Boy, 12, stabs six in Portuguese school // Funeral held for fallen firefighters
Portuguese news in English on Tuesday, September 24, 2024.
Boy, 12, stabs six in Portuguese school
A 12-year-old boy who stabbed six of his classmates at a school, north-east of Lisbon, will be sent to an education centre as a precautionary measure, Lusa reports. A family court made the ruling after the boy was subject to a psychological evaluation and public prosecutors opened an investigation. The stabbing last Tuesday in Azambuja, a town in the Ribatejo region about an hour from the capital, left six children between 11 and 14 injured, including a girl in a serious condition. More than 100 students stayed home when the school opened the next day.
The boy had been searching Nazi websites for some time and was in the process of falling under the influence of the ideology, a source told Expresso. It was too early for investigators to make a clear link between the searches and the attack, in which the boy brought a kitchen knife and a bulletproof vest belonging to his father to school after lunch. Investigators said it was unclear if he was influenced by a third party online or in the real world and whether he had a psychological episode on the day. One source close to the investigation told the newspaper the child was psychologically and emotionally unwell. A lawyer said the parents would not bear any criminal responsibility for the child’s actions. Experts were divided on what measures to take regarding the child’s internment in the educational centre, which can range from very liberal to a regime where the child can only leave very occasionally, while supervised, and last up to three years.
Funeral held for fallen firefighters
A funeral has been held to commemorate the three volunteer firefighters from the Vila Nova de Oliveirinha fire station who died fighting a blaze in nearby Tábua, Lusa reports. Applause, the “sound of pain” and the fire station siren broke the silence amid a funeral procession on Saturday attended by the president, prime minister and many other notable figures alongside the friends, family, colleagues and fellow firefighters from across the country. Seven people died, including two civilians from sudden illnesses, and 161 were hurt in the fires that burned across the North and Centre of the country last week. Friday was declared a national day of mourning.
A 47-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of starting four fires in Sever do Vouga, one of the worst-affected areas, Diário de Notícias reports. The Judiciary Police said they couldn’t find a “rational motive or explanation” but said the man had a serious alcohol dependency Another man attacked a firefighter battling a blaze in the Viseu district with a pitchfork, leaving him with non-life-threatening injuries, and was quickly arrested, Público reports. Since last Sunday, 124,000 hectares have burnt across the country, almost entirely in the Centre and North regions, according to the European Copernicus satellite system.
Portuguese-flagged ship carrying material for Israeli weapons maker
A Portuguese-flagged ship that was blocked from docking in Namibia is transporting material that will be used by three weapons manufacturers, including one in Israel, Público reports. The information came from Foreign Affairs Minister Paulo Rangel in an interview with the newspaper and radio station Renascença. He said the explosive material would be unloaded in Montenegro and Slovenia before half went to Poland and Slovakia and the other half Israel. He described the situation as “legally complex” and said the government had not taken a stance on the possibility of removing the ship’s Portuguese registration. The minister had earlier said the ship wasn’t going to Israel but in the more recent interview said he’d received new information about the material’s eventual destination.
The Left Bloc (BE) has called for the flag to be stripped from the ship, saying “we don’t want our flag on bombs that kill children in Palestine”, Expresso reports. She claimed the transport opened Portugal up to possible complicity in genocide. Tensions are high between Lisbon and Tel Aviv, Diário de Notícias reports, with a US jet headed to Israel being blocked from refuelling at the Azores air base this month just the latest example.
In brief
Prime minister and opposition leader to meet on Friday to discuss budget. Luís Montenegro and Pedro Nuno Santos are expected to talk about what concessions are needed for the Socialist Party (PS) to vote in favour of the governing Social Democratic Party’s (PSD) budget. (Público)
Portuguese biologists and ecologists come together to save species. The consortium of more than 50 scientists aims to safeguard genetic heritage and conserve six species, including the saramugo, Iberian hare, black wheatear and bluegill. (Público)
Regulator proposes scrapping charge to take baggage and animals in taxis. Getting rid of the €1.60 extra charge is one of a series of reforms proposed for the sector. (Público)
Government failing on promise to house homeless migrants in former Belém Military Hospital. Three months on, nothing has been done. About 60 of the 130 migrants who were camped outside Lisbon’s Igreja dos Anjos are still there and the building hospital remains unused. (Expresso)
Half-yearly budget surplus beats last year's result. Despite the finance minister's warning four months ago that the national accounts were “much worse” than thought, there’s a surplus of €1.7 billion, 1.2% of half-yearly GDP. (Público)
On a lighter note
A firefighter has described this touching image as “a symbol of hope amid the chaos”. Catarina Cruz shared the photo of the praying mantis perched on a hand amid the ashes caused by a fire in São Pedro da Cova in Gondomar last week. If you want to help the firefighters, the best thing you can do is to avoid taking any risks that could start fires or put yourself at harm near existing blazes. There’s not really an easy, national way to give money so your best bet is to contact your local station or one of those in the worst-affected areas.
If you’re a wine lover, producer João Tavares de Pina lost his vines for the second time in seven years, along with his home. Distributor Os Goliardos has come up with several innovative ways to help him rebuild, and all involve drinking wine.