Year: 2019

A man of foreign nationality, who is in Portugal solely for the purpose of “committing crimes against tourists

The detention of the 57-year-old man took place in the framework of policing and criminal investigation in the Ever-present Police Operation: Safe Parties 2019/2020, after carrying out two theft crimes on Saturday in Lisbon, the Lisbon Metropolitan Command of Lisbon reported. Public Security Police (Cometlis), in a statement.

At about 4:25 pm on Saturday, the suspect stole a suitcase that had a mobile phone and personal effects in the Saldanha area of ​​Lisbon, fleeing and eventually finding refuge in a hotel lobby.  There he then stole property from a guest who was checking in at the time,” PSP said, adding that “all these actions were carried out discreetly, without the victims noticing.”

With a special security program in these commercial areas, in view of the current time of year, PSP sent investigators to the occurrence of these thefts, who had information that pointed out that this was the suspect and “were able to quickly detect it inside the hotel. , immediately after the second theft was committed, eventually detaining him “.

According to the PSP, the man arrested for being suspected of theft of two thefts in Lisbon had been under investigation since September this year, so it was possible to correlate him with “10 thefts in total, nine of them in Lisbon hotels and one against tourists “, in which he raised assets worth about 13,000 euros.

“It was illicitly introduced into hotel check-in, dining, and transit areas, and taking advantage of the symptomatic frenzy of these areas subtracted suitcases and luggage from the people who settled there,” PSP explained.

The detained man “is known in Europe as an international pickpocket, specializing in this criminal activity, and is in our country with the sole purpose of committing crimes against tourists,” said the PSP, adding that the suspect has several records of crimes committed in several European countries, notably Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, Switzerland and France.

Present in court, the man was remanded in custody.

Police authorities reported 11 deaths, including nine on mainland roads, due to road accidents, a number that increased due to bad weather between 18 and 25 December.

According to data released today at a joint press conference by GNR, PSP and the National Road Safety Authority (ANSR), nine people died on the continent’s roads, representing a 57% decrease from last year (21 deaths).

The two fatalities that occurred in the Azores and Madeira do not fit the ANSR statistics.

Also the number of serious and minor injuries in Natal 2019 operation decreased, although there were more accidents, which deserved praise for the behavior of drivers by the president of ANSR, Rui Ribeiro.

“The decrease in victims shows responsible behavior on the part of drivers and we hope they will continue to do so until the end of the operation on January 5, allowing the numbers to continue to decline,” he said.

In the eight days of the Natal accident-fighting operation, police authorities reported 3,521 road accidents (334 more than last year), 39 serious injuries, compared with 46 in the same period of 2018, and 841 minor injuries, against 1,038 a year ago. year.

The authorities carried out 240,220 enforcement actions, including radar and 32,902 alcohol testing, for which 575 offenses (1.8%) and 205 arrests were detected due to the blood alcohol crime rate.

At the national level, these 240,220 inspections recorded 23,887 infractions and 331 driver arrests, as it included 205 for excess alcohol.

Over 15,000 speeding, 370 for alcohol abuse and 390 mobile phone violations were also detected.

According to Colonel Paulo Gomes, in the GNR action zone, 2,190 accidents were detected, causing seven deaths and 30 serious injuries.

However, he said, the most serious accidents are related to bad weather and not the relocation of families for the celebration of Christmas.

In the PSP area, according to quartermaster Nuno Carocha, 1,504 accidents were recorded, most of them due to speeding, non-compliance with priority rules and the use of mobile phones.

These accidents caused four deaths, 421 injured, including 14 serious.

The “Christmas and New Year” operation, which ends on January 5, has about 19,000 PSP and GNR members who will continue to supervise and patrol the Portuguese roads until the New Year in order to reduce road accidents. .

The flow rate of the Mondego River at the Coimbra bridge dam has exceeded the safety limits of 2000 cubic meters per second (m3 / s) at 9.30 hours.

In a statement to the Lusa agency, the Coimbra City Council, which cites information from the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) sent to the Municipal Civil Protection, says that the river flow has a “rising trend over the next few hours, and the situation is very critical. ”

In the text, the municipality of Coimbra states that “a critical flood situation is expected”, recommending to the population to remain “in a state of permanent alert and to respect all indications of the authorities who are on the ground and their directions”.

The possibility of the critical flood situation arises from various factors: the Aguieira dam reservoir, upstream of Coimbra, on the Mondego River, is at 94% of its capacity, from the Fronhas dam on the Alva River, tributary of the Mondego, which is “at the maximum flood level” and “high flow rate of Ceira River”, another tributary of the left bank of the Mondego.

Meanwhile Coimbra’s suburban trains have been suspended on Saturday due to rising water levels, according to information released by an official source from Infrarastruras de Portugal (IP).

More than 250 people were removed from home due to the rising waters of the Mondego River in three villages of the municipality of Montemor-o-Velho, district of Coimbra, according to sources of the municipality and Civil Protection.

The Municipality that  “from the low, historically flood-sensitive zones” of the right bank of Mondego – Carapinheira, Montemor-o-Velho, Meças do Campo, Tentúgal and Ereira – “to preventive measures and self-protection due to the possibility of flooding, “although they are located farther from the main riverbed than the villages on the left bank.

In the notice, the municipality calls on residents of these localities to remain calm, vigilant and to convey “serenity to others”, to “list and collect important and necessary objects, such as identification documents and medicines” and to change the filling of the house. to the upper floors “by placing the most valuable objects at the highest points”.

Given the magnitude of the floods in Baixo Mondego, Emílio Torrão also said that the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MAI) has made available a helicopter to assess the damage from the air, and the aircraft is expected to fly over the affected region, taking the mayors on board. of Montemor-o-Velho and Coimbra, the District Commander of Relief Operations (CODIS) and a technician of the Portuguese Environment Agency

Due to the state of emergency of the situations described that can occur in the next few hours in the municipality of coimbra, and since the emergency plan is activated, the evacuation of the housing internship center (Nomads Park), located in the pool, was ordered Next to the academic academy. The Evacuation of the municipal kennel, which is located in the choupal, has also been ordered, and the machinery of the garden and the municipal yard has been moved, having been moved to the parking to the municipal

It is also reported that the municipal civil protection commission is constantly in meeting and the means are all mobilised on the ground to deal with the events that may occur and ensure the safety of the population.

 

The number of displaced people due to the bad weather that has plagued mainland Portugal since Wednesday has risen to 77, with around 7,000 occurrences until 12:00 today, with two dead and one missing.

According to Pedro Nunes, commander of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC), “By 12:00 there were 7,000 occurrences, involving 21,000 operations.”

The commander said that the most affected districts are Porto, Aveiro, Coimbra, Viseu, Braga and Lisbon, with most occurrences related to floods and tree falls.

Pedro Nunes also said that the flood plan for the Tagus basin was triggered and admitted the possibility of “cutting national and regional roads” in the Santarém district later in the day.

“Until 20:00 there should be a worsening of the weather, and then it is expected to begin to stabilize,” he said.

Pedro Nunes indicated the possibility of flooding in the Douro, with special attention to Régua and the mouth, on both banks, stating that the flows are “not stabilizing” and the situation “may worsen in the afternoon and evening”.

Regarding the Tâmega river, Pedro Nunes said that the flow rate dropped in the morning, but in Chaves and Amarante it could get worse again, “due to the precipitation and the incoming flows from Spain”.

“Regarding Águeda, both the Águeda river and Alfusqueiro presently have reduced flows due to precipitation and the expected runoff in the afternoon, and it is very possible that it will worsen, that is, flood again,” he explained. .

According to the commander, the situation with the Mondego river has been “manageable, with the flow rate at the limit”. Authorities are “concerned about the precipitation that will occur in the afternoon.”

Pedro Nunes also warned about the case of the Sorraia basin, since late afternoon / early evening floods can occur in Coruche.

According to information shared by the Portuguese Institute of Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) during the briefing with the Civil Protection, at 14:00 mark the beginning of a “worsening weather for the Center region, for the strong and persistent precipitation variants being generally moderate, no longer with yesterday’s intensity ”, explained Pedro Nunes.

New outbreaks of heavy and persistent rain are expected, and the districts most affected by this situation are Aveiro, Coimbra, Leiria, Santarém and Lisbon by the end of the day. Castelo Branco and Portalegre may be added to this list.

Asked about the possibility of traffic conditions on the 25 de Abril Bridge and on the Tagus river crossing in the Lisbon region, Pedro Nunes stated that, taking into account the IPMA warnings, the wind blowing “is moderate, so this possibility is not foreseen ”.

“For us to understand, yesterday was considered strong to very strong, with gusts up to 100 kilometers / hour. Today the maximum gust is 70/80 kilometers / hour, ”he said.

The Portuguese Institute of Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) has today under orange warning (the second most serious) 12 districts of mainland Portugal and the northern coast of Madeira due mainly to the sea turbulence. Leiria, Santarém and Portalegre are under orange warning also due to forecasts of heavy precipitation in the afternoon.

The IPMA has warned of the effects of a new depression, called Fabien, which will hit Portugal on Saturday, especially the North and Center, with heavy rain and strong southwest winds expected, with gusts up to 90 km / hour in the south, north and central coast and 120 km / hour in the highlands.

About one hundred high and medium voltage lines are still inoperable due to the passage of the Elsa depression, with the districts of Viseu, Coimbra and Guarda being the most affected, according to EDP Distribuição.

GNR today began Operation “Christmas and New Year” by reinforcing road patrol on the country’s busiest roads in order to prevent accidents and ensure smooth traffic flow.

For the operation, which ends January 5, the Republican National Guard (GNR) will mobilize about 4,600 military personnel from the National Transit Unit and Territorial Commands daily to provide a safe journey for road users during the Christmas season and new Year.

From today onwards, the GNR will have “special concern for the risk behaviour of drivers” which sometimes gives rise to serious accidents.

The military will be “particularly alert” to speeding, dangerous manoeuvres, overtaking, changing direction and giving way, mobile phone use while driving, non-right-hand traffic on major and complementary highways and routes and use of seat belts.

In a statement, GNR advises drivers to carefully plan their trips, avoiding the end-of-day periods when traffic is expected, to rest properly before the journey and at least every two hours, or whenever they feel the need, make rest stops and adjust the speed to the weather conditions, the state of the road and the volume of road traffic.

That security force also suggests that people remain patient in situations of high traffic intensity, which may force you to travel at low speeds, and avoid manoeuvres that may result in traffic embarrassment or contribute to the occurrence of accidents.

More than 5,400 occurrences, mostly tree falls, have been reported in mainland Portugal since Wednesday, following bad weather, according to the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC).

According to ANEPC Commander Rui Laranjeira, between 15h00 on Wednesday and 23h00 on Thursday, 5,427 occurrences were recorded, 2,862 of which were tree falls, 906 structural falls and 1,152 were floods, which affected 17,260. operational.

“Porto remains the district with the highest number of occurrences (977), but there are a number of southern districts that had fewer occurrences and are now increasing,” namely Lisbon (450), Setúbal (311). ), Santarém (313) and Leiria (396), said the commander Rui Laranjeira.

The damage caused by the Elsa depression in EDP Distribuição’s power grid has already left 157 high and medium voltage lines out of service, the company said. According to a statement from the electric, Santarém, Coimbra, Viseu and Leiria were at 11 pm on Thursday the most affected districts.

The downtown of the city of Águeda, in the district of Aveiro, is flooded due to “brutal” discharges from the Ribeiradio Dam in the neighboring municipality of Sever do Vouga, a local source told Lusa.

Vodafone has mobile network service unavailable in some central and northern regions of the country due to power outages, the official source of the telecommunications operator told Lusa today.

The number who have died remains at two with one person missing. The number of homeless stands currently at 51 and the authorities have received 4200 calls for assistance in the last few hours.

A total of 12 districts will be under orange warning for precipitation, wind or rough seas at different times until Saturday,

 

FLOOD WARNING

The Águeda City Council has already warned the population that floods may occur in the city’s downtown, due to the foreseeable rise in the water level of the river that runs through the city.

“We have already made this warning that there may be a flood in the city center so that people can take proper care to protect their assets,” Mayor Jorge Almeida told Lusa.

ROADS

The fall of a tree in Montijo, Setúbal district, killed the driver of a heavy vehicle on Thursday, said the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC), which has already counted 2,941 occurrences due to bad weather.

On the two bridges – Vasco da Gama and 25 de Abril – the circulation of heavy vehicles with awnings and motorcycles is still prohibited.

The main road of the Sintra Mountains, between the Azoia and Portela and Portela Capuchos intersections , was closed Thursday due to heavy rainfall and wind intensity, the Sintra Chamber said.

The Sintra Chamber also decided to close the Kingdom of Christmas to the public, taking into account the weather conditions.

RAILWAYS

On the Northern Line: The fall of a tree over the catenary is conditioning circulation in both directions. Between V. Figueira and Santarém the circulation is made in a single way;

In the Beira Alta line: the section between Luso and Morttágua is cut due to the lack of tension in the catenary, a situation under evaluation. In the section between Pinhel and Guarda, the fall of a barrier interrupted pasage, and the situation is almost resolved;

In the Vouga line: circulation is suspended between Macinhata and Sernada;

In the Alentejo line: there is a train immobilized in the section between Moita and Barreiro due to the presence of debris in the pantograph, the structure that feeds the train with electricity. Therefore the passage is only one way.

On the 25 de Abril Bridge: Winds above 79 km / h may restrict movement of trains.

SEA LINKS

River connections between the Setubal Peninsula and Lisbon are suspended Thursday afternoon due to “worsening weather”, Transtejo / Soflusa announced.

“Due to the worsening of weather conditions, at this time, for safety reasons, are suspended all river connections of Transtejo and Soflusa, except Cacilhas,”.

ELECTRICITY

The regular supply of electricity was interrupted today “in thousands of homes” due to bad weather, with Viana do Castelo, Braga, Porto and Vila Real being the most affected districts, EDP Distribuição announced.

The Public Security Police (PSP) reported today that they seized since September 22 in Madeira a total of 729 illegal firearms and 522 ammunition of various calibers.

The note issued by the Madeira Regional Command reminds that that day came into force the Legal Regime of Arms and Ammunition, which grants a deadline of 180 days for the delivery of illegal weapons.

As for the typology of seized weapons, 334 are long fires, 159 short fires, 16 compressed air and firearm reproductions, 214 white and six are aerosols. There are 522 ammunition learned.

In addition, “27 firearms and one alarm were voluntarily handed over,” says PSP.

All weapons were transferred to Lisbon “for their destruction” in collaboration with the Portuguese Navy.

The PSP also mentions that the Center for Weapons and Explosives of the Regional Command of Madeira carried out 13 inspections of the act of veneration and one to a firing range in the region, having identified 230 citizens with license and weapon possession.

The PSP stresses that “all citizens who may have illegal or offensive weapons” must surrender without criminal repercussion or legalize their licensing status, particularly in the case of weapons of deceased relatives or purchase and sale declarations. not delivered on time, “thus benefiting from the non-imposition of a fine”.

The gun law was enacted on July 24 by the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and limits the number of firearms each person can have at home.

The law, passed with the abstention of the People-Animals-Nature (PAN) party and no votes against, restricts the number of weapons that hunters, for example, can have at home and sets a deadline to resolve the issue of surpluses.

The law was the result of the committee discussion of a Government bill and bills from the PCP, Left Block, The Greens and PAN Ecologist Party.

GNR recorded 10 crimes related to abuse and pet abandonment, seized 68 animals and accused one person during a surveillance operation, the corporation said today.

The Republican National Guard, through the Nature and Environment Protection Service (SEPNA), carried out, between November 25th and December 6th, all over the country, a set of pet control actions aimed at improving the quality of life and welfare of animals.

In a statement of the operation “Legal Friends 2019”, the GNR said that it recorded five crimes of abuse of pet animals and five other crimes of abandonment, in addition to the seizure of 68 animals, 11 people identified and a defendant.

During the 12 days of the operation, that security force also detected 147 offenses for lack of registration, vaccination and electronic identification.

The GNR underlines that Christmas is a time prone to the purchase of pets, and as such, is the right time to “alert and raise awareness of the care that pets require, thus acting pre-emptively on a theme that demonstrates a growing interest and concern among the population.”

Operation “Legal Friends 2019” mobilized several military commands, in particular from the SEPNA structure and criminal investigation, who paid special attention to crimes of mistreatment and abandonment of pet animals, as well as illegal fighting between animals, offenses. In total, GNR inspected 1,051 animals.

DECO, the Consumer Protection Association, has tested seven red lipsticks, brands for sale in perfumeries, cosmetics and health stores and supermarkets. It found “traces of lead in everyone, albeit at levels below the technically avoidable limit,” reads a statement from that organization.

“In three lipsticks, we also detected MOAH (aromatic hydrocarbons of mineral oils). In view of this, DECO advises against the use of the following lipsticks:

Avril Le Rouge Hollywood 598,

Mac Retro Matte Ruby Woo 707 and

Kiko Kikoid Velvet Passion 05 Burgundy.

According to Deco, Avril lipstick, according to the labelling information, says it does not use ingredients derived from mineral oils and is certified by Ecocert as a “natural” and “biological” product. However, traces of MOAH were found, whose “mere presence is reason to advise against a product”.

“Kiko and Mac also contain MOSH and POSH in quantities greater than those considered safe, the former not even complying with the industry’s own recommendations (Cosmetics Europe),” says DECO. “Maybelline reveals acceptable levels of these substances, but it contributes to the cocktail effect, that is, to overall exposure to them,” he adds.

“The test results apply to the products indicated, not to the full line of brand lipsticks,” explains DECO. “The dyes vary with the shade of lipstick and thus the concentrations of the substances researched, particularly lead, may vary,” adds Consumer Protection.

“We reported the findings to Infarmed, who controls cosmetics,” adds DECO. “Although the quantities of substances of concern are lower than those found in other lipstick tests we have performed, they are still of concern,” they argue.