Unvaccinated underclass developing

The Telegraph on Monday had an interesting feature on New Zealand where they report that their Covid policy has once again hit the headlines as non-vaccinated enjoy fewer rights. Last week, Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister, admitted that its new plans on loosening restrictions risked turning ............  ...read more

Funchal port busy again

The Port of Funchal is busy today, as has been usual since restrictions were lifted. Madeirans and tourists can witness today the Royal Clipper, AIDALuna and Britannia which are moored in Funchal bay, lined up for the usual photos.

JM observe that October ends on a grand scale at Pontinha. The ............  ...read more

Resistance from two associations

The Diario reports that TaxisRAM met yesterday with the management in Madeira of ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal to present a set of ideas in order to improve the service provided to customers at the Cristiano Ronaldo Airport and the golden island, as well ............  ...read more

Facilities added to Pier 6

JM report that Regional President Miguel Albuquerque, will today (5:00 pm) visit the new maritime facilities in the port of Funchal, located on Pier 6 (in the exact centre of the photo below).

The new infrastructure, now inaugurated, has as its main objective to serve passenger traffic from cruise ............  ...read more

at a cost of €3.7m

The Diario has just confirmed that the Regional Government of Madeira has awarded Helibravo-Aviação an extension of the contract for the use of aerial firefighting helicopter until 2024 for more than 43.7 million.

The news was initially advanced by Jornal da Madeira, which in its edition ............  ...read more

Project is of “Potential National Interest”

The Portugal Resident reports that the country is set to receive its largest industrial investment in a decade. Repsol, a Spanish energy and petrochemical company has shaken hands with the Portuguese government for an expansion to one of its industrial complexes. This ............  ...read more

The Diário de Notícias on the mainland reports on the winding up of the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) being approved last Friday in the Assembly of the Republic.

The final text presented by the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees regarding the Government’s ............  ...read more

“Labour degradation” in the autonomous Region

The Portugal News reports that the president of the Government of Madeira has said that his Regional Government is preparing to initiate proceedings to update salaries in the autonomous region, including those in the tourism sector.

Miguel ............  ...read more

New cases show upward trend

This Sunday Madeira has recorded 22 cases of infection by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in the previous 24 hours. The slight upward trend in positive cases identified over the last ten days – see graph below – has been 10 – 5 – 8 – 11 – 8 – 17 – 11 – ............  ...read more

Nothing predictable about climate change

Heard from our resident nautical/weather expert Jaime last week, observing that it is 3 years since Hurricane Leslie narrowly missed Madeira and caused death and devastation when it made landfall in Northern Portugal in October 2018.

He notes that with so much attention on global warming and climate ............  ...read more

Pico sunrise makes final 60 contenders

JM reports that a striking photograph taken in Madeira is competing for a place on the 2022 calendar of the United Nations World Meteorological Organization.

“Photograph taken at an altitude of 1700 metres at sunrise. We can see people enjoying the beginning of a new day on the wonderful island ............  ...read more

… as Aedes Aegypti numbers grow

The Diario leads today with the story that the Regional Directorate of Health wants to capture and eliminate mosquitos en masse, through what is described as a “new resource”. The Aedes Aegypti species, responsible for spreading dengue, has been increasing ............  ...read more

More sidraria planned

Both local newspapers report on plans to increase the output of Regional cider in Madeira, after the president of the Regional Government announced yesterday morning that he will open the Sidraria of São Roque do Faial next year and that there will soon be one in Prazeres in active production.

 ............  ...read more

PR6 temporarily closed 25-26 October

The Gabinete do Director Regional Tourismo have asked the blog, as a matter of urgency, to announce that access to the Levada das 25 Fontes will be restricted early next week.

“We have seen, and for the proper purposes, inform you that, due to the performance of recovery work and installation ............  ...read more

Flu vaccines are out of stock

The Portugal News reports that flu vaccines are out of stock in Madeira after more than 12,000 doses were administered since the start of the vaccination campaign, on September 27, the Regional Government announced.

The information released by the office of the Secretary of Health and Civil Protection ............  ...read more

Iconic cruise ship returns

The Diario reports that the iconic cruise ship ‘Queen Elizabeth’ is back in Funchal, precisely 11 years after her debut here. The arrival of this ‘moderate giant’ did not ............  ...read more

Europes leading island for 8th time

Madeira once again shone at the “World Travel Awards” tonight, having been elected for the 6th time in a row as Best Island Destination.

The organization of the World Travel Awards has just announced on its website the big winners of this 28th edition of the ‘tourism Oscars’, ............  ...read more

Cases fall or stable elswhere

The Diário de Notícias on the mainland report that the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed that there was a 7% increase in new coronavirus cases in Europe last week, the only region in the world where new cases increased.

In the weekly assessment of the pandemic released on Tuesday, the UN ............  ...read more

Traffic above pre-pandemic levels

In Lisbon and Porto there are more private cars on the road than in 2019, with peaks of congestion returning rapidly post-pandemic as traffic pollution returns.

Expresso reports that at nine in the morning last Thursday, there were 150 traffic jams in Greater Lisbon, ............  ...read more

Earliest humans to cross the Atlantic

A number of newspapers report this morning on a new study revealing that the Vikings beat Columbus to America by (exactly!) 471 years. According to the new research, the Scandinavian warriors arrived 1,000 years ago, long before the ............  ...read more