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H & M, Euro founder calls for break-up. Portuguese motoring fines challenged.

May 16, 2013 By: Admin Category: Madeira & General News

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It was quite a compliment to be invited “behind the scenes” immediately prior to the opening of the new H & M store at the Edifício Minas Gerais at the Rotunda at the bottom of Avenida do Infante, between the old Marina Shopping Centre and the new Dolce Vita development. This, I am sure, was due to the increasing popularity of the blog and the associated Comments” rather than the parent web site! It was quite eye-opening to be given background details by their PR Officer, who had flown in for the day – thank you Inês. 29 jobs have been created (another 27 follow at the new store in the Forum (the old Radio Popular shop on the ground floor) at the end of the month – but the strange thing is that there are still unfilled positions. These are mostly managerial, and are currently filled by temporary secondments from Lisbon. You would have thought that in these economic climes that there would be no shortage of takers, but apparently they are struggling to find applicants with the correct experience. Presumably the name “H & M” will be pronounced “Agar e M” in Portuguese? Total employees world-wide 104,000

German euro founder calls for ‘catastrophic’ currency to be broken up

Oskar Lafontaine, the German finance minister who launched the euro, has called for a break-up of the single currency to let southern Europe recover, warning that the current course is

The Telegraph reported last week that Oskar Lafontaine, the German finance minister who launched the euro, has called for a break-up of the single currency to let southern Europe recover, warning that the current course is "leading to disaster"."The economic situation is worsening from month to month, and unemployment has reached a level that puts democratic structures ever more in doubt," he said."The Germans have not yet realised that southern Europe, including France, will be forced by their current misery to fight back against German hegemony sooner or later," he said, blaming much of the crisis on Germany’s wage squeeze to gain export share.

Mr Lafontaine said on the parliamentary website of Germany’s Left Party that Chancellor Angela Merkel will "awake from her self-righteous slumber" once the countries in trouble unite to force a change in crisis policy at Germany’s expense.His prediction appeared confirmed as French finance minister Pierre Moscovici recently proclaimed the end of austerity and a triumph of French policy, risking further damage to the tattered relations between Paris and Berlin."Austerity is finished. This is a decisive turn in the history of the EU project since the euro," he told French TV. "We’re seeing the end of austerity dogma. It’s a victory of the French point of view". Mr Moscovici’s comments follow a deal with Brussels to give France and Spain two extra years to meet a deficit target of 3pc of GDP. The triumphalist tone may enrage hard-liners in Berlin and confirm fears that concessions will lead to a slippery slope towards fiscal chaos.

German Vice-Chancellor Philipp Rösler lashed out at the European Commission last weekend, calling it "irresponsible" for undermining the belt-tightening agenda. It appears that the Franco-German alliance that has driven EU politics for half a century is in ruins after France’s Socialist Party hit out at the "selfish intransigence" of Mrs Merkel, accusing her thinking only of the "German savers, her trade balance, and her electoral future". Mr Lafontaine said he backed EMU but no longer believes it is sustainable. "Hopes that the creation of the euro would force rational economic behaviour on all sides were in vain," he said, adding that the policy of forcing Spain, Portugal, and Greece to carry out internal devaluations was a "catastrophe".

Mr Lafontaine was labelled "Europe’s Most Dangerous Man" by The Sun after he called for a "united Europe" and the "end of the nation state" in 1998. The euro was launched on January 1 1999, with bank notes following three years later. He later left the Social Democrats to found the Left Party.

Validity of Portuguese motoring fines on foreigners in doubt

The Portugal News reported last week that a complaint lodged by an Australian national for not having the details of an alleged transgression written in English, has set the wheels in motion for what could amount to considerable change in Portugal’s Highway Code relating to foreign motorists.

The case in question arose from the fact that the complainant was unclear as to what offence had been committed and what law had been broken. The resulting grievance lodged with the Ombudsman, enshrined by the Constitution as the guardian of the people’s rights in Portugal, has now resulted in a recommendation urging the government to change the law or be responsible for not closing a potential loophole for foreigners who do not understand Portuguese and which could allow them to not pay fines.

In a recent ruling stretching eight-pages, the Ombudsman or Provedor da Justiça, casts serious doubts over the procedure of issuing fines. Alfredo José da Costa established the fact that written fines in Portugal are not in any other language “such as in English” is in direct contravention of the Penal Procedure Code and means “cases which occurred up until now could be nullified. This model is considered impractical and needs to be altered.”

The authority has, due to these grey areas, called for sweeping law changes to govern the handling of non-Portuguese speaking foreign drivers whenever there is a breakdown in communication with law enforcement authorities.The Ombudsman, in its ruling, accepts the impracticality of having an interpreter present whenever a fine is issued to a foreigner. As a result, it has called for a law change incorporating existing legislation regulating the rights and duties of detainees, while specifically calling for fines to be translated into English. It explains the “universality” of English “is unanimously recognised” and having English as a second language “safeguards the duty of informing the overwhelming majority of road users.”

Dengue update. Azores criticism of Jardim. Pensioners. Britsh School renamed. Flower Festival.

May 08, 2013 By: Admin Category: Madeira & General News

You don’t normally expect much on this subject at this time of year with mosquitos generally being associated with the late summer – typically after the first summer rainfall. Last year certainly followed this pattern with the mosquitos not seriously arriving until July. I therefore paid no heed to the advice given repeatedly in this blog, and one Sunday afternoon a couple of weeks ago I donned my shorts for the first time and headed to a darkish, smelly (food) cafe to watch the second half of a game of football, only to emerge an hour later with half a dozen bites around my ankles. I even saw the little ****** at one point. I won’t forget the DEET again – and it did look like one of the more delicate, dengue-carrying variety……………..

This prompted me to revisit my research from the end of last year the into the  latest progress in the fight against dengue-carrying mosquitos.

Textile technology to deter mosquitos

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The Centre for Textile Science and Technology, Universidade do Minho(UMinho) in Braga on mainland Portugal have created a technology to apply in clothing that repels mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever, and diseases caused by bacteria.

In a communiqué last year, UMinho explained that, in practice, the consumer himself will in future be able to add functional silica nanoparticles in the washing machine, enabling the recipient fabric to be more secure, durable (50 to 100 washes) and ecologically safe. The project began in 2007 and "incorporates into silica nanoparticles active products such as microbial and mosquito repellents, which are fixed or are released in a controlled manner into textiles. These active products may be applied by the industry in finishing fabrics or knitwear and also by the wearer of the garments” said Jaime Rocha Gomes, School of Engineering UMinho.

The team at the Center for Textile Science and Technology has successfully conducted “repellency” tests at the Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in London, and will soon move to field trials, "hoping to prove as effective in the real environment" . Work is also being continued on “improved laboratory efficiency” and resistance to washing.

The incorporation of nanoparticles in dyes for textile colouring earned Jaime Rocha Gomes the BES Innovation Grand Prix in 2011.

Elimination of the mosquito by natural methods?

As Peter Askew has already mentioned in the comments section of a blog a while ago, a pharmaceutical researcher at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Coimbra, Angela Pizarro, has gathered scientific information on a set of “power plants” with insecticide and repellent that can help extinguish the mosquito that transmits dengue.

The press agency Lusa reported that as part of the final thesis for graduation in Herbal Medicines Angela Pizarro researched power plants with insecticide and repellent that can be part of product formulations of action insecticide or repellent mosquito vector that transmits the dengue virus. The researcher pointed out that some of these plants are "native to Portugal, as well as Europe," and that could be a help, at a time when "the mosquito is spreading and has become resistant to the methods of elimination".

For Ângela Pizarro, the particularity of these plants is that they possess powerful and aromatic essential oils such as Mentha species, Eucalyptus and Glycirrhiza glabra (licorice), which disrupt the normal transmission of the disease. In this sense, it is not an effective cure but a prevention.

President of the Azores condemns Jardim

Former President of the Regional Government of the Azores, speaking at a recent politcal conference has summarised his 16 year relationship with AJJ, saying it was “more of disappointment than cooperation”. Carlos César said that he did not regret the decisions he had taken to keep the archipelago out of the disastrous deficit seen in Madeira, saying that success was nor measured in “kilometres of tunnels”.

Full interview: http://www.dnoticias.pt/impressa/diario/384807/politica/384917-entrevista-a-carlos-cesar

Pensioners cost €285 million in 2012

The Diario reports that the number of pensioners is rising: Social Security data reveals that in December 2011 and  December 2012 the number of pensioners increased in Madeira from 65,972 to 67,260 (over 2%). Historically thee has bee n a 12% rise in the last ten years – in March 2003 there were 59,221 pensioners in the region.

British School name change

“In an amendment to the tradition of over 30 years of teaching that formed in childhood of generations of distinguished families of the region, the country and many foreign countries, combined with the innovation that the times require and the need for new capabilities that globalization of economies imposes” the Escola Britânica da Madeira has renamed itself  the Madeira Multilingual School.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flower Festival

This years Flower Festival commences tomorrow 9th May

Full program here: http://visitmadeira.pt/festadaflor/

H & M store open 9th May, with 29 new jobs

On a positive note in these gloomy economic times, tomorrow also sees the opening of the first H & M store in Madeira (located at Rua Doutor Brito Câmara in Funchal). To celebrate this opening, the hundred first customers will receive a gift and H & M offer an exclusive discount of 20% on a choice of items to the customers who visit the store that day. The Press Release reads “Situated in the commercial heart of the island, the emblematic Minas Gerais building  underwent a comprehensive reform to offer a shopping experience unique in its 2130m2. Visitors to the store will discover new spaces with collections for all family and youth more fashion, at the best possible price”.

"The stores are our communication channel for excellence and this store is very important. We are very pleased with the result and with our team. Guests will enjoy the H & M shop at this store, situated in a fantastic location, "says Doris Klein, Managing Director of H & M Spain and Portugal. H & M has 0 years of presence in Portugal with 23 outlets on the mainland . There are still a few positions available for Department Manager in the section "Career" in www.hm.com.

“Norwegian Epic” and ‘Celebrity Silhouette’ debut in Funchal. Jacaranda in bloom.

April 28, 2013 By: Admin Category: Madeira & General News

Two cruise ships have made their first appearance in Funchal in the last week.

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Ugly ship?

This morning (Sunday) the Norwegian Epic is due arrive at around 9.00am with 4228 passengers on a 22 day cruise on board. This is the first ship of the new generation of cruise ships built by Norwegian Cruise Lines. During its construction in France the ship was the target of several events that were never explained – the disappearances of various objects, fires and other events, which led to the company gave up building more ships in that yard, and instructing the German Mayer Werft shipyards to build two more ships of the same design. Seasoned cruisers apparently have a negative opinion about the appearance of the ship, because they consider it to be an ugly ship, but at the same time it is reputed to have excellent quality of service. It measures 325 meters in length, 40 meters wide, 9 meters draft, and displaces 153,000 tons. With a capacity of 4500 passengers, it can achieve the maximum speed 23 knots. It departs at 18 o’clock for Barcelona.

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Last Thursday, on the anniversary of the Revolution, ‘Celebrity Silhouette’, Royal Caribean’s new ship also arrived in the port of Funchal. In addition to the 2,670 passengers – the total capacity is 2,886 people – the port and the city also benefitted from the visit of about 1500 members of the crew.
The Celebrity Silhouette’ is a ship 318 meters long and is the most recent acquisition of ‘Celebrity Cruises’. The ship is registered in Malta and was launched on July 23, 2011 and has mostly been in the Caribbean.

Jacaranda in bloom

It’s that time of the year again – although not quite sure they are as good as last year.

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