Year: 2024

 

 

New Year’s Eve Traffic Restrictions on Tuesday 31st December  Praça do Comércio, Lisbon

 

PSP is preparing an operation to “ensure that all celebration locations are safe and that everything runs smoothly and without incidents”

Traffic will be restricted from 4pm on Tuesday in Praça do Comércio, in Lisbon, due to the New Year celebrations, with the PSP advising that those taking part in the festivities travel by public transport.

Sub-intendent Manuel Gonçalves, head of the operational area of ​​the Lisbon Metropolitan Command (Cometlis) of the PSP, explained this Monday, in a press conference, that the security guidelines for New Year’s Eve are included in the ongoing operation “Safe Parties”.

According to the person in charge, there will be visible, preventive policing, in order to “ensure that all celebration locations are safe and that everything runs smoothly and without incidents”.

Without disclosing the number of operational staff deployed, Manuel Gonçalves pointed out that in places where various New Year’s Eve parties are expected to take place, some of a public nature, others of a private nature, there will be a “preventive aspect”, taking into account the greater concentration of people.

Manuel Gonçalves listed several festivals in the municipalities of Cascais, “where it has already been announced that thousands of people will be present”, Vila Franca de Xira, Amadora, Sintra, Loures and Oeiras.

In Lisbon, the person in charge explained that the festivities in Parque das Nações and Praça do Comércio will also have the support of the Lisbon Municipal Police (PM), and the Special Police Unit will also be activated.

Rui da Costa Fonte, head of the operational area of ​​the Lisbon Military Police, explained that traffic will be restricted from 4 pm on Tuesday near Praça do Comércio, advising the use of public transport for all those traveling to the area for the festivities.

“That area of ​​the city is very well served by public transport. The metro will run until 3:00 am. Carris [will run] all night and CP – Comboios de Portugal, the same thing”, said the official, pointing to the use of the Cais do Sodré, Rossio and Santa Apolónia stations, “which provide access to Praça do Comércio”.

Iuri Rodrigues, commander of the 1st Police Division of the PSP, responsible for the festivities, said that the area around the festival will close at 5:00 pm – the same happening with the Terreiro do Paço metro station -, with six entry points at Praça do Comércio.

“As in other years, entry is restricted to certain locations, with a summary security search that aims to prevent the entry of objects prohibited by law or considered potentially dangerous, taking into account the large concentration of people,” he said.

Thus, there will be entry points at the intersections of Rua do Arsenal with Rua do Porto Santo, Rua da Conceição with Rua Áurea, Rua Augusta, Rua da Prata and Rua dos Fanqueiros, and Rua da Alfândega with Rua dos Armeiros.

According to the person in charge, “there will be no entry via Ribeira das Naus, nor Infante Dom Henrique, which will be emergency routes”.

Among the objects that are not allowed in the venue, and must be discarded upon entry, are glass bottles or cups, which is why the authorities advise against taking bottles of champagne, as well as umbrellas, helmets, selfie sticks, chairs and “any type of object due to its size that could be blunt”.

Manuel Gonçalves also called on people, “wherever they are, to adopt responsible behaviour and show respect for others”, noting that, in addition to the preventive part, the PSP will pay “special attention” to areas with large crowds. The authorities will also carry out road inspections.

“It’s a festive day, people are happy and effusive, but you have to behave in a way that respects the freedom of others to avoid moments of tension. You have to arrive early. At 9:30 pm there is a concert, then, at midnight, about 10 minutes of fireworks, and then another concert”, said Iuri Rodrigues, appealing to people not to arrive just in time for the fireworks, as they run the risk of not being allowed into the venue.

 

 

 

 

NASA’s probe ‘safe’ after closest-ever approach to sun

 

NASA’s Parker solar probe is safe and operating normally after successfully completing the closest-ever approach to the sun by any human-made object, the space agency has said.

The spacecraft passed just 6.1million kms from the solar surface on 24 December, flying into the sun’s outer atmosphere – the corona – on a mission to help scientists learn more about Earth’s closest star.

The agency said the operations team at the Johns Hopkins University applied physics laboratory in Maryland received the signal, a beacon tone, from the probe shortly before midnight on Thursday.

The spacecraft is expected to send detailed telemetry data about its status on 1 January.

Moving at up to 692,000 Km/h, the spacecraft endured temperatures of up to 982C.

NASA said: “This close up study of the sun allows Parker solar probe to take measurements that help scientists better understand how material in this region gets heated to millions of degrees, trace the origin of the solar wind (a continuous flow of material escaping the sun), and discover how energetic particles are accelerated to near light speed.”

The Parker solar probe was launched in 2018 and has been gradually circling closer towards the sun, using flybys of Venus to gravitationally pull it into a tighter orbit with the sun.

 

 

Here the case of GNR Leiria – This Christmas season we could not forget the elderly, vulnerable and isolated people throughout the Leiria district!

Through visits by the personnel from the Criminal Prevention and Community Policing Sections (SPC), we passed on useful security advice, distributed Solidarity Christmas Hampers (a partnership between Pingo Doce and the GNR) and even offered cupcakes as a treat to spoil them!

 

Twenty Years ago today – Remembering the more than 230,000 people who died following the Indonesian Tsunami 26^th December 2024

 

Indonesia and Thailand are marking 20 years since a tsunami caused the death of hundreds of thousands of people in one of the worst natural disasters in modern history.

People started gathering in prayer today and visiting mass graves in Aceh, one of the worst-hit areas by the Boxing Day Indian Ocean tsunami. Many wept openly at the mass grave in Ulee Lheue village, where more than 14,000 unidentified and unclaimed tsunami victims are buried. It is one of several mass graves in Banda Aceh, the capital of Indonesia’s northernmost province.

On December 26, 2004, more than 230,000 people, mostly in southern Asia, were killed by a 30+ metre high tsunami triggered by a 9.1-magnitude earthquake beneath the Indian Ocean near the island of Sumatra in Indonesia, with Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Maldives, and Thailand sustaining massive damage.

Indonesian officials estimated that the death toll in the country alone ultimately exceeded 200,000, particularly in northern Sumatra’s Aceh province.

Some 1.7 million people were displaced, mostly in the four worst-affected countries: Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand.

Tens of thousands were reported dead or missing in Sri Lanka and India, a large number of them from the Indian Andaman and Nicobar Islands territory.

The low-lying island country of Maldives reported more than a hundred casualties and immense economic damage. Several thousand non-Asian tourists vacationing in the region also were reported dead or missing.

The lack of food, clean water, and medical treatment—combined with the enormous task faced by relief workers trying to get supplies into some remote areas where roads had been destroyed or where civil war raged—extended the list of casualties.

Long-term environmental damage was severe as well, with villages, tourist resorts, farmland, and fishing grounds demolished or inundated with debris, bodies, and plant-killing salt water.

India – Thousands of kilometres away, several Indian fishermen and a large number of civilians who had gone to Velankanni, Tamil Nadu district to celebrate Christmas, died due to the disaster.

Photo: An elephant which belongs to forest ministry removes debris Monday Jan. 10, 2005 in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

MY MEMORY – Serving in the Hong Kong Police, dispatching police Disaster Victim Identification Teams (along with many countries) to help the Indonesian authorities. Friends (tourists from Hong Kong) who remained unaccounted for over several days luckily found alive.

Were you or your friends affected in any way?

 

 

 

SNS 24 Line launches new teleconsultation service

 

The teleconsultation service is intended for users who meet the clinical conditions for remote medical care, after screening carried out by the service, the Ministry of Health’s Shared Services (SPMS) announced today.

The new SNS 24 referral service (808 24 24 24) launched on Tuesday and will be in a pilot phase for three months, with the aim of “reinforcing access to health care and optimizing resources of the National Health Service (SNS)”, said the SPMS in a statement.

“After screening and clinical assessment carried out by the healthcare professional from Linha SNS 24, the user may be referred to Teleconsulta Linha SNS 24. It is the healthcare professional who makes this referral. It does not include monitoring of chronic diseases, medication renewal or assessment of test results”, he stresses.

According to the SPMS, the video call teleconsultation is carried out through an online transmission platform (streaming), which can be accessed via the SNS 24 Portal, using the link that the user received via SMS, or via the SNS 24 App, if the mobile application is installed.

“This new referral service is carried out via video call by doctors specializing in general and family medicine, with access to integrated information systems, allowing them to make a medical diagnosis and, if necessary, prescribe therapy, as well as establish a health care plan for the user”, it says.

To carry out the teleconsultation, the user needs access to a mobile phone and a device with a camera, microphone and internet connection, and must also ensure that they are in a quiet environment, without external interference, to preserve the privacy of the consultation.

During the consultation, it is ensured that the doctor may determine the need for face-to-face care, if the symptoms or severity of the patient’s condition require it.

“Without any costs to the user, the Teleconsultation Linha SNS 24 will make it possible, in certain clinical situations, to avoid trips to face-to-face health services, maintaining the convenience, efficiency and safety of a medical consultation. It also allows the optimization of hospital and health center resources”, highlights the SPMS.

The SNS 24 Line Teleconsultation is integrated into the SNS and all consultations will be available in the user’s health record history, with the clinical report being shared with the user at the end of the consultation.

 

 

 

PSP and GNR begin operations to combat crime and accidents during Christmas and New Year

 

The “Christmas and New Year 2024/2025” Operation will continue until January 2nd, covering the entire period in which greater movement of people and more road traffic is expected.

The National Republican Guard (GNR) and the Public Security Police (PSP) will begin this Wednesday to increase patrols during the Christmas and New Year period, with the aim of reducing general crime and road accidents.

In a statement, both security forces explain that the operations will continue until January 2, covering the entire period in which greater movement of people and more road traffic is expected.

GNR focuses on roads and party venues

The GNR states that Operation “Christmas and New Year 2024/2025” includes patrolling in places with the highest number of people, residential, entertainment, industrial and commercial areas, ensuring public safety and tranquility.

At the same time, inspection and road safety actions will be carried out during the Christmas and New Year periods, on roads with the highest traffic flow, to ensure that festivities and travel take place safely throughout the country, as Commissioner Armindo Teixeira explained to SIC.

In the first phase of prevention and awareness, before the festivities, the GNR advises people to inform the authorities in their area of ​​residence when they are away from home, check that the home alarm is properly activated, never leave doors and windows open or any signs that indicate absence.

In a second phase, during the Christmas period (between 20 and 26 December), which corresponds to the period of greatest influx and concentration of citizens, road patrols will be directed towards prevention, inspection, advice and safety.

During the New Year period (between December 27 and January 2, 2025), patrolling in places of celebration and concentration of people will increase.

The PSP will focus on having greater visibility in areas with the highest levels of traffic, namely historic and commercial areas, airports and other public transport hubs, tourist areas and nightlife areas.

It is also worth remembering that the “Safe Showcase” operation will run until December 20th, precisely with the purpose of reinforcing visibility and proximity policing in commercial areas, especially in streets with “traditional commerce”, reinforcing the feeling of security of traders and buyers.

During the period in which the “Safe Festivities” operation is taking place, and since the Christmas season also means prolonged absences from homes, to celebrate this festive season in other locations, the PSP will provide surveillance to private residences, similar to what is done during the “Safe Summer” program.

Both the PSP and the GNR stress the need for families to avoid publicising these outings during periods of absence from their homes, particularly through social media, ensuring that they always leave doors and windows closed.

In the area of ​​road safety, the PSP and GNR will be particularly attentive to drivers’ risky behaviour, namely speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol and dangerous maneuvers, as well as improper use of mobile phones, driving correctly in the right-hand lane and failure to use seat belts and/or child seats.

In the week before Christmas, the PSP reminds that inspections will also focus on the control and security of air borders, as well as private security activities in large urban centers.

Authorities advise planning trips to avoid times of day when traffic is expected to be heaviest, taking a break every two hours, adjusting your speed to the weather conditions, the state of the road and the volume of road traffic, and driving attentively, cautiously and defensively.

 

 

 

 

On 16^th December, The launch of Holidays Road Safety Campaign

 

“The Best Gift is to be Present”, from Ministério da Administração Interna included in the Christmas and New Year campaign 2024/2025 of Autoridade Nacional de Segurança Rodoviária subordinated to the theme “Safer Holidays”.

The campaign runs until January 5, 2025, with the aim of “appeal to all who use the roads and streets to do so safely, calling on them to prioritize life in this festive period, where commutes are more frequent and longer, wishing that everyone arrives to Christmas dinner, family gatherings, or fun places, and return safely.”

In addition to this road safety campaign, simultaneously, awareness, prevention and monitoring actions will take place from Guarda Nacional Republicana Autoridade Nacional de Emergência e Proteção Civil and Polícia Segurança Pública

The launching ceremony of the campaign was presided over by the Minister of Internal Administration, Margarida Blasco, and included the presence of the Secretary of State for Civil Protection, Paulo Simões Ribeiro, the President of the ANEPC, Duarte Costa, among other guests, and included an intervention from the National Emergency Commander and Civil Defence André Fernandes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“We won’t get there with campaigns and inspections”. Portugal continues to be the country in Europe with the most road insecurity

 

The president of the National Road Safety Authority (ANSR) regretted this Monday that Portugal continues to be “the country in Europe with the most road insecurity” and called on the Government to approve the National Road Safety Strategy this year.

Rui Ribeiro, who has led ANSR for almost six years, took advantage of the presentation of the 2024/2025 Christmas and New Year campaign “Safer Holidays” to highlight that reducing road accidents cannot be achieved through awareness-raising and inspection campaigns, and that a change in strategy is necessary.

The president of ANSR announced that the National Road Safety Strategy – Vision Zero 2030, which aims to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries on the road by 50% by 2030, was delivered to the Government at the end of 2022, appealing to the Minister of Internal Administration, Margarida Blasco, and the Secretary of State for Civil Protection, Paulo Simões Ribeiro, to approve this document that is “so needed” by the country.

Rui Ribeiro explained that in 2021, ANSR called on a group of international and national experts and defined a strategy that involved “looking at what is being done in Europe and adapting it to the national reality and completely forgetting what had been the paradigm until now”.

“We won’t get there with campaigns and monitoring,” he said, noting that “there has never been so much monitoring and so good monitoring in Portugal as in recent times,” in addition to the fact that there are campaigns.

According to Rui Ribeiro, in the first seven months of 2024, inspections increased by 80% compared to the same period in 2023 and doubled between 2019 and 2023.

“One of the objectives of this inspection was to achieve the inspection rate and the rate of offenders. In terms of inspection, we can say that Portugal is working very well and fulfilling its purpose and being a deterrent. All indicators show that the inspection has been successful,” he said, regretting that a reduction in road accidents had not been achieved.

According to the president of ANSR, it is estimated that from 2017 to today around 5,000 people have died on Portuguese roads and more than 19,000 have been seriously injured.

In this sense, he stressed, it is essential to approve the National Road Safety Strategy, which is based on five principles: “Safe users, safer vehicles, safer infrastructure, safer speed and post-accident intervention.

“Portugal cannot be considered one of the safest countries in the world while it is one of the countries with the greatest road insecurity in Europe,” he added.

 

Also present at the presentation of the 2024/2025 Christmas and New Year campaign “Safer Celebrations”, the Minister of Internal Administration told journalists that the strategy will be approved and implemented “as quickly as possible”, but did not provide any date.

Speaking at the campaign presentation, Margarida Blasco stated that “the State has a decisive role in this matter” of road safety, and is “responsible for raising awareness, monitoring and discouraging risky behaviour”.

“This is the role we are fulfilling”, he explained, considering that there is also “an individual responsibility for each one of us”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Five arrested for drug trafficking in Porto. Group had been operating for two years

 

The group drew up “daily delivery routes” and passed through “pre-established locations”, which they referred to “their buyers through communication platforms”.

Five people – four men and one woman, aged between 41 and 59 – were arrested during an operation by the Public Security Police on suspicion of drug trafficking in several municipalities in the Porto Metropolitan Area.

In a statement sent to newsrooms this Sunday, the authority explained that Operation Toking “focused on an investigation into a drug trafficking network that had been supplying the municipalities of Gondomar, Maia, Porto and Valongo for approximately two years”.

The group plotted “daily delivery routes” and passed through “pre-established locations”, which they referred to “their buyers through communication platforms”. “In some cases, more than 60 daily deliveries were identified”, indicated the PSP.

The operation began last Monday, December 9, and lasted “a few days”, culminating in nine house searches and one non-house search.

It was possible to seize approximately 260 doses of narcotics, including cocaine, heroin and hashish, 4,200 euros in cash and three vehicles, in addition to various material associated with criminal activity.

Three of the suspects were subject to the coercive measure of house arrest, while the rest were subject to periodic presentations at the police station in their area of ​​residence.