Portugal among most at risk from housing market pressures // ‘Devastating’ effects of pandemic being felt in schools
Portuguese news in English on Monday, April 17, 202
‘Devastating’ effects of pandemic being felt in schools
The effects of the pandemic on students are being felt and could be worse than first thought, Público reports. National Association of School Directors Manuel Pereira told lawmakers this week the pandemic substantially altered the way students were in the classroom leaving them “unmotivated and disinterested”. “We’re afraid of losing this fight,” he told a committee convened to discuss a plan for learning recovery. He said missed lessons throughout the pandemic had “absolutely devastating” effects for structured learning, particularly for those students from less well-off backgrounds, saying educators now had to work to win students back.
Portugal among most at risk from housing market pressures
The Portuguese economy is among those at high risk of a financial crisis sparked by the real estate market, the International Monetary Fund warns, according to Público. That’s primarily because of a high level of family debt and the prevalence of loans taken out at variable interest rates, which are now rising. IMF experts, who also took into account recent housing price changes and other factors, ranked 27 developed countries on a scale from one (low risk) to seven (high risk). They placed Portugal at six alongside the USA and Denmark, behind only Canada, Australia, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands at seven. With all that in mind, the IMF still believes the era of low interest rates may not be over, once central banks are able to get inflation under control, Público reports.
PM ‘should apologise’ over TAP flight change request
The fallout from a former secretary of state’s attempt to move a commercial flight to please the president continues. Carlos César, president of the ruling Socialist Party, says Prime Minister António Costa should say sorry to President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who didn’t request the change, and the Portuguese public, Público reports. He says it’s the only option left given former secretary of state Hugo Mendes is no longer in the government so can’t be sacked or resign. César described the conduct as “stupid” and “particularly objectionable. Costa earlier said if he had known about the email to former TAP CEO Christine Ourmières-Widener at the time, he would have forced the minister responsible, Infrastructure Minister Pedro Nuno Santos, to resign.
In brief
University social studies head accused of sexual harassment. An Argentine Mapuche researcher is the latest to make a complaint about the department, claiming the senior academic “threw himself on her on the couch” and tried to kiss her after a talk. (Público)
Faro Hospital rejects 'medical error', excludes doctor who complained. The intern reported 11 cases of alleged medical negligence in the first quarter of this year, sparking a series of inquiries. In one case, she said the patient arrived for an operation on the left side of her intestine and left with her right kidney. (Público)
Missing teen found after 20 hours missing at sea. The 17-year-old girl was found with severe hypothermia, floating on a stand-up paddle (SUP) board 25 miles south of Vila Real de Santo António, in the Algarve. The Azeitão resident had been pushed out to sea by the wind while using the board at Praia do Coelho, in Monte Gordo. (Lusa)
'New far-right has been recruiting and radicalising very young audiences'. The director-general of the Security Information Service intelligence agency says it’s a transnational phenomenon, spreading hate speech and glorifying violence. (Diário de Notícias)
On a lighter note
A work once labelled the best piece of art of the 21st century has arrived in Portugal, Público reports. Icelandic performance artist Ragnar Kjartansson was in Coimbra to launch his newest exhibition, Não Sofre Mais (No More Suffering) at Coimbra’s Mosteiro de Santa Clara-a-Nova. It includes the multi-screen video installation The Visitors, which The Guardian put at No.1 on its list of the best art so far this century, as well as previously unseen work. It’s part of Anozero – the Coimbra Biennial of Contemporary Art and available to view until July 16.