Portugal’s Army is to be supplied with new radar and air defence missiles at a cost of €32 million in a contract stretching to 2026, according to Defence Minister, José Azeredo Lopes.
The purchase order signed by Lopes indicates that the weapon systems are for "anti-aircraft protection of military forces and the protection of sensitive places and high-visibility events."
A reported 50 police carried out further searches today, this time at hospitals in Lisbon and Oporto, as part of the contuning plasma supply corruption case named, Operation O Negative, and made three doctors arguidos - official suspects.
In December last year, the then administrator of Octapharma, Paulo Lalanda e Castro, was arrested in Germany and later released under caution to appear in Lisbon to answer further questions relating to allegations that he corrupted NHS officials and others to ensure his company was the sole supplier of plasma products to Portugal’s health and emergency services.
The government’s flawed plan to contract helicopters to provide emergency medical cover may soon come to end with the announcement today of a new tendering process to hire helicopters that will be used only for medical emergencies and not doubling up as a fire fighting resource.
The problems in the past, apart from the embarrassment of having bought dodgy Kamov helicopters that have spent much of their time grounded due to technical issues, have included periodic gaps in specialist medical staff availability and the use of the helicopters for fire fighting duties.
In May this year, the Algarve’s hotels saw the highest occupancy rates since the year 2000 and up 4.4% compared to May, 2016.
Tourists from the United Kingdom, Ireland and France contributed most to a 73% May occupancy rate, according to the region’s hotels association.
According to preliminary data released by AHETA, this is the second consecutive month with record figures not seen since the turn of the millennium.
The Governor of the Bank of Portugal, Carlos ‘Mr Magoo’ Costa, said today that the responsibility for the appointment of the new management team at Caixa Geral de Depósitos was down to the government, with the approval the European Central Bank, and that he had nothing to do with the disaster that left the bank rudderless at a crucial time.
"The Bank of Portugal did not have any decisive role in this matter. It was up to the European Central Bank," said Carlos Costa, at the start of the committee of inquiry into the Caixa Geral fiasco that saw Domingues at the helm for just over three troubled months last year.
The plan for a luxury hotel at Monte Gordo that was due to be built ‘almost on the beach’ has been rejected by the Portuguese Environment Agency (Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente) under instruction from the General Environmental Inspectorate (Inspeção Geral do Ambiente.)
The Hoti Hotels Group was planning to start construction of the 'Meliá de Monte Gordo' this year, under a standard cooperation Agreement with Meliá Hotels International, with an opening date of "2018 or 2019" for the four-storey building.
The €8 million refurbishment of the Guadiana International bridge started today with a completion date of 525 days that includes down time during peak periods.
Pedro Marques, the Minister of Planning and Infrastructures, was at today's ceremony to start the project, as well as Iñigo de la Serna, the Spanish Minister of Public Works and Guilherme d'Oliveira Martins, the Portuguese Secretary of State for Infrastructure.
The Faro District Command of the Public Security Police has announced that it has sent 1,500 firearms and replicas that have been amassed at the district Arms and Explosives unit, for destruction and disposal the national Arms and Explosives Unit.
The weapons and replicas collected across the Algarve region are the result of stop and search actions and arms seizures by the police investigating crimes, with many of the weapons handed in by locals.
