The head of the Institute of Lifeguards, Nuno Leitão, said today that there are 3,000 more licensed lifeguards than there are jobs but beach concession-holders already are complaining that there are not enough lifeguards to go around and that safety is jeopardised.
This is all rather late to resolve as the official swimming season opens on June 1st so many beaches may start the summer without the necessary cover.
The Algarve’s mayors and public sector doctors have agreed that the quick fix arranged by the Minister of Health Adalberto Fernandes has barely scratched the surface of the region’s healthcare crisis.
While the Ministry of Health has taken some measures these now are viewed as transitory with a lack of doctors and medical staff in the lead up to the summer season creating foreboding within both the health sector union and the regional health authority.
As Portugal’s President, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, arrives in Berlin for an official two day visit, to persuade Angela Merkel and anyone who will listen that Portugal’s economy is in rude good heath, Spanish newspaper El País has taken a different tack and homed in on the looming disaster at Portugal’s largest bank, Caixa Geral de Depósitos.
Caixa holds nearly a third of all deposits held by Portugal’s tattered banking system but the Spanish reckon the State-owned bank is on the brink of self-destruction following further quarterly losses.
Betclic Everest has become the first company to be awarded a sports betting licence in the embryonic online gambling market in Portugal.
Portuguese language site Betclic.pt offers the chance for gamblers based in Portugal to indulge their desire to win money on worldwide sporting events.
France is determined to “go all the way” to see that multinational corporations in France pay their taxes.
Finance minister Michel Sapin indicated that other cases could follow in the wake of investigations and raids on Google and McDonald’s.
A small town in the south of France has become the first to ban pesticide use within 50 metres of residences.
The rural town of Saint-Jean, not far from Toulouse, took the step because of health concerns after a vigorous campaign by a doctor and deputy mayor, Gérard Bapt.
In terms of purchasing power, Portugal has the most expensive electricity and gas in Europe, according to Eurostat.
Looking at the actual rates paid including tax, Portugal’s households paid prices for electricity that placed the country in seventh place, way above the EU and the Eurozone averages, in a table headed by Denmark and Germany whose consumers are better able to afford the prices charged.
Officers from the Public Security Police (PSP) have arrested 11 people suspected of selling drugs near schools in Faro.
Nine of the detainees are Portuguese and two are Spaniards.
