PRIME MINISTER COSTA RESIGNS

 

 

Portugal’s President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa is considering calling a general election following the sudden resignation of Prime Minister António Costa amid a corruption scandal.

 

Costa, Portugal’s prime minister since November 2015, has resigned as Portugal’s prime minister due to an investigation into his administration’s handling of concessions for lithium mining and a hydrogen project.

 

The Portuguese Prosecutor’s Office is investigating Mr. Costa and several members of his cabinet for alleged crimes of active and passive corruption, prevarication, and influence pedalling.

 

Mr. Costa announced his sudden resignation on Tuesday in a televised statement just hours after prosecutors detained his chief of staff over the corruption allegations.

 

“The duties of the prime minister are not compatible with any suspicion of my integrity,” he told to a televised press conference. “In these circumstances, I have presented my resignation to the President of the Republic.”

The prime minister met with President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa to inform him of his decision and said that his conscience was clear, but that he would not stand for another term as prime minister and leader of Portugal’s Socialist Party.

 

He said that he totally trusts the justice system and has promised to collaborate with it over the scandal. “I want to say eye to eye to the Portuguese that my conscience is clear of any illicit or censured act,” he said.

 

In accepting Mr. Costa’s resignation, President de Sousa said he would hold consultations with the various political parties. It is up to him to decide if parliament with its current Socialists majority must be dissolved to make way for a new general election. An alternative for the president would be to choose a new prime minister from the Socialist Party.

 

This crisis comes at a particularly awkward time as parliament is due to vote on Portugal’s 2024 budget later this month.

 

In addition to Mr. Costa’s chief of staff, Vitor Escaria, four other people, including a business consultant, have been detained, according to the prosecutor’s office. They are due to appear shortly before a judge.

 

About 140 detectives reportedly searched many residential and government premises, including that of the infrastructure and environment minister João Galamba, as well as municipal offices in Sines.

 

With the green transition in mind, the European Union wants to reduce its imports on lithium and other raw materials from China, Africa and South America. Europe’s increasing demand for electric cars is highlighting Portugal’s valuable lithium reserves in the north of the country and a huge green hydrogen project in the historic coastal town of Sines in the district of Setubal south of Lisbon.  The projects have been highly controversial and evoked environmental protests.  .

This developing story will be updated.

 

Latest from Portugal’s Guterres on the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza

As the conflict between Israel and Hamas militants continues to escalate, Antonio Guterres is condemning both sides for the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

In appealing for peace, the Secretary-General of the United Nations and former Portuguese prime minister has said both sides have violated international law. He described the initial attack by Hamas on October 7 that killed 1,400 people as “appalling.” He went on to say in an address to the UN Security Council that the Hamas attack did not justify the “collective punishment” of Gaza civilians with increasing bombardments by Israeli forces.

Israel has called for Guterres’s resignation because of comments he has made about Israel’s involvement in the Gaza crisis, but Portugal’s foreign minister, Joao Gomes Cravinho, and many other leaders firmly stand by the secretary-general’s neutral position.

Guterres is deeply concerned that only a trickle of humanitarian aid in the form of food, water and medical supplies is being allowed in to the more than two million citizens crammed into the Gaza Strip, most of them, including children and women, now homeless or hospitalised.

Many Gaza hospitals have had to close and United Nations aid workers in Gaza are finding it impossible to function because Israel continues to block all entry of fuel lest in gets in the hands of Hamas. Israel says Hamas has fuel and it should release it to those in need.

While the main front-page stories in most Portuguese national newspapers lately have been on the worsening conflict in the Middle East, the Portuguese foreign minister has stressed that the European Union must keep an eye on the war in Ukraine lest President Vladimir Putin becomes “a winner of the crisis in Gaza.”

This comes as United States President Joe Biden’s administration is whole-heartedly supporting Israel’s attempt to annihilate Hamas, which the U.S. and European nations have branded a “terrorist” organisation. Washington has vehemently criticised Russia for indiscriminate attacks on Ukraine, but critics say it has expressed little about similar suffering in Gaza. As a headline in the New York Times put it: “Developing World Sees Double Standard in West’s Actions in Gaza and Ukraine.”

The U.S. has reportedly advised Israel to delay a Gaza invasion, yet Israeli soldiers have already carried out limited ground incursions and there is no doubt that they are fully prepared and determined to carry out a full-scale invasion.

Israel is continuing to bomb and kill civilians in the south as well as the north of Gaza after telling the northern population to move south for safety. Nowhere is now safe and many citizens are returning to their homes in the north despite the relentless bombing there.

Nearly half of the population of Gaza are under the age of 18. The United Nations estimates that about 50,000 women are pregnant. The psychological as well as physical impact is truly dreadful.

Many countries on both side of the conflict are warning that without restraint the violence could quickly spiral and spread across the entire region.

Pro-Hamas Hezbollah militants in Lebanon have been increasingly exchanging rocket fire with Israel on Lebanon’s southern border. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that Israel will meet further attacks from Hezbollah with “unimaginable devastation” that will “cripple” Lebanon.

Iran has warned that more Israeli hostility will make wider Palestinian military assaults inevitable. Netanyahu seems to be well aware of this and has said the war could go on for months, not just weeks.

Russia entered the fray by proposing that the United Nations Security Council adopt a motion for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. The text did not include any mention of the Hamas. The proposal was vetoed by Western members of the council. Vladimir Putin met with China’s Xi Jinping, but neither condemned Hamas.

A few of the 222 hostages believed to have been taken from Israel to Gaza by Hamas during their October 7 attack have been released. One elderly Israeli woman said that while she was abducted on a motorbike, beaten and “I’ve been “been through hell,” she added that she had been treated well and given medical attention during her two weeks in captivity.

Guterres, who has appealed for the release of all the hostages, has noted that while the abhorrent October 7 raid into Israel was unexpected, it was but another example of the division that has long existed between Israelis and Palestinians.

“The most recent violence does not come in a vacuum, but grows out of a long-standing conflict, with a 50-year long occupation and no political end in sight,” he said.

 

Two devastating wars - in Gaza and Ukraine - and both could expand

While the lead stories in most Portuguese national newspapers lately have been on the worsening conflict in the Middle East, the Portuguese Foreign Minister Joao Gomes Cravinho has stressed that the European Union must keep an eye on the war in Ukraine lest President Vladimir Putin becomes “a winner of the crisis in Gaza.”

This comes as United States President Joe Biden’s administration is fully supporting Israel’s attempt to annihilate Hamas, which the U.S. and European nations have branded a “terrorist” organisation. Russia, however, is at least vocally siding with Hamas while continuing it’s killing of civilians in Ukraine.

Washington has vehemently criticised Russia for indiscriminate attacks on Ukraine, but critics say it has expressed little about similar suffering in Gaza. As a headline in the New York Times put it; “Developing World Sees Double Standard in West’s Actions in Gaza and Ukraine.”

The U.S. has reportedly advised Israel to delay a Gaza invasion, yet Israeli soldiers have already carried out limited ground incursions and there is no doubt that they are fully prepared and determined to carry out a full-scale invasion.

Israel has been bombing and killing civilians in the south as well as the north of Gaza after telling the northern population to go south for safety. Nowhere is now safe and many citizens are returning to their homes in the north despite the relentless bombing there.

Nearly half of the population of Gaza are under the age of 18. The United Nations estimates that about 50,000 women in Gaza’s total population of 2.3 million are pregnant. The psychological as well as physical impact must be truly dreadful.

Many countries on both side of the Israel – Gaza divide are warning that without restraint the conflict could quickly spiral out of control and spread across the region.

Pro-Hamas militants in Lebanon have started exchanging rocket attacks with Israel to the south.  Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that it will meet further attacks from Lebanon with unimaginable devastation.

Iran has warned that more Israeli hostility will make wider Palestinian military assaults inevitable.

Russia entered the fray by proposing that the United Nations Security Council adopt a motion for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. The text did not include any mention of the Hamas extremists. It was vetoed by Western members of the council.

Vladimir Putin met with China’s Xi Jinping, but neither condemned Hamas. They said there was no justification for Israel’s blockade of essential supplies or planned invasion of Gaza.

During a visit to the border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, Antonio Guterres appealed for the delivery of as much humanitarian aid to the entrapped and homeless Gaza civilians as soon as possible.  Some truckloads have started entering the only possible route, but it is not nearly enough. The UN says more than 100 truckloads of the food, water, fuel and medicines Israel has been blocking are needed daily.        

Fuel is about to run out in Gaza as Israel continues to block it fearing it will get into the hands of Hamas who started this escalating conflict.

A few of the more than 200 hostages taken from Israel to Gaza by Hamas fighters during their October 7 attack have been released. One elderly Israeli woman said she was beaten while being abducted, but treated well and given medical treatment during her two weeks in captivity. 

The United Nations secretary-general and former Portuguese prime minister’s calls for peace are falling on deaf ears. He has noted that while the October 7 attack was unexpected, it was but another example of the division that has long existed between Israelis and Palestinians.

“The most recent violence does not come in a vacuum, but grows out of a long-standing conflict, with a 50-year long occupation and no political end in sight,” he said.

 

Guterres’ latest humanitarian efforts

 

During a visit to the border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, Antonio Guterres has appealed for the delivery of as much humanitarian aid to the 2.2 million entrapped Gaza civilians as soon as possible.

Israel has blocked all food, clean water, fuel, electricity and medicines from entering Gaza because of the shocking, surprise attack by Hamas militants on October 7.

The United Nations secretary-general and former Portuguese prime minister has again called on both sides for restraint in the conflict that could escalate into a wider Middle East war.

In appealing for peace, Guterres has noted that while the October 7 attack was unexpected, it was but another example of the division that has long existed between Israelis and Palestinians.

“The most recent violence does not come in a vacuum, but grows out of a long-standing conflict, with a 50-year long occupation and no political end in sight,” he said.

In expressing concern that the conflict could turn into a much wider war, he has warned: “We are on the verge of the abyss in the Middle East.”

Another devastating event – an explosion at a hospital in Gaza that reportedly killed about 500 people – has made Guterres’ warning all the more unnerving. Israel insists the blast was caused by a misfired Palestinian jihadist missile. Palestinian militants have blamed Israel for the explosion and sparked mass protests across all Arab countries.

President Joe Biden’s brief visit to Tel Aviv was essentially to express unwavering support for Israel’s efforts to eliminate Hamas. Britain’s Prime Minister Richie Sunak also went to Tel Aviv to express solidarity. 

Political leaders in the Western World have condemned Hamas militants as “terrorists” while standing firmly by their “ally”, Israel.

Palestinian militants on the border in Lebanon have been exchanging fire with Israel. Iran and Syria have become a veiled threat in support of Hamas, the group that rules Gaza.

Russia entered the fray by proposing that the UN Security Council adopt a motion for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. The text did not include any mention of  the Hamas extremists. It was out-voted.

Vladimir Putin met with China’s Xi Jinping and both are refusing to condemn Hamas. They have said there is no justification for Israel’s blockade of essential supplies or planned invasion of Gaza.

At the start of the conflict, Hamas militants deliberately killed hundreds of Israeli civilians, including young people attending a music festival. More than 200 Israeli hostages who were seized have not yet been released.

Israel responded with relentless bombing of crowded homes in Gaza, the most densely populated place in the world.

Within little more than a week of its initial strike, Hamas had killed about 1,400 Israelis. More than 2,700 Palestinians had been killed in retaliatory airstrikes. Many thousands more have been killed or severely injured.

The almost unimaginable brutality of this war has led a former Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, to claim that peace between Israelis and Palestinians will only be brought about with a two-state solution.

Guterres and his senior UN colleagues agree and want Israel to now “reverse course,” otherwise the evacuation demands on Gaza citizens, who have nowhere safe to go, could “transform what is already a tragedy into a calamitous situation.”

 

 

Israel-Hamas conflict may widen in the Middle East – Updated Thurs. 19th

The strongest neutral voice appealing for restraint on both sides amidst the highly biased international clamour over the crisis in Israel and Gaza has been that of Antonio Guterres.

The United Nations secretary- general and former Portuguese prime minister was quick to call on the Hamas militants to immediately release the Israeli hostages they seized, and to ask the Israeli government to allow rapid and impeded access to humanitarian aid to Gaza’s 2.2 million civilian citizens. He warned that the conflict could turn into a much wider war. “We are on the verge of the abyss in the Middle East,” he said.

A horrific event on Tuesday this week – an explosion at a hospital in Gaza that reportedly killed about 500 people – has made Guterres’ warning all the more unnerving.  Israel insists the blast was caused by a misfired Palestinian jihadist missile. Palestinian militants have blamed Israel for the explosion and sparked mass protests across all Arab countries.

President Joe Biden’s barely one-day visit to Tel Aviv on Wednesday was essentially to show staunch support for the Israel’s efforts to eliminate Hamas. Britain’s Prime Minister Richie Sunak arrived in Tel Aviv on Thursday also to express solidarity.  

Political leaders in the Western World have condemned Hamas militants as “terrorists” while standing firmly by their “ally”, Israel, despite the killing of many hundreds of Gaza civilians, including babies, schoolchildren and women.

The United States has sent military equipment and massive naval aircraft carrier power to help the Israeli war effort.

Palestinian militants on the border in Lebanon have started exchanging fire with Israel. Iran and Syria have become a veiled threat in support of Hamas, the group that rules Gaza.

 Russia’s Vladimir Putin has met with China’s Xi Jinping and both are refusing to condemn Hamas. They say there is no justification for Israel’s blockade of essential supplies or planned incursion.

At the start of the conflict on October 7, Hamas militants deliberately killed hundreds of Israeli civilians, including young people. Israel responded with relentless bombing of crowded homes in Gaza, the most densely populated place in the world.

Within little more than a week of its initial strike, Hamas had killed about 1,400 Israelis. More than 2,700 Palestinians had been killed in retaliatory airstrikes. Many thousands more have been killed or severely injured.

Even some Western leaders were critical when the Israeli government demanded that everyone in northern Gaza move to the south and that patients and medical staff be evacuated from Gaza hospitals. 

The Israelis blocked all essential supplies – food, clean water, electricity, fuel and medicines – going into Gaza while they continued their bombing and prepared for a mass land invasion in an attempt to annihilate Hamas.

The only escape route for fleeing Palestinians was into neighbouring Egypt, but that has still not been fully opened.

The almost unimaginable brutality of this sudden, unexpected war has led a former Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, to reiterate that peace between Israelis and Palestinians will only be brought about with a two-state solution.

Guterres agrees and he and his senior UN colleagues want Israel to now reverse course, otherwise the evacuation demands could “transform what is already a tragedy into a calamitous situation.”

In his latest statement Guterres has said:” The most recent violence does not come in a vacuum, but grows out of a long-standing conflict, with a 50-year long occupation and no political end in sight.”

 

September Supermoon: no strangers in the night

 

 

Odilia Marques Fernandes, who found mysterious footprints and circles imprinted on the flat roof of her Algarve home during the night of the August supernoon, was greatly relieved not to experience anything weird during yesterday’s Harvest Moon, the last supermoon, of the year.

A friend joined her for dinner, but she was on her own for the rest of the night in her countryside cottage.  She felt extremely anxious because of her strange experience during the previous supermoon.

She bravely waited into the early hours , but heard no footsteps on the roof and saw no more imprints when she climbed up her ladder and checked the tiles during the daytime.

The Harvest Moon was a beautiful sight to all in the Algarve and everywhere else without cloud cover.

The many thousands of readers of our last report on Odilia’s frightening experience during the August supermoon no doubt wished her well and this provided comfort while she was alone.

The police declined her urgent request to investigate last time. There is still no reasonably sound explanation for the phenomenon during the last supermoon, though some people, including Odilia, wonder about the possibility of supernatural visitors.

 

When asked for an opinion on our previous report, CHAT GPT offered the following: 

The story you've shared is indeed intriguing and mysterious. It seems to describe a series of unexplained events involving footprints and circular patterns on the roof of Odilia Marques Fernandes' cottage during the supermoon. Let's break down some possible perspectives on this story:

1.    Supernatural Beliefs: Odilia herself appears to have considered the possibility that these events may be related to supernatural beings. Footprints and circular patterns that appear suddenly and cannot be explained by natural causes can lead some individuals to attribute them to supernatural forces. Such beliefs are often rooted in cultural or personal beliefs in spirits, fairies, or other supernatural entities.

2.    Skepticism: On the other hand, skeptics may suggest that there could be more rational explanations for the footprints and circles. It's possible that someone, possibly a prankster or a curious individual, accessed the roof during the night without Odilia noticing. However, her claim that the roof had not shown any marks since it was installed adds an element of mystery.

3.    Natural Phenomena: Sometimes, unusual patterns and markings can be attributed to natural phenomena, such as weather-related effects or animal activity. However, it's important to consider whether such explanations are plausible given the circumstances.

4.    Lack of Investigation: The fact that the local police did not investigate the incident further may raise questions about the credibility of the story. Some may argue that a thorough investigation could have shed more light on the situation.

Ultimately, whether one believes in supernatural beings or not, this story highlights the human tendency to seek explanations for unexplained events and phenomena. It's a reminder that people's beliefs, experiences, and perceptions can vary widely, and what might seem supernatural to one person may have a more mundane explanation to another. Without additional evidence or investigation, the true nature of the footprints and circles on Odilia's roof remains a mystery.

 

 

 

 

Immigration and emigration

An increasing number of people in recent years have been coming to Portugal for a better life than they have been experiencing in America, the United Kingdom and a number of EU countries.

At the same time, many Portuguese residents have been leaving for the same countries immigrants are coming from.

The number of foreign residents in Portugal is now more than 6% of the total population.

Some, especially those from former Portuguese territories such as Brazil, come to study or work. Many of the English-speakers are elderly and wanting to enjoy their retirement in Portugal. 

For those seeking further education or work opportunities, Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra and the other main cities are very attractive. The milder climate and less busy environments in the Algarve region is the preferred option for many retirees. 

More than 285 passengers disembarked  at Azores airports last month, almost a 10% increase on August the previous year, but it is not clear now many of those visitors may have been lured to remain and reside on one of those beautiful islands.    

The number of foreigners living on the Portuguese island of Madeira was about 10,600 at the beginning of last year, an increase of nearly 20% since 2019 and the COVID pandemic.

Immigrants are obviously drawn to mainland Portugal and the autonomous islands by conditions they consider better than in their homelands. Among the most important is the fact that the Portuguese are generally a welcoming people and while English is not an official language, many Portuguese understand and speak it fluently. Also of great significance is the fact that Portugal is one of the most peaceful countries in the world. 

There are plenty of English-speaking property agents, lawyers and health professional available to offer their services. All sorts of advice is also available in English and other European languages for members of the Association of Foreign Property Owners (AFPOP). 

The cost of living throughout Portugal has risen a lot in recent years, but it is still moderate compared with many other places. On the negative side, property rental and purchase prices have soared, causing a shortage of affordable accommodation for locals who are earning in many cases €1,000 or less a month.

The housing situation in the cities and low incomes are two of the main reasons why so many young Portuguese are emigrating in search of a better life abroad, mainly in the UK, France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland and the Nordic countries.

More than two million Portuguese-born citizens are living elsewhere at present. Together with the descendants of Portuguese emigrants, the number around the world is about five million, more than 40% of the home nation’s total population. 

There is no suggestion that the comings and goings will reduce let alone stop in the years ahead.