The first of baby of 2016 was born as the Lisbon fireworks lit up the night sky at exactly midnight.
Francisca entered this world at the Alfredo da Costa maternity hospital in Lisbon where attending nurses logged the birth at just seconds into the new year.
The Left Block has demanded the "immediate termination" of the Algarve Central Hospitals management organisation.
The Left Bloc has announced that early in January it will deliver to Parliament via an Algarve MP, a draft resolution proposing "the immediate termination of Algarve Central Hospitals."
Researchers from the Centre of Economics and Fraud Management (Obegef), at the Faculty of Economics in the University of Oporto, estimate that economic crime in Portugal currently enjoys an annual turnover of around €50 billion.
This figure is rising 6-8% a year despite government attempts to identify fraudluelnt transactions and subject them to the courts or taxation.
The company that runs the ATM network in Portugal has reported 93.4 million withdrawals amounting to €3.7 billion in the run-up to Christmas, which, with spending in shops using bank cards, added up to a recent record.
The amount spent per transaction is a rise on recent years - in fact it is the highest per head spend since 2000.
Despite enhanced security at the many public New Year’s Eve celebrations in Portugal’s main cities, the authorities say there is no specific threat.
Portugal is on level four of a five point scale of threat, so policing will be visible in many areas of the major Portuguese cities with police wearing bulletproof vests and carrying machine guns.
Despite Pharol, the former Portugal Telecom, losing 68% of its value, Portugal’s PSI 20 stock index was up 11% over the past year due to gains by some of the country’s big name companies.
Jerónimo Martins, EDP and Galp Energia boosted the overall stock climb, with a stunning performance by Altri, up 92%, ensuring double digit growth overall.
The Socialist Party’s Environment Minister has ensured Polis Ria Formosa’s remit has been extended for another year to facilitate more property demolitions and evictions.
In a cruel blow in the face of Socialist declarations to the contrary, the Environment Minister, João Pedro Matos Fernandes said that "demolitions will not be carried out on first homes without relocation."
Her Majesty the Queen has awarded David Thomas, as President of Safe Communities Portugal, the British Empire Medal (BEM) in the 2016 New Year Honours List in recognition of “services to crime prevention and awareness within the British and international community in Portugal.”
Safe Communities Portugal was registered as an Association in December 2014 based on the development of Safe Communities Algarve which was formed two years earlier. The organisation works with the international communities in Portugal helping to maintain Portugal as a safe place to live and visit.
