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The Rio Mira estuary at Vila Nova de Milfontes in the Odemira area of the southwest Alentejo, with moored boats and a road bridge

A Magnitude 3.4 Earthquake Rattles the Alentejo Before Dawn, With No Damage Reported

A magnitude 3.4 earthquake struck about 18 km east of Odemira at 03:08 on Monday, felt across the Beja and Setúbal districts at intensity IV–V but causing no injuries or damage, according to IPMA, which also logged a smaller, unfelt tremor off Cape St Vincent.

The Portugal Brief 10 Aug 2026

The historic Paco das Escolas courtyard and clock tower of the University of Coimbra, Portugal's oldest university

A Record 21,000 Exam Re-Mark Requests Swamp Portugal's Grading System

The Júri Nacional de Exames received about 21,000 exam re-grade requests this year — roughly triple the norm — overwhelming a marking system slowed by digital exams and delaying the ficha ENES that students need to apply to university within a three-day window.

The Portugal Brief 10 Aug 2026

The Sao Bento Palace in Lisbon, seat of Portugal's Assembleia da Republica, with its columned neoclassical facade and national flag

President Refers the Government's New Return and Asylum Law to the Constitutional Court

President António José Seguro has asked the Constitutional Court for a preventive review of the government's new Return and Asylum Law, citing doubts over child welfare, longer administrative detention for foreigners who have committed no crime, and removals carried out before appeals are decided.

The Portugal Brief 10 Aug 2026

A partial solar eclipse showing a crescent Sun against a dark sky as the Moon covers part of the solar disc

Portugal's First Total Solar Eclipse Since 1912 Arrives Wednesday, and Doctors Want You in Certified Glasses

Portugal sees its first total solar eclipse since 1912 on Wednesday, 12 August — total only from the uplands near Bragança and partial elsewhere, with about 94% of the Sun covered in Lisbon. Health officials are urging ISO 12312-2 certified glasses, warning that around one in five eye injuries can b

The Portugal Brief 10 Aug 2026

A wheelchair accessibility symbol laid in white and grey stones in traditional Portuguese calçada cobblestone pavement, beside a cast-iron drain cover

Claiming the Social Inclusion Benefit for Disability in Portugal

The 60 percent disability threshold, the 333.64 euro base component, the 670 euro means-tested supplement, and how to claim.

The Portugal Brief 10 Aug 2026

The rural hillside parish of Frende in the municipality of Baião, northern Portugal, with scattered red-roofed houses, terraced fields and wooded hills

Baião Buys the Long-Abandoned Bairro de Frende for €150,000 to Turn It Into Housing

The northern council of Baião has signed a €150,000 promise to buy the Bairro de Frende, a cluster of 16 buildings abandoned for more than 30 years, and turn the derelict neighbourhood into housing under its 2027–2032 local strategy.

The Portugal Brief 10 Aug 2026

A Portuguese PSP police station with a blue POLICIA sign and a marked PSP patrol car parked outside on a cobbled street

Applications to Join Portugal's PSP Fall 13% Just as the Force Braces for a Wave of Retirements

The latest recruitment competition for PSP officers drew 2,945 applicants, 447 fewer than the previous edition — a 13% drop that lands just as an ageing force braces for some 900 retirements this year, with unions blaming low pay and poor conditions.

The Portugal Brief 10 Aug 2026

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