the parish of Alcântara, in Lisbon, concern the residents. The situation has lasted since July last year and has worsened with the rains of recent months.
The holes in the middle of Rua Pinto Ferreira pose a danger to anyone passing by, both in the pedestrian zone and in the car traffic area.
Residents have been complaining since last July and incidents have already been opened on the “Na Minha Rua” portal, an application of the Lisbon City Council where problems in public spaces can be reported, but most have been closed by the services.
Residents are concerned about the situation, which has been aggravated by the recent rains.
To SIC, the Lisbon City Council says that the problem is in a connection branch that will have been damaged, and that the objective is to move forward as quickly as possible to the work that allows to solve the situation.
It is important to properly protect the fireplace so that it does not cause a household fire. If using fireplaces, salamanders or gas equipment, maintain correct ventilation in rooms in order to avoid the accumulation of harmful gas, and before bed or leaving the house, make sure you have put out wood and charcoal fires, and turn off heating equipment in order to avoid possible fires. Regularly check the condition of the door seals on wood-burning stoves and pellet fires.
The operation began following a routine maritime patrol mission by the Air Force, after suspicious movements of two vessels were monitored about 60 nautical miles south of Portugal, the PJ said in a statement. The semi-rigid vessels equipped with high-power engines, suspected of transporting drugs, were intercepted in international waters by marines from the Portuguese Navy, specified the police.
The alert was given at 1:30 pm by the Lisbon Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre, with elements of the Local Command of the Maritime Police of Lagos, a wide-angle team of the Volunteer Firefighters of Vila from Bispo and an Emergency and Resuscitation Medical Vehicle from INEM.When security forces arrived at the scene, the man was conscious and had several bruises on his body.
The “Travel without haste” campaign will integrate ANSR awareness actions across the country and inspection operations carried out by the GNR and PSP that will take place “with special focus on roads and accesses with high road traffic and in accordance with the National Plan of Inspection 2023, in order to contribute to reducing the risk of accidents and to the adoption of safer behaviour by drivers with regard to driving at excessive speed”.
The Regional Command of the Madeira Public Security Police (Comando Regional da Polícia de Segurança Pública da Madeira) informed that 13 arrests were made for driving under the influence of alcohol during several patrol missions that took place between January 13th and 19th. In addition, 4 people were arrested in Funchal for driving without a licence, 1 person was arrested in Santana for driving while the driving licence had been apprehended, and 1 person in Funchal was banned from driving for 12 hours.
This connection completes the network of other destinations that the airline was already operating during the summer months, namely the connection to Barcelona [also in Spain], which remain, with the offer of three weekly frequencies.
Exposure to damp and mouldy environments may cause a variety of health effects, or none at all. Some people are sensitive to mould. For these people, exposure to moulds can lead to symptoms such as stuffy nose, wheezing, and red or itchy eyes, or skin. Some people, such as those with allergies to moulds or with asthma, may have more intense reactions.
The operation took place following an investigation into drug trafficking by the Faro PSP Criminal Investigation Squadron and in the execution of arrest warrants for four men, between 23 and 64 years old, said the police in a statement.
“The Alcoutim Volunteer Firefighters are important for the municipality and work daily for the well-being of the population. The City Council has to recognize this work and create conditions for them to do it well and efficiently”, said the mayor of Alcoutim, Osvaldo Gonçalves .
The suspect was later located in possession of a bag containing more drugs, having seized a total of 1,538 doses of heroin, 125 doses of cocaine, three mobile phones and 535 euros.
The 1st January 2023 was notable in that it was the warmest January day on record for many countries in Europe. In Poland 19C, Denmark 12.6C, Czech Republic 19.6C, Netherlands 16.9C and here in Portugal 15C in the Alentejo, Portugal are some examples. However, just three weeks later we are experiencing a cold air mass with temperatures down to minus -6.6C in Braganza. Interestingly on the same day in 2022 IPMA recorded temperature of minus -6C to 3C in the north. January 2022 was in fact a cold month but by mid-February maximum air temperatures reached 26.3C in Zambujeira and with relative humidity levels as low as 17%.
Safe Communities Portugal’s role as part of DRR is to encourage behavioural changes in the population, to make communities aware of what procedures to take for certain risks; help through advice to prepare citizens for their role in an emergency; help prepare citizens for the importance of protecting their lives and those around them – family, neighbours and the community and promote specific actions for the most vulnerable communities, with the aim of developing and implementing measures that increase knowledge and/or reduce the risk of catastrophe.
António Costa Silva stated that for Portugal to “achieve one of the goals of being the most sustainable destination in the world, one of the highest quality ones, “it is necessary to work together, developing collaborative networks”.
These are extra appointments on the day. It opens today and aims to deal with those situations of acute illness, but of moderate severity, when it is not necessary to go to the emergency room of a hospital,
The maximum capacity of the São Miguel Stadium is 10,000 spectators and eight thousand tickets were sold at the official store of the reds in Ponta Delgada.
Between January and December of last year, 1,842,460 passengers disembarked at Azorean airports, 138,639 (8.1%) more than in 2019, the year before the covid-19 pandemic, in which the highest number of arrivals in the country had been recorded. region, according to SREA data consulted by Lusa.
The National Union of Civil Aviation Flight Personnel (SNPVAC) will advance with a prior notice of strike at work at TAP for seven days, between 25th and 31st January, according to a note sent to members.
Most of these deaths are preventable so a reminder to: avoid sleeping near heating equipment; properly protect the fireplace so that it does not cause a household fire; move away furniture and do not dry your clothes in heaters; before bed or leaving home make sure you have put out wood and charcoal fires or turned off heating equipment in order to avoid possible fires and avoid overload – do not connect too many devices in the same outlet, especially high consumption.
At the opening of the seminar on the “Program of Lessons Learned from the Rural Fire Season 2022 of the European Civil Protection Mechanism”, it was attended by the European Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic, Minister José Luís Carneiro and Min Swedish civil defence force Carl-Oskar Bohlin via video conference and while representing the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU.
Miguel Reis was elected mayor of Espinho, Aveiro district, by the PS in the 2021 municipal elections, with 40.23% of the votes.
The statement explains that 174 doctors will be working at the region’s public hospitals, while 22 will be placed at the region’s health centres (14 at the Central Algarve health centres group, three at the Eastern Algarve health centres group and four at the Western Algarve health centres group). The interns were welcomed on Tuesday, January 3 in Faro by ARS Algarve boss Paulo Morgado, who stressed the importance of “investing in knowledge and research” to meet the needs of society.
A new project has been launched with the goal of “restoring, recovering and reforesting” around 100 hectares of land in the Algarve’s Serra do Caldeirão mountains.
The man is Idalino Pereira, popularly known as Mestre Idalino Canelas, who lives in Pocinho and was last seen in Venda Nova.The searches are being carried out by 9 operatives and 4 vehicles from the National Republican Guard (GNR), 7 operatives and 3 vehicles from the Municipal Civil Protection Service and two operatives and a vehicle from the Maritime Police.
In a vote, which according to the organisation was the closest ever, in which 10 trees participated, Eucalipto de Contige, Sátão, district of Viseu won, in what is the sixth edition of the initiative in Portugal.