NEWS FROM THE AZORES

Kitty Bale

2010-01-13 17:08:03

13 Jan 10 - Antena 1 Açores 8:30AM NEWS ROUNDUP for Wednesday 13th January

No registrar in São Jorge: The island of São Jorge has been without a registrar for the last 6 months. Couples filing for divorce are worst affected as all paperwork has to be dealt with outside the island, thus incurring extra costs.

Diabetes in the Azores: 14% of the archipelago's population suffers from diabetes, compared with 11% of the population elsewhere in Portugal.

Cancer and building materials: the Ricardo Jorge Institute has denied any link between building materials considered hazardous and the high incidence of cancer among Horta court staff. A third of court employees suffer from oncological diseases as does a high proportion of people living in the vicinity of the courthouse.

Medical school scholarships for health graduates: In a bid to find a solution to the shortage of doctors in the archipelago, the regional government is looking at creating scholarships for health graduates who want to go to medical school.

BTL Lisbon Travel Market: The Azores are lighting up Lisbon with 3-D images of the archipelago being projected around the Portuguese capital.

Cheaper flights to the archipelago: cheaper flights are an uphill struggle, say businessmen. While an online petition is calling for the introduction of low-cost routes within the archipelago and between the Azores and mainland Portugal, TAP and SATA are increasing fuel charges from 9 to 12 euros.

New island council in Graciosa: Carlos Brum has promised the council would remain free from any political influence.

Haiti earthquake recorded in the Azores: Seismographs in the archipelago recorded the Richter scale magnitude 7.0 earthquake which struck Haiti last night. According to the Portuguese Institute of Meteorology, the main shock was recorded by seismic stations in mainland Portugal, the Azores and Madeira while the aftershocks were recorded by mainland stations.

por : Kitty Bale
Tags : News Roundups

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2010-01-12 21:30:28

12 Jan 10 - Politics: Living conditions in the archipelago are worsening, says PCP

The Azores Communist party - PCP - has alleged that the economic crisis as well policies adopted by the national and regional governments have led to the worsening of living conditions in the archipelago.

During a press conference in Angra do Heroísmo, Terceira, the party blamed governments for failing to invest or support productive sectors and argued that the crisis and subsequent difficulties experienced by businesses were being used as an excuse to overlook the rights and interests of Azorean workers.

The PCP is also concerned by the New Lajes Agreement which is to be ratified by the Assembly of the Republic.

For the party, "the agreement ignores almost completely the millions owed to Azorean employees following the failure to abide by the previous agreement".

The PCP urged the rejection of the New Lajes Agreement and called for its renegotiation in order to cover matters related to the rights of the Portuguese workers at the base (pictured above).

por : Kitty Bale
Tags : Politics

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2010-01-12 21:01:38

12 Jan 10 - Society: Disney US internships for 3 Azorean students

Three final year students from the Ponta Delgada Hospitality and Tourism School are leaving the Azores on Friday for the US where they will spend 6 months working for Disney as interns.

Previous intern Diana Talaia has fond memories of her stateside work experience. "We got to travel, work and study", she says. "It was the experience of a lifetime. I never thought I'd get to go to the US and work for Disney with Mickey and Minnie Mouse", added the youngster.

Expectations are high among the three students: Carlos Oliveira is looking forward to meeting new people and discovering a country where he's never been.

US Consul in the Azores Gavin Sundwall stressed the importance of the internship program to anyone working in tourism and said that the Azores "enjoyed a good reputation at world level", adding that he hoped to see "tourism grow and improve in the region".

Video news reporting (in Portuguese): Herberto Gomes, Jornal da Tarde, RTP-A

por : Kitty Bale
Tags : Society,Tourism

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2010-01-12 20:31:32

12 Jan 10 - Antena 1 Açores 6:00PM NEWS ROUNDUP for Tuesday 12th January

Legal status of parliamentary inquiry committees in debate: The inquiry committees set up by the Regional Parliament are illegal, says lawyer Fernando Menezes, former president of the Regional Parliament.

Murderer sentencing postponed: Horta Court postponed the sentencing of Lara Brum's killer. The 19 year-old youngster was murdered on July 12, 2008 in Capelo and her killer, a 38-year old man, is currently being held in custody.

Labour Inspectorate: Further to allegations made by union leader Paulo Borges, Paula Ramos from the regional Labour Inspectorate has confirmed that it wasn't standard procedure for her staff to explain to entrepreneurs how to dismiss workers. The Labour Inspectorate said that its role was to make sure that the law was being enforced.

More redundancies in São Miguel: With the closure of German seed producer Ernst Benary in April, 40 workers from its Ponta Delgada factory are now facing redundancy.

TAP and SATA increase fuel charges by 3 euros: from tomorrow, fuel charges on flights between mainland Portugal and the Azores will increase from 9 to 12 euros. The increase will be applicable to flights from Jan 20th onwards.

Terceira flood damages: Agricultural paths in Agualva and Quatro Ribeiras have been heavily damaged by the December floods. Agriculture secretary Noé Rodrigues visited the area this afternoon with Environment Secretary Álamo Meneses.

Lajes Labour Agreement: The regional government's stance on the Lajes Field Labour agreement came under heavy criticism from the PCP this afternoon.

Civil servants pay: The vice-president of the regional government presented a proposal on civil servants remuneration to the regional parliament this afternoon.

More bad weather: The Civil Protection Service has warned that adverse weather conditions will continue across the archipelago with strong winds until Thursday.

por : Kitty Bale
Tags : News Roundups

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2010-01-12 19:33:17

12 Jan 10 - Society: TAP and SATA fuel charges go up 3 euros

From Jan 13, TAP and SATA will raise fuel charges by 3 euros on flights between mainland Portugal and the Azores.

Fuel charges included in the price of each ticket will therefore go from 9 to 12 euros.

The price increase is automatic and in line with rules set out by the National Institute of Civil Aviation.

Zero charges will however remain applicable on promotional fares and student tickets for Azorean youngsters enrolled at university in continental Portugal.

por : Kitty Bale
Tags : Business,Society

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EN
Kitty Bale is European with Belgian and Polish roots, a British heart and a French passport. Born in France, Bale left the hexagon at 17 and moved to the UK where she graduated in German. Her passion for journalism dates back to her first ever job at the BBC. She instantly fell in love with Portuguese and the Azores in October 2007 and then spent a year splitting her time between the UK and São Miguel. In December 2008, she finally settled down in Ponta Delgada. Currently, Bale works as a freelance journalist within the RTP Azores multimedia team adapting regional news into English. Besides appearing on the portal in Portuguese and in English, her pieces will also be published in English on this blog, News From The Azores.
Welcome to the blog, please feel free to leave us a comment!

PT
Kitty Bale é europeia com raizes belgas e polacas, um coração britânico e um passaporte francês. Nasceu em França e viveu lá até aos 17 anos quando foi estudar no Reino Unido, onde se licenciou em Alemão. Trabalhou na BBC e apaixonou-se pelo jornalismo. E depois enamorou-se pela lingua portuguesa e pelos Açores, onde escolheu radicar-se. Viajou pelo arquipélago desde Outubro de 2007, fixou-se em Ponta Delgada desde Dezembro de 2008. Actualmente é colaboradora do Multimédia da RTP Açores no âmbito de um projecto que visa traduzir para inglês a actualidade da região, publicando-a na Internet, em texto e em vídeo. Os seus artigos surgirão no portal, em português e em inglês, e serão agregados, em inglês, neste blogue, News From The Azores.
Seja bem-vindo ao blogue, agradecemos os seus comentários em breve!