No shortage of water 'guaranteed' in the Algarve, even with restrictions being eased
The Minister of Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, guaranteed today that, even with restrictions being eased, the Algarve will have water for consumption, but the Government will be attentive to “if it is necessary to tweak here and there”.
Speaking to the Lusa news agency, on the sidelines of the Concordia European Summit on Wednesday, Maria da Graça Carvalho was peremptory in answering questions about the drought in the Algarve.
“Yes, it is possible to guarantee that the Algarve will have water. We did the math. The accounts are very consolidated on the assumption that any relief must guarantee that there is water for consumption for a year, even if there is no rain at all. But this is a dynamic assessment and, every two months, we will look at the measures and if it is necessary to tighten here and there, we will do so too”, said Maria da Graça Carvalho.
On Wednesday, the Government announced the easing of restrictions imposed on water consumption in agriculture and the urban sector of the Algarve, including tourism, to combat the drought in the Algarve region.
“The Government decided to revoke resolution 26A of 2024, of February 20, and in the coming weeks another resolution will be approved and published that aims to continue a policy of responsibility, but, even so, ease the restrictions that are currently in force”, stated the prime minister, after a meeting of the drought monitoring committee, in Faro.
Maria da Graça Carvalho said that the new resolution will go to the Council of Ministers in the week of June 10th, with the previous one, the one from February approved by the Government of António Costa, revoked when the new one comes into force.
The Minister of Environment and Energy highlighted that the new resolution “does not only have measures on relief”.
“There is a part about accelerating existing investments mainly from the PRR (Recovery and Resilience Plan) which is long overdue. Only 5% is executed. The majority is from Águas do Algarve and a part from the municipalities,” she said.
Asked if she fears loss of funding and opportunities, Maria da Graça Carvalho said that the guardianship will “monitor the projects and do everything to ensure that they move quickly” because, she added, “Portugal urgently needs to execute the PRR projects”.
“In the Algarve, only projects that already have investment allocated will produce an extra 76 cubic hectometers of water, which is the equivalent of urban consumption in the Algarve for one year”, she said.
In response to criticism from Algarve mayors who pointed out that they had not been heard about the change to the resolution, Maria da Graça Carvalho admitted that the meeting model would be changed.
“Mayors are heard. There are technical consultation meetings and all sectors in the region are heard. Then there is an interministerial meeting for decision and not for consultation. That's how it's defined. But we are thinking about revising it to provide a clearer format. So far we have followed what is stipulated, but we realized that we can optimize the format”, said the government official.
At issue is the format of the so-called Drought Commission, which is established in a resolution dating from 2017.
Finally, still on the topic of water and drought, Maria da Graça Carvalho took the opportunity to praise the campaign that several entities linked to tourism in the region are carrying out.
“Those who live in the Algarve are already aware that they have to save water. Those who visit us also have to be aware of this”, she concluded.
Police arrest a man for a murder carried out in 1998
The Judiciary Police have finally arrested a man in Lisbon, for a crime of qualified homicide that occurred in 1998, in São Brás de Alportel, in the Algarve.
The detainee reportedly ordered the death of a 28 year old man in February 1998 in São Brás de Alportel, with the victim's body later abandoned in the Castro Marim area.
In a statement, the PJ reported that the now 51 year old man was detained under an arrest warrant issued by the Judicial Court of Faro, following his conviction to serve 14 years in prison.
“The victim of the murder was approached and restrained by three men who, acting on orders from the the detainee, was taken to a deserted location and subsequently fatally shot with a firearm”, the statement reads.
The convict was taken to the Faro prison to serve his prison sentence.
Tightening ties within Europe - Portuguese Prime Minister and Ukraine President in Lisbon
With campaigning at its height for the European Parliamentary elections, the ferocity of Russian attacks on Ukraine has intensified, and allied intelligence officials are now tracking an increase in Russian low-level sabotage operations in Europe.
The Russian operations could involve fake polls and propaganda fraud. The sabotaging is part of an effort to undermine support for Ukraine, according to intelligence sources.The operations have also involved arson or attempted arson attacks on a wide range of targets, including a warehouse in England, a paint factory in Poland, homes in Latvia, and an IKEA store in Lithuania. So far, no such damage has been reported in Portugal.
Portugal’s Prime Minister, Luis Montenegro, has been to Berlin for talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. It was a very cordial meeting.
“We’re both committed to making Portuguese-German relations more intense,” said Mr Montenegro.
“We stand close to many of the challenges posed to Europe,” he said, and went on to praise the support Germany has been giving to Ukraine to defend itself against the Russian invasion.
He added that the Portuguese government was working to reach the “audacious” 2% budget target for defence expenditure as agreed with NATO. “Our commitment to NATO is full. From this perspective, we understand that words alone are not enough. This commitment must be materialised in action.”
The German chancellor said that Portugal had been “a reliable ally” and “a good friend for the European Union.” At the end of the meeting it was announced that there would be boosts to the cultural, economic, and political relations between the two countries.
Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, paid a six-hour working visit to Portugal on Tuesday. It was described as “part of a shared intention to deepen the excellent relations between the two states, with a particular focus on strengthening cooperation in the field of security and defence.” Advance voting for the European Parliamentary elections has just begun (Wednesday May 29). Voting at polling stations will take place between June 6 and 9. Polling stations in Portugal will be open on the last day, the 9th. The overall turnout for the last EU parliamentary election in 2019 was low: 40.8%. A survey published earlier this year predicted the turnout this time would be significantly higher.
Young people, including first time voters, are being strongly urged to take part. The total number of people casting their ballots in the 27 member states for 720 parliamentary seats could be in excess of 373 million.
More publicity than ever is being given to the prospects of the far-right winning a majority of seats in this election. The populist parties have strong support in Austria, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Poland, and Portugal. However, the far-right remains divided, which may mean relative weakness in Strasbourg and Brussels. The centrists may well prevail.
As we reported recently, to be eligible to vote in Portugal, you need to be over the age of 18 and fit into one of four categories:
+ Portuguese citizens registered on the electoral roll of the national territory.
+ Portuguese citizens residing abroad who have not chosen to vote in another EU country.
+ Citizens of other EU countries registered in Portugal who choose to vote for Portuguese members of the European Parliament.
+ Brazilian citizens with a citizen’s card or identity card with equal political rights.
Polling stations will be in municipal council offices or at locations posted on notices in local council offices on voting day.
Written by Len Port
Angry Neighbours Feel Frustrated with Amorim’s Broken Promises
The ‘Neighbours of the Factory’ are feeling frustrated and angry with the outcome of the last meeting with Amorim Cork Factory. The bulletin does not make easy reading for our group of neighbours who have challenged Amorim to clean up their factory for far too long!
All the promises going back over two and a half years have not been completed. We daily have to breathe contaminated smoke which affects our health causing allergies, asthma and many other breathing problems.
We Deserve the Right to Breathe Clean Air!
On May 10, 2024, the 11th quarterly meeting was held to follow up and monitor the work to correct the environmental anomalies at the factory of Amorim Cork Insulation (ACI) in Vale de Lama, Silves. The meeting was held at Silves Town Hall and was attended by Councillor Maxime Sousa Bispo and representatives of CCDR-Algarve, the Pestana group an the “Neighbours of the Factory” Residents' Committee.
The meeting bulletin reads as follows...
The phase-1 pre-filter was installed last summer with the promise of reducing white smoke by around 80%. Today, the ACI acknowledges that the equipment installed does not guarantee an 80% reduction in white smoke, as they had hoped, and, unfortunately, they also have no information on how effective the pre-filter is in reducing white smoke. The residents' committee “Neighbours of the Factory” and the Pestana group have expressed their discontent, and the CCDR Algarve its concern, about the amount of Suberin that may be being emitted at the moment, despite all the work andpromises from ACI.
The factory's general manager, Carlos Manuel Oliveira, announced at the end of 2023 that the factory's managementmaintains the order to suspend or stop the cork block production process when the pre-filter is not working properly.
CCDR-Algarve and Silves Town Council asked ACI to carry out measurements or tests to certify the degree of white smokereduction with the pre-filter in operation, and to present the results at the next meeting in July 2024. Silves MunicipalCouncil also requested that ACI should consider stopping production, as assumed by the ACI, when the degree of whitesmoke reduction is less than at least 40%.
ACI has announced a further postponement of the completion of the ongoing phase-2, which involves the installation of RTO equipment that should completely eliminate white smoke and the smell of burning cork. This new delay means that, in the worst-case scenario, phase 2 will be completed in August 2025, although the ACI is working to bring forward the deadline for completion of the RTO installation.
The residents' committee “Neighbours of the Factory” mentioned the fact that black smoke from the furnace was beingemitted again on several occasions. ICA will analyse the situation and put an end to the emission of unfiltered smoke assoon as possible.
ACI continued its noise reduction work on the west side of the factory. ACI has designed a building to soundproof the noise coming from the crusher and alterations to the cork storage building have been completed to accommodate the quiet operation of the Trommel. These measures have been licensed by Silves Municipal Council and are intended to considerably reduce the noise from the factory's operation. In addition, ACI is implementing further noise reduction and mitigation measures and carrying out regular acoustic measurements, based on the revision of its acoustic soundproofing project for the factory.
The restriction on the plant's opening hours imposed by Silves Town Hall remains in place. The entire factory will stop operating from 11.59pm on Friday, until 4 am on Monday for the boiler, until 8 am on Monday for the autoclave, and until 8 am on Monday for the rest of the factory.
All parties are very frustrated by the delays in completing the RTO installation work. The quarterly meetings have beentaking place for around 3 years and the delay in completing the work amounts to almost 2 years. Despite ACI's efforts,the existing delay places serious reservations on the positive conclusion of this process.
The “Neighbours of the Factory” met with the CCDR-Algarve in November 2023 to discuss the high levels of fine particles,defined as PM10, in the vicinity of the factory. The CCDR-Algarve said that it had asked the government to providefunding to carry out tests outside the factory in 2024, in each wind direction, for a period of one year.
We would all like to thank the permanent municipal executive of Silves Town Council for their support and commitment in carrying out this participatory process, which aims to correct the environmental anomalies of the factory of Amorim Cork Insulation (ACI) in Vale da Lama, Silves, with a consequent reduction in the pollution caused by its operation, and to improve the relationship between ACI and the surrounding population, contributing to a more integrated and participatory community in resolving matters of public interest in the environmental field.
A horse visits Lidl, for some fruit and veg
The unusual moment, which took place in a Lidl supermarket in Sintra, was filmed by a customer.
CLICK HERE to view the video posted on social media.
The doors of Lidl in Terrugem, in Sintra, opened to let the horse enter, and it quickly headed towards the fruit and vegetable aisle.
After eating some vegetables, the animal only left the supermarket thanks to a quick thinking employee, who decided to offer carrots to the horse, until it left the store peacefully.
In the last seconds of the video, someone is heard saying “a horse again”, which means that this may not have been the first time this horse has entered this Lidl!!
