Unemployment Soaring ; Emergency Landing ; Whaling Success Story ; PS In Catastrophe
(23rd June). Today’s main news headline : ‘Registered Unemployment Increases 41% On Madeira – There are now more than 12,187 registered at the employment centre’. The number went up by 343 or 2.9% in May, and when compared to May 2008 the increase amounts to 41%, or 3,550 people. 92.8% are seeking new employment, whilst 7.2% are young people looking for their first job. Of the 343 new unemployed, 28% are from the services sector, 22% from construction, and 21% from hotels and restaurants. As a new measure to try and combat unemployment, it will be announced today a new scheme through a initiative called ‘Programme of Support for the Creation of Self Employment’. As for the rest of Portugal, the Algarve unemployment list has increased 81% in the same 12 months, the worst by far, and Madeira is in second place, with the Azores following with a 27.3% increase.
The main front page picture today shows many passengers leaving a plane at Porto Santo Airport : ‘Emergency Landing On Porto Santo – A failure in the right side engine and a loss of oil forced the emergency landing of a First Choice plane. The 222 passengers and 8 crew came out unhurt’. the Boeing 757-200 was on its way from Cabo Verde to Manchester England, when the forced landing occurred just before 9pm yesterday. Fire crews were on hand if needed. The passengers were put up overnight in a hotel, and left Porto Santo at 11am this morning on a replacement aircraft. Engineers are inspecting the aircraft, but it is not yet known how long it will need to stay there.
‘Four Light Injuries On The Via Rápida – The operator of the ‘fast road’ registered 14 accidents last week’. The service company assisted with 73 mechanical breakdowns, 3 vehicles parked without reason, and another abandoned. 5 pedestrians were removed, along with 11 animals, and 32 hazardous objects.
The regional secretary responsible has sent technicians to evaluate the rock face in São Vicente, where houses were damaged on Sunday, to evaluate the risk of more rock falls, but says it has nothing to do with the tunnel works nearby that finished a year ago. He believes it is down to natural causes, and said the heavy rain last week may have had something to do with it. A resident in a TV interview this morning said she was 100% certain that the tunnel construction works were the cause. Easy to deny from the ivory towers I guess, as who can ever prove otherwise?
‘Madeira "is a success story" – The Annual Congress of the International Whaling Commission began yesterday’. "Madeira is a success story" in the swopping the hunting of whales for activities with great interest for tourism, and the Whale Museum which is being built in Caniçal, and is an extraordinary example of how the whale became a resource without the need for hunting. After the opening session of the Annual Congress of the International Whaling Commission, the Minister for the Environment, Francisco Correia, expressed praise for regional action in this matter.
‘Lisbon Reduces Punishment For The Former President Of CAPFM – It gives a less severe sentence because the accused is unable to commit similar offences’. The Court of Appeal in Lisbon (TRL) has reduced from nine to five years the prison term given to the former president of the Agricultural Cooperative of Fruit Producers of Madeira (CAPFM). Fernando Gonzalez was sentenced in Funchal in March 2008 for corruption, diversion of subsidies, maladministration, illegitimate appropriation, and other matters. The corruption charge was removed in the appeal.
The head Anaesthetist at Funchal Central Hospital was sacked after all, after an emergency meeting yesterday, despite suggestions that her boss was exceeding his authority. It happened because the other health service administrators present at the meeting, who do have the authority, used it.
‘PS-M On The Edge Of "Catastrophe" – The representative of the republic, Maximiano Martins, says that Gouveia ought to recognise that he is in no state to lead the party’. He has appealed to the national leadership to intervene in the socialist party of Madeira, and sack the leader to stop the imminent catastrophe. Well this story has been dragging on for months and getting worse by the day, so the imminent catastrophe has long since passed in this election year, as the European election results showed. I am afraid that we will have Uncle Bertie and the PSD social democrats for a few more years … not that it was ever in doubt.
(21st June). ‘PS of Machico Accuse PSD Of Discrimination – Socialist counsellors say that they are being ignored on the official council website’. The 3 socialist party representatives are peeved that the câmara, with a social democrat majority, have produced the website with pictures of the counsellors, but the photos of the socialist members are much smaller that those of their social democrat opponents, in an "act of discrimination". Also only two of the three PS counsellors are included, giving the impression that the party only has two representatives. Ho Ho! If political discrimination were to be a crime, then Madeira would be run from behind bars.
