Portugal Safety and Security Report Wednesday 5^th March 2025

Good afternoon. Firstly we hope that you had an enjoyable time at one of the many carnival held throughout the country and managed to avoid the many heavy showers that were around. The one we visited on Tuesday in Alte was very well attended indeed and we were very lucky with the weather. Congratulations to the organisers.

Some time ago we shared this info from the Order of Veterinary Doctors (OMV), concerning a scam involving the disappearance of pet animals, but yesterday we received similar information concerning this scam which appears to be still in operation.

“Owners of a missing animal, who had publicized the disappearance on social media, have received a telephone call from someone who, calling himself a veterinarian, states that the animal had been found and that it needed urgent medical care. To provide clinical assistance, it requests holders to immediately pay a certain amount.”

However it is likely a scam and the victim, will be left without money and without animals, warns the Order of Veterinary Doctors. Firstly do not pay. Instead ask the callers identity: including full name, the “número de cédula professional” (the professional card number of the veterinarian) and name of the clinic.

Then check on the OMV website under “Pesquisa Membros – OMV – Ordem dos Médicos Veterinários” that the person is a registered veterinarian and contact the clinic (making sure the telephone number matches that of mentioned clinic) to confirm the information transmitted in the telephone call. If possible, go to the veterinary clinic in person to check if it is your animal and its health status. If you have lost money to such a scam report this to police.

In report released today the UN International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) Annual Report, stated that Europe faces a growing threat from the expansion of synthetic drugs. It explained that the increased production and distribution of these substances poses a significant challenge for authorities, who are struggling to contain their spread and minimise the impacts on public health.

The reported that in Portugal, the use of synthetic drugs has been growing, especially among young people. Although the country is recognized for its innovative approach to decriminalizing drug use, new substances pose an additional challenge. The Intervention Service for Addictive Behaviours and Dependencies (SICAD) warns of the increasing presence of synthetic cannabinoids and stimulants in recreational settings. The authorities reinforce the importance of preventive campaigns and adapting public policies to effectively respond to this phenomenon. Parents should be aware of this and explain the risks to their children.

I have written a two part feature for the Portugal Resident on protecting your home against rural fires. The first part was how to protect the building itself especially roof’s, doors and windows which are the main ways flames can enter a building. However, the main objective is to reduce the risk of a fire reaching the property in the first place, by reducing the amount of surrounding flammable vegetation through fuel management (land cleaning). This is the subject of part two which will appear in the Resident tomorrow (5^th March)

Fuel management is the reduction of vegetable and woody materials to make it difficult for fire to spread vertically (from the herbaceous layer to the shrub layer and, in turn, to the crown) and horizontally (throughout the various layers). In short, it means cutting weeds, shrubs and trees in some areas. When a fire reaches the areas where fuel management has been performed, it decreases in intensity. Homes and villages will be safer. Firefighters can intervene more effectively and safely in areas where fuel management has been performed.

With increasing episodes of extreme weather, it is essential that we understand the risks to our homes in the event of rural fires. We do not know precisely when or where fires will occur but those living in rural areas, particularly high risk areas, should be prepared. The deadline for cleaning your land if you live in a rural area is 30^th April. Please refer to our website for details.

Our team at Safe Communities wish you a safe and happy week ahead.

News

Half of the world’s CO2 emissions come from just 36 companies, study finds

Half of the carbon emissions that cause global warming come from fossil fuels produced by just 36 companies, a new study has found, cited by the British newspaper ‘The Guardian’: according to the researchers, the data – which relates to 2023 – strengthens the case for holding fossil fuel companies accountable for their contribution to global warming.

According to the report, the 36 major fossil fuel companies, including Saudi Aramco, Coal India, ExxonMobil, Shell and several Chinese companies produced coal, oil and gas responsible for more than 20 billion tonnes of C02 into the atmosphere in the year in question.

If Saudi Aramco were a country, it would be the world’s fourth-largest polluter, after China, the US and India, while ExxonMobil is responsible for roughly the same emissions as Germany, the world’s ninth-largest polluter, according to the data.

Global emissions must fall by 45% by 2030 if the world is to have a good chance of limiting temperature rise to the internationally agreed 1.5°C target. However, according to the International Energy Agency, new fossil fuel projects starting after 2021 are incompatible with achieving net-zero emissions by 2050: most of the 169 companies in the Carbon Majors database increased their emissions in 2023.

“These companies are keeping the world addicted to fossil fuels with no plans to slow production,” said Christiana Figueres, the UN climate chief. “The science is clear: we cannot move backwards to more fossil fuels and more extraction. Instead, we must move forward to the many possibilities of a decarbonized economic system that works for people and the planet.”

US Defence Chief Pete Hegseth pauses cyber offensive against Russia: Reports

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered a pause on all of the country’s cyber operations against Russia, including offensive actions, multiple US media reports said on Sunday.

The order was part of an overall re-evaluation of US operations against Moscow, according to the New York Times, with the duration or extent of the pause unclear.

The Pentagon declined to comment when queried by AFP.

“Due to operational security concerns, we do not comment nor discuss cyber intelligence, plans, or operations,” a senior defence official said.

“There is no greater priority to Secretary Hegseth than the safety of the Warfighter in all operations, to include the cyber domain.”

The reported change comes as US President Donald Trump has been pushing for negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, and days after the US leader berated his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a stormy White House meeting.

Western countries have accused the Kremlin of masterminding a string of incidents aimed at trying to undermine support for Ukraine as it battles Russia’s invasion.

Trump, meanwhile, has cast himself as a mediator between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy, sidelining Kyiv and Europe while pursuing rapprochement with Putin.

“We should spend less time worrying about Putin,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform late Sunday.

US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, speaking Sunday to broadcaster CNN about reopening links to Russia, denied reports of the cyber policy change.

“That has not been part of our discussions,” Waltz said. “There will be all kinds of carrots and sticks to get this war to an end.”

 

Portugal Safety and Security Report Wednesday 26^th February

Good morning everyone. We start the day with some good news that the Algarve’s reservoirs are at 54% of their total water storage capacity after the recent rains, 20% more than a year ago. However the recovery is asymmetrical, with those in the west region still at low levels, according to the APA. While the reservoirs in the eastern Algarve have greatly increased their storage and are at a capacity above 70%, those in the western Algarve continue to have difficulty filling, probably due to less abundant rainfall.

On the east side, the Odeleite reservoir is now at 79% of its capacity and the Beliche reservoir at 72% together with a total of 137.65hm3 of water stored. In the west the percentages are Odelouca registering 43% of its capacity, Arade 18%, Bravura 17% and Funcho 50% totalling 101.89hm3 of water stored in the west.

On Monday there was a traffic accident involving several vehicles on the A22 east bound between Loule service station and the exit to Quarteira resulting in a tail back of over 4 kms. Both lanes were cut in the Loulé/Faro direction with reports of people waiting 30 minutes without traffic movement. Regretfully, however, some irresponsible drivers were seen reversing their vehicles BETWEEN LANES against direction of traffic towards the Boliqueime exit, a dangerous manoeuvre provoking arguments between drivers. Such actions could have resulted in further accidents, with a risk to other drivers who were waiting in the queue. Enough said!

We often come across various scams the latest being emails claiming to come from ANSR. These emails notify recipients of the existence of fines and include a link for the supposed payment. These are “Phishing” emails, that is, attempts to obtain personal information by scammers using the name of an official entity. We emphasize “Not to click on the links contained in these emails or make any payment. If you do and have lost money as a result report to police. Please remember that notifications from ANSR are always sent by Post.

March 1st is International Civil Protection Day, established worldwide by the International Civil Protection Organization (ICOP) and nationally by Order of the Minister of Internal Affairs. In Portugal and around the world, the celebration of this date aims to raise awareness of the importance of civil protection in safeguarding life, property, cultural and environmental heritage in the face of serious accidents and catastrophes; to pay tribute to all civil protection agents and to promote reflection and dialogue around the risks to which populations and territories are subject, and the role that each of us, citizens, plays in the collective effort to create resilient communities.

And if Civil Protection has always been an essential partner for people as a way of staying safe or recovering their safety, never before has it become so essential as it is today, as it assumes the preponderance of a crucial element for the safety of communities. Understanding its importance involves recognizing the need to adopt and promote a culture of safety and understanding which risk factors can affect us.

In this approach of viewing Civil Protection as a system that involves everyone, it is essential that each person understands their importance for collective well-being. And to do this, we must all work on processes that aim to raise awareness among people about appropriate behaviours and attitudes in situations of collective risk, serious accidents and catastrophes. This includes educating the population on how to protect themselves and act safely in the event of an emergency. This is part of the remit of Safe Communities in terms of creating risk awareness and preparedness.

Lastly GNR Operation Carnival 2025 has begun! The festivities associated with Carnival celebrations, is a time of leisure and fun, but cause a significant increase in road traffic, resulting from those travelling to and returning from Carnival locations. In this context, the GNR will carry out, until March 5, 2025, an intensive operation which includes: the festival venues, commercial establishments where fireworks are sold and on the access roads to the main areas where festivities associated with Carnival take place, providing to all citizens that the festivities and travel take place safely, throughout the continental territory. Ewe advise if you are attend to arrive early to allow adequate time for parking as the demand will be heavy on those days.

We hope you have a great week ahead and enjoy the carnivals.

News

Meta exposes users to “giant wave” of misinformation. End of fact check could lead to an era of hate

The new moderation policy of Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, risks increasing “misinformation and dangerous content” on these two networks, an NGO that combats online misinformation warned today.

According to a study by the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), Meta’s announced abandonment of its fact-checking program and hate speech detection systems could result in the cessation of 97% of its current moderation work and, therefore, a “tidal wave” of harmful content for Internet users.

The NGO made this estimate by analysing the main changes announced by Meta on January 7, including the replacement of fact-checking with community notes, or the abandonment of its rules on “immigration, gender identity and gender”.

“Meta must explain to its users why it is abandoning an approach that it presented as effective against disinformation and polarization” of opinion, the CCDH points out in its report.

On January 7, on the eve of Donald Trump’s inauguration, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that he would “get rid of fact-checkers and replace them with community ratings,” believing that the election marked a “cultural turning point” that “prioritizes free speech.”

The Californian group added that it intends to “simplify” its rules and “abolish a certain number of limits on issues such as immigration and gender, which are no longer in the dominant discourse”.

This turnaround was recently followed by the announcement of a change in policy at Elon Musk’s social network X.

Donald Trump’s close adviser promised on Thursday to “fix” a feature of X allowing users to deny or qualify potentially false posts, accusing “governments and traditional media” of having seized on them, amid dissent over Ukraine.

Backsliding on fact-checking and content moderation on social media paves the way for more hate, UN chief António Guterres warned on Monday.

The UN Secretary-General said that in this context, people are increasingly afraid to participate in social media, which in turn leads to a reduction in freedom of expression.

“As new technologies permeate every aspect of our lives, I am deeply concerned that human rights are being undermined,” he told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Guterres said that at best, social media is a place for people to exchange ideas in a respectful environment, but at worst it can be a place for arguments and “blatant ignorance.”

“A place where the poisons of misinformation, racism, misogyny and hate speech are not only tolerated, but often encouraged,” he said.

Graça Freitas’ warning: the next pandemic “will be much more complex, much faster, and much noisier”

Former Director-General of Health Graça Freitas predicts that the next pandemic will be “much more complex”, fast, noisy and with a significant increase in “social fractures” on issues such as confinement and vaccination.

With experience in public health emergencies since 1997, Graça Freitas spoke, in an interview with the Lusa news agency, about the challenges of a “next major epidemic or pandemic” in a more complex world, with many more sources of true, but also false, information.

Five years after the first cases of Covid-19 appeared in Portugal, on March 2, 2020, the public health specialist believes that a lot has been learned during this period and that the health system and authorities are better prepared to face a new pandemic, but warned that “the next one will be at another level”.

“I don’t think it will be perfect [the fight]. It’s impossible, especially because the world is much more complex and there are many more sources of true and false information,” he said, recalling that when he began working on epidemics and pandemics, such as the swine flu in 2009, “the world was much less complex.”

There were sources of scientific information, experts advised politicians and traditional media outlets dominated.

“It was a world with fewer connections, interactions, less fast and more secure”, while in the current scenario, “things are increasingly faster and more complex”, she commented.

Therefore, she warned: “The next major epidemic or pandemic — which we will certainly have — will be much more complex, much faster, much noisier and with many more social fractures.”

According to the expert, there will be “more social friction and divergent opinions between movements in society” in relation to lockdowns, vaccines and medicines.

“I don’t know if we’ll ever have such an orderly lockdown again as we had”

“Unless the next pandemic is so serious, so serious, so serious that it brings us all together again,” he stressed, considering that the population’s adherence to the authorities’ guidelines during the Covid-19 pandemic “was absolutely exemplary,” which is unlikely to happen in such an orderly manner in the next pandemic.

“I don’t know if we will ever have such an orderly lockdown again as we had in Portugal and in the vast majority of countries in the world,” said Graça Freitas, one of the faces of the fight against Covid-19 in Portugal.

Graça Freitas argued that the population’s adherence to the authorities’ guidelines was “an absolutely unique act of civic spirit and social participation”, also praising the role of those who remained working to ensure that essential goods, such as water, electricity, gas and food, were not lacking for those who were confined at home.

Asked whether she ever thought she would go down in history as one of the faces of the fight against the pandemic, she said no: “And even if I thought there could be an epidemic (…), I never, ever thought that I could be identified as a face of the pandemic”.

During the pandemic, Graça Freitas faced several challenges, such as threats, criticism, and breast cancer, but giving up “was never an option”.

She said that sometimes, minutes before falling asleep, she would think: “I can’t take this anymore, I’ll leave tomorrow (..) I’m so tired, this is so difficult”. However, “it was an instant discouragement, the next day it was no longer there”.

 

Portugal Safety and Security Report Wednesday 19^th February 2025

Good morning. The earthquake that occurred on Monday 17th February close to Lisbon is once again a wake-up call that we need in Portugal to be aware of the risk of earthquakes and be prepared. Although it was a borderline moderate magnitude earthquake, it was felt by many people as far as 300 kilometres from the epicentre, primarily along the south coast of the Algarve. Thankfully there are no reports, however, of injuries or damaged caused.

There were many reports being made to IPMA using their reporting link, but within minutes the IPMA website and Facebook had become inaccessible. This made it difficult to obtain vital information including the “Shake map”. Through some quick research, however, we found the map on the site of the USCG seismic monitoring organisation and were able to post this on our FB page within 18 minutes of the quake along with relevant information. The ANEPC published information 3 minutes before us and IPMA on Twitter 5 minutes before us, but neither used the Shake Map.

The IPMA responded in a statement that the IPMA website was inaccessible for a few minutes due to “an exceptionally high volume of traffic”, following the earthquake. It added that “an investment of 4.5 million euros is already planned, under the PRR [Recovery and Resilience Plan] and the State Budget, to reinforce the energy and IT network, as well as the geophysical/seismic monitoring and tsunami early warning infrastructure, which will also make it possible to overcome the constraints observed”.

And, in the event of the site being overloaded, as was the case on Monday, or a malfunction, a simplified version is made available, with essential information on all the institute’s notices.(Comment – but in our opinion NOT ALL essential information).

However, the organisation Citizens for Cybersecurity movement regretted the situation stating that the movement had already pointed out weaknesses in the infrastructure of the IPMA website, which in a major emergency situation of a potential major earthquake, “the IPMA systems will not be resilient to the increase in access”, assuming that the mobile and internet networks were able to resist.

Unfortunately, this is the second time the IPMA website has become inaccessible during an earthquake the first time being in August last year during the 5.3 mag quake off Sines. It is vital that steps are taken to address this problem.

 

We hope that learning from this, ways can be found to avoid outages of essential communication channels, such as Facebook, during major events due to a sudden far higher demand.

In monitoring social media we found that a certain meteorological group, with a very large following, had entitled this event in capitals as a “Breaking News Strong earthquake felt in Lisbon.”  Such sensationalism in a headline would ring alarm bells and in any event was not true. We brought it to the attention of the page admin and I thank them for removing the word “strong”. In fact at 4.7 magnitude it was borderline “slight/moderate”.  It is not a case of being pedantic as accuracy in reporting matters such as this is vitally important for obvious reasons. In fact a strong Mag 6 earthquake (which is the lowest magnitude for this category) would be 90 times stronger that a 4.7 earthquake so you can imaging the affect that a strong earthquake could have on a populated area, plus the threat of a tsunami.

If anyone needs further convincing, the 1969 Mag 7.8 earthquake which caused consider damage and 13 deaths in the Algarve, had an intensity 44,668 times stronger than the 4.7 Mag earthquake on Monday, which was felt 300 kms away.  So one can only imaging the impact of strong or major earthquakes!

In Portugal the A Terra Treme earthquake awareness exercise is held one year on 5^th November to help people be prepared for earthquakes and to practice the action to take in other words “Drop Cover Hold”. We feel that reminding people once a year is not enough and our strategy at Safe Communities is to remind people at periodic intervals throughout the year also using overseas earthquakes as examples.

There is also a need to focus attention more, we feel, on the fact that when an earthquake occurs people maybe outdoors or driving etc so know what action to take in these situations is  important. We feel there should be more education on this topic as well as guidelines to help those who suffer from a disability such impaired vision or a mobility disability. We will be reflecting this to the ANEPC.

Now some good news regarding to the drought situation. January 2025 was the 2nd wettest since 2000 (wettest was 2001, 254.2 mm); a total precipitation of 190.3 mm was recorded, which corresponds to 181% of the average value 1991-2020. This resulted in a significant decrease in the area and intensity of meteorological drought, with only the coast of Alentejo and the Western Algarve in the weak drought class. So, at the end of January, only 6% of the mainland was in meteorological drought (weak class), compared with over 50% at the end of December 2024.

Our team at Safe Communities wishes you a safe and happy week ahead.

News

Marcelo insists that Europe must be considered in negotiations to end the war in Ukraine

Marcelo argues that there cannot be “understandings, however good they may be, between two or three so-called major powers” about the war in Ukraine, without “Europe being present”.

The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, insisted this Monday that Europe must be considered in the negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, stating that, “in total, it contributed more than its North American partner”.

The head of state was speaking to journalists at the Royal Portuguese Hospital of Beneficence, in Recife, where he arrived on Sunday for an official visit to Brazil, in connection with the meeting called by the French President, Emmanuel Macron.

Asked about what he expects from this meeting with the participation of some heads of government of European countries, the president of the European Commission, the president of the European Council and the secretary general of NATO, in Paris, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa did not want to “make wishes”.

“But what seems clear to me is the following:  the world without Europe is poorer, the balance of power without Europe is not as balanced,” he said.

The President of the Republic stated that the war in Ukraine “is a global war, but one that is taking place in Europe and has to do with Europe’s security, and in which Europe, although not as much as the United States in terms of weapons, has contributed more overall than its North American partner”.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa therefore argued that there cannot be “understandings, however good they may be, between two or three so-called major powers” ​​about the war in Ukraine, without “Europe being present, being considered, having an active voice, and not being treated as a minor matter”.

“Much that exists in the world would not exist without Europe,” he added.

Asked about the absence of Portuguese representation at this meeting in Paris, with the participation of the heads of government of Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark, the head of state responded that this happens “for a very simple reason”.

“The idea was European institutions, the five largest states, in the sense of the largest economies and the greatest contribution in terms of what will be discussed, and then with the addition of two countries, one of which obviously has a very particular involvement, which is Denmark, for reasons that are public and well-known, and another that has also followed transatlantic relations very closely and with great involvement”, he explained.

According to the President of the Republic, as far as Portugal is concerned, the important thing is to understand the following: “We, the Portuguese, are faithful to our allies, faithful to our partners, faithful to our friends . We like our allies, our partners and friends to be faithful to us, we Portuguese and we Europeans.”

Mayor of Faro and councillor tried for alleged violation of urban planning rules

The Public Prosecutor’s Office requests that the additional penalty of prohibition from exercising public office be applied to Rogério Bacalhau and Sophie Matias for serious disrespect of the duties of a public servant.

The mayor of Faro, Rogério Bacalhau, and councilor Sophie Matias will be tried for the crime of violating urban planning rules, according to the indictment relating to the case, to which Lusa had access.

At issue is the licensing of a project to build a motorhome park in the parish of Montenegro, next to Faro Airport, on agricultural land covered by the Vilamoura-Vila Real de Santo António Coastal Development Plan (POOC).

In the indictment, dated October 2023, the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) requests that the additional penalty of prohibition from exercising public office be applied to the two mayors, alleging that their conduct “reveals a clear and serious disregard for the duties inherent to the functions performed”.

In addition to the mayors, the head of the Urban Management Division and the director of the Infrastructure and Urban Planning Department of Faro City Council at the time of the events, a commercial company and its manager and the coordinator of the architectural and specialist project for the work were also named as defendants.

After the charges were brought, all the defendants requested that an investigation be opened, with the mayor claiming, at that stage of the proceedings, that he “did not commit any crime” and that he had only granted the issuance of the building permit “based on favourable technical opinions”.

However the Public Prosecutor’s Office stated that, “it is quite evident that “all the defendants knew that the property […] is located in an area where construction is prohibited and yet, they wanted the Motorhome Service Area to be built, aware of the non-compliance with the applicable regulations”.

 

Portugal Safety and Security report Wednesday 12^th February 2025

Good morning everyone. Some very changeable weather over the last few day which impacted in south west Spain and the Algarve. Yesterday strong winds in Ayamonte uprooted trees, lifted butane cylinders, dislodged solar panels and launched a cart that crashed into a house, breaking the wall and destroying the house’s bathroom.  In Ayamonte and Aljaraque due to the passage of a tornado this Tuesday afternoon power lines were destroyed and trees were uprooted in its path.  “In Pozo del Camino there was damage to streets and roofs of some houses” in the Villa Antonia area.In the Algarve according to the Civil Protection, the heavy rain that lashed the central part of the Algarve region at the end of the morning, mainly the municipalities of Loulé and Faro, caused “minor flooding on public roads and in garages”. Up 12h30, 17 occurrences were recorded, most of them flooding in the urban perimeter of the cities of Loulé and Faro. Very heavy rain in Vilamoura caused some flooding. The heaviest rain was in Loulé with 39.5mm most of it falling between 100 and 1200 hrs. The yellow level rain warning were raised by the IPMA warning everyone that heavy rain was forecasted. It is important to follow these as well as the advice of the ANEPC. We can expect more of these weather conditions during the winter season.

A reminder on the use of the 112 emergency line. According to the report from the PSP, which coordinates the European emergency number in Portugal, last year, 59% of around 3 million calls to the line were inappropriate – that is, they were not genuine or were related to situations that did not require emergency actions.

Situations that are not emergencies and therefore do not warrant a call to 911 include accidents involving only vehicle damages, vehicle theft, noise and cases in which keys are left inside the house. In these cases, the PSP advises people to call the PSP/GNR station in the area. It is important not to use the 112 line for non-emergencies, as it can result in an increase in waiting time in answering and responding to real emergency situations.

The annual “2024 Corruption Perceptions Index” was published yesterday by Transparency international.  It is the worst result ever for Portugal since this ranking began to be published, in 2012, with the same method that is currently used. Portugal’s score in 2024 was 57 compared to 61 in 2023.”100” is very clean and “0” is very corrupt. It share’s its position in 43rd place with Botswana and Rwanda.  The CPI ranks 180 countries and territories worldwide by their perceived levels of public sector corruption.

The 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) shows that corruption is a dangerous problem in every part of the world.While 32 countries have significantly reduced their corruption levels since 2012, there’s still a huge amount of work to be done – 148 countries have stayed stagnant or have become worse during the same period.

An earthquake occurring in Morocco on 10^th February serves as a reminder of the importance of being prepared and knowing what action to take. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), Volcano Discovery and CSEM/EMSC and earthquake measuring at Mag 5.1, occurred in Morocco at a shallow depth of ten kilometres. This earthquake, did not cause any personal or material damage but was felt with maximum intensity III (modified Mercalli scale) in the municipalities of Albufeira, Faro, Loulé, Olhão, Portimão and Silves.

Our team at Safe Communities wishes you a safe and happy week ahead.

News

60 hearts collected: Portugal reaches historic milestone in heart transplants

Last year, 58 hearts were transplanted in the country’s four heart transplant units and two were sent to Spain because no suitable recipients were found in Portugal.

In 2024, Portugal reached a historic milestone in heart transplants, with 60 hearts collected, of which 58 were transplanted in the country and two in Spain, the national transplant coordinator announced to Lusa this Wednesday.

“We are celebrating a historic achievement in medicine in Portugal and in transplant medicine. In 2024 we achieved the highest number of heart transplants ever”, stated Nuno Gaibino.

The doctor highlighted that 2014 had been the best year to date, with a record 55 transplants. However, “due to a series of coincidences”, including the Covid-19 pandemic, there was a reduction in the number of transplants, which has been recovering and increasing annually.

Last year, 60 hearts were collected, 58 of which were transplanted in the four heart transplant units in the country — Hospital de São João, in Porto, Unidade Local de Saúde de Coimbra, Hospital de Santa Cruz and Hospital de Santa Marta, both in Lisbon — and two in Spain.

Nuno Gaibino explained that the two hearts were sent to Spain because no suitable recipients were found in Portugal.

“In an effort to not waste any available organs, and also as a matter of solidarity, these two hearts were sent to Spain, where they were transplanted. In total, there were 60 transplants with the 60 hearts collected in Portugal”, highlighted the national transplant coordinator of the Portuguese Institute of Blood and Transplantation (IPST).

Although the data on global transplant activity for 2024 will only be presented on April 9, the specialist said that the National Transplant Coordination wanted to share this “very important data” with heart transplant units, but also with the general population.

Europol operation involving 14 countries arrested four Russian hackers linked to ransomware network

Ransomware is a form of digital blackmail in which hackers encrypt the data of victims (individuals, companies or institutions), blocking access to their devices or files in order to extort money from them.

An international operation against cybercrime, involving 14 countries, led to the arrest of four Russian citizens, key figures of 8Base, one of the most active ransomware groups in 2024, Europol announced this Tuesday.

The US Department of Justice also released charges on the same day against two Russians, Roman Berezhnoi , 33, and Egor Glebov , 39, specifying in a statement that they were “detained as part of a coordinated international operation to neutralize their organization.”

Another Russian citizen, Yevgeny Ptitsyn, suspected of being the administrator of the Phobos ransomware, appeared in a US federal court in November, following his extradition from South Korea, the US justice system recalled.

“A coordinated action by international law enforcement authorities last week led to the arrest of four individuals who led the 8Base ransomware group,” Europol said in a statement.

“These individuals, all of Russian nationality, are suspected of using a variant of the Phobos ransomware to extort high-value payments from victims across Europe and beyond,” the Hague-based European police agency added, without revealing their identities or the location of their arrests.

What is ransomware and how does it work?

Ransomware is a form of digital blackmail in which hackers encrypt the data of victims (individuals, companies or institutions), blocking access to their devices or files in order to extort money from them.

Cyber ​​threat intelligence identifies Phobos as one of the “most active ransomware groups of 2024,” according to Europol.

The agency also said that 27 servers linked to the criminal network were taken out of service.