Deadly fires cut highways, destroy homes in Aveiro district // Portuguese court rules Ryanair carry-on charges illegal
Portuguese news in English on Tuesday, September 17, 2024.
Deadly fires cut highways, destroy homes in Aveiro district
A state of alert has been extended until Thursday as deadly fires rage in central and northern Portugal, Público reports. By 8pm on Monday, Civil Protection authorities were counting three people dead from the fires: Two firefighters — one fighting the flames and the other from a sudden illness — and one civilian who entered cardiac arrest. Another 21 people had been injured, including two seriously injured firefighters. More than 5000 officers had been sent to dozens of incidents, the most severe of which were around Albergaria-a-Velha, Oliveira de Azeméis and Sever do Vouga in the Aveiro district. It was still too early for any sort of large-scale assessment but at least a dozen homes had already been destroyed. Some schools were closed as businesses in Aveiro’s industrial area and a traveller community nearby were evacuated. Standing alongside President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Prime Minister Luís Montenegro offered solidarity to the victims as he extended the state of alert until 11.59pm on Thursday.
Several major roads including the country’s principal highway were cut as the National Guard (GNR) urged drivers heading north or south to travel further inland and avoid the affected area, Público reports. The A1, A25 and A29 and the North and Vouga train lines were all cut in places throughout Monday. GNR national commander for emergency and civil protection André Fernandes appealed to drivers going near the fires to avoid using the highways. The government asked the European Union to send eight more water-bombing aircraft, Reuters reports, in English, after already deploying 20 water bombers throughout the day.
You can track where the fires are at fogos.pt and road closures and traffic at Infraestruturas de Portugal but the GNR X account is probably a bit easier to keep up with road closures and Google Maps appears to be doing an OK job.
Portuguese court rules Ryanair carry-on charges illegal
A Portuguese court has declared it’s illegal to charge plane passengers for cabin baggage, CNN reports. The Braga District Court issued the ruling this week in a case brought by a Ryanair passenger who paid €56.50 to take a bag with them on a flight. Judge Antonio Oliveira Mestre ruled the airline couldn’t charge extra for bags measuring up to 55x40x20cm that fit in the overhead compartment, calling it a “violation of consumer rights”. The airline was ordered to pay the fee back to the customer but Otávio Viana, director of consumer rights association Citizen’s Voice, said the precedent set by the decision could be much more costly. He estimated the total damage caused to customers living in Portugal by the extra fees, which are also charged by fellow low-cost carriers easyJet, Volotea and Vueling, could go as high as €10 billion. It’s not clear what impact the decision will have but it follows €150 million in fines levied earlier this year against the same carriers in Spain for similar practices, Reuters reports, in English.
Anti-racists to march against anti-immigration protests
Two anti-immigration rallies and two duelling counter-protests will hit Portugal’s streets in the coming weeks, Expresso reports. Both protests, one organised by far-right political party Chega in Lisbon on September 21 and the other by neo-Nazi group 1143 in Guimarães on October 5, target so-called “uncontrolled immigration”. Chega leader André Ventura wants the Lisbon march to be the biggest ever organised by his party, which does not have a strong history of mobilising large crowds for this sort of event. Last week, a group of politicians, academics and sportspeople announced an anti-racist rally called “The country of 25 de Abril does not leave the streets to racism”, marching from Marquês de Pombal along Avenida da Liberdade until Rossio. Those involved in the counter-rally include Socialist Party (PS) Parliamentary Leader Alexandra Leitão, Left Bloc (BE) leader Mariana Mortágua and many other politicians from across the left, along with José Saramago’s wife, Pilar del Río, singers, writers and at least one footballer.
In brief
Carris strike on Wednesday leaves very limited services. A court ruled the union – just one of several representing transport workers – only had to guarantee minimum services for people with a disability, emergency response vehicles and some other key parts of the operation. (Lusa)
Who is PAMPA, possibly Lisbon’s most prolific tagger? You’ve seen the giant letters written on bridges, walls and viaducts. Although almost none of his work mentions it, the man behind the tags claims they’re about spreading his message against violence against women. (Expresso)
Number of guards watching Vale de Judeus prison video surveillance system doubles — from one to two — after escape. The guard in charge of the system on the day of the escape was watching the visits taking place. In a four-hour interview, he told investigative police he was following orders (Público)
What impact will the ECB's rate cut have on your personal finances? The European Central Bank has cut interest rates for the second time this year, to 3.65%. (Euronews, in English)
On a lighter note
After four long years, the biggest collection of modern and contemporary art in Portugal is set to reopen with a “party”, Público reports. The new Centro de Arte Moderna Gulbenkian building in Lisbon reopens this weekend and “everyone is invited” to celebrate, according to Ana Botella, the deputy director. “We want to start this new chapter dancing together, in the engawa,” she said, referring to the veranda designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, who was responsible for the renovations. The opening party will have DJs talks, performances and several other activities. As for the gallery itself, there’s an extra 900m2 of space to show more of the museum’s almost 12,000 pieces, including a very important set from the beloved Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso.