Guides
Visiting Fátima, Portugal's Pilgrimage Shrine
When the big pilgrimages happen, the daily timetable, what to see at the Shrine and in Aljustrel, how to get there, and the walking routes.
The Portugal Brief
Transport
IP Locks the IC2 Down Through 12 May Across Aveiro, Coimbra and Leiria — Reflective Vests, Single-File Berms and Reinforced Signage as 450,000 Pilgrims Walk to Fátima
Infraestruturas de Portugal has imposed traffic restrictions on the IC2 across Aveiro, Coimbra and Leiria through 12 May 2026 to protect the foot-pilgrim flow to Fátima for the 12-13 May International Anniversary Pilgrimage. Patriarch Rui Valério presides.
Healthcare
STTS Calls a 48-Hour National Health-Sector Strike for 4 and 5 May — Hospital Santa Maria Demo Frames the Pacote Laboral Fight, With the SEP Nurses' Strike Already Booked for 12 May
STTS has called a 48-hour national health-sector strike for Monday 4 and Tuesday 5 May 2026, with a Hospital Santa Maria demonstration on the second day. The arbitration tribunal has imposed Sunday-equivalent minimum services. SEP nurses already have 12 May queued.
Health
Cannabis-THC Gummies Have Spread to Twelve Vending Machines Across Porto, Portimão and Lisboa — ICAD Calls the Sales 'Ilegal' After a Nine-Year-Old in Madeira Spent Three Days in Coma
Twelve vending machines selling 10-mg-THC orange-bear gummies are now operating in Porto, Portimão and Lisboa with only a website-side age check. ICAD calls the sales illegal as a Madeira nine-year-old spends three days in coma after eating the same edible.
Politics
Inside the Mid-July Reform Cliff: How the Labour Package, the Four PRR Reforms and the Programa de Estabilidade All Stack Into One Parliamentary Recess Deadline
Wednesday's Concertação Social meets after CGTP's general-strike call and before Parliament's mid-July recess — three deadlines, three blocs, and a Government with no obvious centre line. End-of-day analysis on why the calendar matters more than the strike.
Economy
INE's Zero Q1 Print, Decoded: The Sector-by-Sector Drill-Down Behind Portugal's Stalled First Quarter Before the 30 May Definitive Read
INE's flash estimate stopped Q1 GDP growth at zero — but the headline hides three very different sector stories. End-of-day analysis of what the industrial-production, retail-trade and tourism series already on the record tell us about where the stall is concentrated.
Economy
Brent at $110, Euribor Rising and CPI at 3.4% — Inside Portugal's Three-Front Household Squeeze for May 2026
May 2026 has loaded three concurrent shocks onto Portuguese household budgets — diesel rising to €2.05/L, Euribor pushing variable-rate mortgage instalments higher, and April CPI back at 3.4%. End-of-day analysis on what the cumulative bite looks like.