Albufeira: young girl dies after being hit by an HGV
An 11 year old girl died yesterday evening, after being run over by a heavy goods vehicle at around 5.30pm, on one of the cityâs main roads.
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The emergency teams received the alert at 17:32 and arrived at the scene soon after, to discover that the young Brazilian girl had been ârun over by a heavy goods vehicleâ.
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The doctor from the Emergency and Resuscitation Medical Vehicle (VMER) of the National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM) assisted the girl, but she was declared dead at the scene.
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Providing assistance at the scene were 23 personnel, including members of the Albufeira Fire Department, INEM and GNR , with nine vehicles.
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The accident occurred âin an urban area, right in the centre of Albufeiraâ, on Avenida dos Descobrimentos.
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Defence spending - tensions rise
Prime Minister Luis Montenegro has reaffirmed Portugalâs commitment to increasing defence spending to 2.0% of GDP by 2029, but some other NATO countries, particularly the United States, say that is not nearly good enough.Â
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At the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last week, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated that countries failing to meet the 2.0% target would have to reach it within âa couple of monthsâ, not years. This was in the face of different threats from Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
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Rutte met Montenegro this week in Lisbon, and the Portuguese prime minister said he would do his best to bring forward the 2.0% target date. He later told a press conference that both his PSD-led government and other parties, most notably the opposition Socialists, were strongly committedâ to meeting the defence spending goal, but that the deadline would depend on a task force involving the foreign, domestic defence and finance ministries, âwhich could be extended to other areas of government.â He added that the countryâs productive and industrial capacity needed to be increased and enhanced for long-term viability.Â
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The Portuguese prime minister stressed that the US in particular should be aware that the 23 European Union members of the North Atlantic Alliance collectively already spend more than 2.0% of their GDP on defence.Â
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âIâm not avoiding the responsibility of Portugal to do this as quickly as possible,â he said, adding that it is necessary to act as a bloc to redefine objectives, policies, and investments to be effective.Â
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Increased investment in the defence industry will mean greater autonomy for Europe, safeguarding the European economy and, as a result, safeguarding the European welfare state, said Montenegro.Â
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NATO Secretary General Rutteâs insistence that the urgent increased spending also applied to Spain. At a meeting with Jose Manuel Albares, Spainâs foreign minister, Albares like Montenegro confirmed his countryâs intention of spending 2.0% of its GDP on defence by 2029.Â
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Foreign Minister Albares told reporters that Spain had been increasing its defence spending âfor yearsâ, and it was âgetting closeâ to the 2.0% goal. Spainâs defence budget currently stands at 1.8% of GDP.Â
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President Donald Trump is expected to increase pressure on European countries for a defence spending rise to 5.0% of GDP, while, threatening to pull the United States out of NATO altogether if they fail to comply.Â
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In view of the war in Ukraine and the possibility of further Russian expansion, top EU foreign affairs official, Kaja Kallas, told the recent annual conference of the European Defence Agency in Brussels that member states need âto wake up.â
 Written by Len Port
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65 year old man arrested for threatening off-duty police officers
A 65 year old man was arrested on Tuesday, after two off-duty police officers from the Special Police Unit came across the individual âcommitting dangerous driving acts."
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The two police officers, while driving their private vehicle in Faro, came across the man, who was âcommitting dangerous driving acts, a circumstance that almost culminated in a traffic accidentâ, says the PSP. âThe suspect insulted and threatened the police officers using a bladed weapon, at which point they identified themselves by showing their professional ID, and immobilized the suspectâ.
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With the assistance of the Faro Criminal Investigation Squad, a search of the suspect and his house were carried out, which resulted in the seizure of 197 individual doses of cocaine, a bladed weapon with a total length of 30 centimetres and around âŹ3100 in cash.
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The detainee already has a âcriminal record for violent crimes and drug traffickingâ, says the PSP.
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The man will be presented to the Judicial Authority for the application of coercive measures.
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Algarve dam storage levels increase, but drought persists in the west
The recent rains have filled many of the Algarve's streams, resulting in a significant increase in water in the Algarve's dams, especially in the east of the region.
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But, even so, there are still two Algarve reservoirs in the red, that is, with less than 20% capacity.
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According to the weekly reservoir bulletin from the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) released on Monday 27th January, the Odeleite dam, the second largest in the region, is the one with the highest water storage level, at 73% of its maximum capacity.
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The neighbouring Beliche dam is at 65% of its total volume.
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Less encouraging data in the western part of the Algarve, the dam with the highest storage percentage is Funcho, which has reached just 44% capacity. Then comes Odelouca, the largest dam in the region, which is at 37% full.
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Despite the rainfall recorded throughout the Algarve recently, there are two dams that remain in a critical situation - the Bravura reservoir in Lagos is only at 14% of its capacity, while the Arade dam in Silves is at 17%.
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It is hoped that the rain will continue to fall in the near future, so that streams can transport more water to the region's dams, especially those that still have low storage levels.
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Algarve dog trainer crowned national dog tracking champion
Algarve trainer João Paulino, from the Iron Dog Algarve association, based in Loulé, was crowned the national IFH3 tracking champion last weekend.
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In a sport where the overwhelming majority of breeds used are German Shepherds and Belgian Malinois, the Algarve dog trainer achieved the feat of becoming Portuguese champion with a Kelpie dog, an unlikely breed, a herding dog.
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The IGP-IFH is managed by the Portuguese Kennel Club under the International Cynological Federation and the tracking test at its highest level consists of a trail test, where the dog must follow 1800 footprints, left three hours earlier, with long straight lines and various types of angles, and even false trails, and find objects left along the way and point them out, while its guide leads it on a leash 10 metres away.
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As in search and rescue circumstances, in tracking competitions dogs must have an extraordinary sense of smell, concentration and endurance to be able to find the entire almost 1.5km route previously taken, generally around 2 hectares of open field.
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In November, João made history again by winning the world boxer championship, ATIBOX - Association Technique Internationale du Boxer, in 1950 in Strasbourg, in the North of Spain, winning the title of IGP1 Winner, with the dog Babilónia of Iron Kingdom, bred, trained and led in competition by him. The IGP - International Gebrauchshund Prufung (International Working Dog Test) modality tests dogs in three areas: not only tracking, but also obedience and protection, making it a very complete sport.
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Regarding competing with dogs of unusual breeds, such as Kelpies and Boxers, JoĂŁo says that âit is more challengingâ but recalls that in the past he started in the sport with German Shepherds and Belgian Malinois, of which he is a fervent fan. However, he stresses that âall dogs are interesting and have their own particularities, the important thing is to understand how we can maximize their innate abilities, stimulating them correctly, regardless of whether they are used for sport, or as companionsâ.
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JoĂŁo Paulino has been the president of Iron Dog Algarve since its foundation in 2016, and is the schoolâs longest-serving trainer. He is also one of the first officially certified trainers of potentially dangerous dog breeds in Portugal. His team is multidisciplinary and comprises members from different areas, including biologists, zootechnicians, veterinarians, and people with training in Animal Welfare.
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Congratulations João! A true professional in his field.
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W:Â www.irondog.pt
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The troubles of tariffs
Portugal has called on its United States and European allies to greatly enhance dialogue to avoid US tariffs that could prove harmful to people in all EU countries, especially the least wealthy.
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The Portuguese Finance Minister, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento, made this appeal on Tuesday, the day after Donald Trump assumed the presidency.
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âWe will analyse the decisions of the US administration and try to strengthen economic ties,â Portugalâs finance minister told the Reuters news agency, and other reporters in Brussels.
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âIt is necessary to have a constructive attitude of dialogue, but also naturally in defence of what is in the interest of Europe and its member states,â said the finance minister.
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Trump has already declared that a tariff of 25% could be imposed on his two neighbours, Canada and Mexico, as early as 1st February. Increased tariffs are almost certain on Chinese goods entering America. However, nothing definite has yet been announced about tariffs on Portuguese and other European exports.
Written by Len Portï»ż
