FOOTPRINTS FOUND OF AN ANCIENT HUMAN SPECIES

New evidence has emerged of an ancient species of humans – Neanderthals – having lived in the Algarve about 78,000 years ago.

So-called ‘modern humans’, first existed at the same time as Neanderthals, a closely related species that inhabited Africa around 500,000 years ago before migrating to both Asia and Europe. When Homo sapiens eventually made similar migrations, some interbreeding occurred before Neanderthals died out about 40,000 years ago.

The causes of their extinction are thought to include violence and the spread of modern human diseases from which Neanderthals had no immunity.

 

Today, a small number of people of European or Asian descent still carry traces of Neanderthal DNA. Recent findings in the Algarve hint that some Portuguese people may share this genetic legacy.

 

A couple of geological researchers, Carlos Neto de Carvalho and his wife, Yilhu Zhang, have found a series of Neanderthal footprints embedded in sandstone rocks from collapsed cliffs on the beautiful Monte Clérigo beach near Aljezur on the Algarve’s west coast.

It has been reported that the couple brought colleagues to photograph the site and discovered five fossilised tracks comprising 26 footprints of an adult male and two children, one of whom appears tp have been  just a toddler.

 

The footprints were preserved in what were once steep sand dunes, now fossilised into stone, sloping to and away from the shore. Their orientation suggests the family were foraging for food such as shellfish, moving between the beach and the dunes. 

The footprints were not an easy find. “We were almost trapped by the sudden rise of the tide and needed to swim and climb a 15-metre, nearly vertical cliff with all our gear,” said Neto de Carvalho.

 

A single fossilised Neanderthal footprint, thought to be 82,000 years old had been previously found not far away at Praia do Telheiro, close to Sagres.

 

“The fossil record of hominin footprints, and especially those attributed to Neanderthals, is exceedingly rare,” as they are nearly identical to those of Homo sapiens, Neto de Carvalho and his colleagues wrote in the 3 July edition of the journal Nature Scientific Reports. 

The Monte Clérigo footprints were certainly those of Neanderthals, as modern humans did not exist in Europe 78,000 years ago. By then, though, foraging for shellfish in the Algarve may have been a normal daily activity for Neanderthals.

Only six sets of Neanderthal footprints had previously been discovered in the whole of Europe. With this new discovery, the total now stands at eight.

PORTUGAL URGED TO ACT ON ISRAEL SNIPER NAMED IN WAR CRIMES COMPLAINT

The Hind Rajab Foundation.announced this week that “no safe haven” will be available for Dani Adega, an Israeli “sniper”, who was spotted apparently seeking refuge In Lisbon. 

The Foundation has filed a formal legal complaint to the Portuguese authorities regarding Adega’s alleged participation in the Israeli campaign in Gaza, “which involved grave violations of international law, including targeted killings of civilians during a ceasefire, and the appropriation of civilian property for military use.”

The complaint was submitted by Portuguese human rights lawyer, Carmo Alfonso. It is said to be based on extensive documentation gather by the Foundation’s legal and investigative teams over recent months. 

The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) is the legal arm of the March 30 Movement, a Brussels-based non-profit organisation formed last year. The HRF’s mission is to address and challenge what it describes as “Israel’s impunity concerning war crimes and human rights violations in Palestine, particularly in the Gaza Strip” 

Dani Aldega has been identified a s a sniper with the 4th Battalion of the Israeli armed forces. He was photographed on a street in Lisbon street. 

Adega is said to have boasted on social medial about his lethal sniper activities He posted an image with the caption: “4 rounds, 0 misses.” 

His social media posts were during a declared ceasefire after more than 170 Palestinian civilians had been killed early this year  many of them by sniper fire. 

Adega’s posts indicate that he was operating inside civilian buildings in Gaza. He posed in an Israel army uniform with a rifle - AND  smiling. 

HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK: DRUGS

Another major Portuguese – Spanish operation against drug smugglers has this week resulted in 49 arrests and the seizure of seven tonnes of hashish,  650 kilos of cocaine worth an estimated value of 2.5 million euros, 11 firearms, 24 motor vehicles and 780,000 euros in cash. 

The joint operation also involved the search of many homes and the arrest of many inhabitants, in both Portugal and Spain. The home searches took place this week and also during an earlier part of the detailed investigation. 

This week’s special operation was not the first and will not be the last On June 6 , Portuguese and Spanish authorities supported by Europol, the European Union’s law enforcement agency, arrested 50 people suspected of being part of the largest criminal network based in Spain’s Canary Islands. That operation involved law enforcement officers from Columbia, the UK and the United States. 

In March, the Portuguese navy intercepted a submarine carryong 6.5 tonnes of cocaine  about 925 kilometres south of the Azores. The submarine, which had departed from Brazil, was bound for an unknown destination in Iberia.

Without quite so much sophistication as the drug cartels in Latin America, the trafficking groups in southern Europe continue to do the best they can to get around the strong arm of the law. They are faced by increasingly stiff professional opposition For example, the Portuguese and Spanish authorities are well aware of the most significant drug smuggling group in this part of the world. It is known as the Galician Mafia. 

The Galician community is located in the northwest corner of the Iberian Peninsula. It is recognised as a key delivery point for the entry of illegal drugs from Columbia to Europe. The Galician Mafia are also understood o be deeply involved in money laundering, as well as various forms of corruption and violence. 

Not far down the Atlantic coast from Galicia, Portugal has become not only a transit place, but also a storage and distribution centre for the delivery of cocaine to other countries in Europe. That needs to be changed. 

Because of the apparent need for hallucinatory drugs by ordinary people, trafficking is a hugely profitable cultivation, manufacturing and distribution business worldwide. It should not be confused, however, with the totally legally and carefully monitored production of nedicinal marijoana in places in Portugal, including the Algarve 

DEATH OF FOOTBALL LEGEND

 

The football world in Portugal, England and elsewhere is in shock at the news of superstar Diogo Jota’s sudden death.

Diogo and his younger brother, André, died in a car crash on Thursday. The accident occurred when a tyre blew out and their £180,000 Lamborghini veered off the road and burst into flames while overtaking another car on a relatively quiet road in Northern Spain. 

They were heading from their home in the city of Porto to Liverpool, driving as doctors had advised Jota not to fly as a result of a recent lung-related surgery. In October last year, he suffered a rib injury while playing for Liverpool against Chelsea.

Jota, aged 28, was the father of three children, and had married just 11 days earlier to his childhood sweetheart, Rute Cardoso.

Along with his family, the football world that so greatly admired him has been devastated. His Portuguese team captain, Cristiano Ronaldo, visibly shaken at the news, expressed “disbelief” as well as condolences.

While dedicated to playing his very best for his national and club teams, Jota was renowned as a humble man who maintained a smile on his face. He died at the peak of his footballing career.

IT’S HOT – AND GETTING HOTTER!

The weather in Portugal at the beginning of July has not only been hot, but also a bit odd.

Take Thursday morning, for example: the sky in the  central  Algarve was completely overcast, hinting at rain, and the temperature felt cool – if not cold. Yet, heat alerts have been issued in 12 regions across more than40 districts, including the Algarve, warning of maximum fire risk. The most affected municipalities are in the south of the country.

The Algarve has been experiencing peak temperatures well into the 30s, while some regions, such as the Alentejo, have had to contend with 40°C. The hottest temperature recorded so far this year in Portugal was 46.6°C (115.9°F) in June, in Moura, east of Lisbon.

What’s going on? Record-breaking heatwaves have forced schools to close across Europe. While Portugal and Spain have borne the brunt of the heat, German schools have also faced predictions of 40°C – too hot, according to Italian ice cream makers, for people to enjoy their products.

Heat-related deaths have been reported in France and elsewhere. The United Nations climate agency warns that heatwaves are expected to become more intense. Summer has barely begun.

Fortunately, temperatures generally start to drop after 6 p.m. Ice cream, reportedly, is best sold and enjoyed at around 25–26°C.

Drinking plenty of water is essential. Some people without adequate air conditioning have told us they manage to sleep at night by clutching bottles of ice-cold water next to their bodies in bed.

PM CONFIDENT ABOUT FINANCES

Portugal is now under pressure from both the European Union and President Trump to increase its defence spending, but Prime Minister Luís Montenegro insists that healthcare and other public services will not be affected, and that year-end budget surpluses can still be maintained.

In an interview with RTP this week, following the conclusion of the NATO summit in The Hague, the Prime Minister acknowledged that increased defence spending is “a new priority,” but stated: “Everything indicates — and we are fully confident — that we will reach the end of the year with balanced public accounts, and therefore with a budget surplus.”

Portugal has committed to reaching 2% of GDP in defence spending this year, but the Prime Minister confirmed that “we will not move a single cent from any of our public policy areas.”

Asked how the increased defence expenditure would be funded, Montenegro said: “We haven’t just discovered a gold mine to pay for these expenses.” He went on to explain that the government would allocate to defence “resources that are available from the Ministry of Finance and from the capacity allowed by the budget itself.”

He added that the government would need to implement “a multi-year programme to continue increasing this investment in the coming years” in order to move closer to the 5% of GDP defence spending target set this week for 2035.

NATO MONEY MATTERS

As representatives of the 32 member states of NATO gather for their annual conference in the Netherlands, one of the main topics on the agenda is the need for most European countries to increase their defence spending. 

Portugal is one of the lowest NATO contributors with only an estimated 1.58% of its GDP. It is struggling to reach the current minimum target of 2% advocared by NATO for all its 23 European Union members. The Portuguese government says it hopes to reach this goal by 2030.

Some countries, such as Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Greece have significantly surpassed the average spending, but Canada, Italy and Spain like Portugal are lagging behind. 

President Trump wants European countries to spend at least 5% of their GDP on defence.

The United States not only contributes more money to NATO (16% of the total) but also the number of active military personnel (1.3 million troops).