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Algarve

News and developments from Portugal's southern Algarve region.

A bronze statue of Justice holding a sword and chains, seen from below against the stone facade and carved relief of a Portuguese courthouse.

Two Olhao Police Officers Go on Trial on 8 September Over the Death of a Handcuffed Man

The Ministerio Publico charged the two PSP agents in July 2025 with sequestro and homicide. Aissa Ait Aissa died of a brain contusion 20 days after being beaten on a track at Pechao, outside the officers' patrol area, while handcuffed. The Tribunal de Faro sits on 8, 11 and 25 September.

The Portugal Brief 25 Aug 2026

Aerial view of a utility-scale photovoltaic plant at Bensafrim, near Lagos in the Algarve, with long rows of blue solar panels covering rolling scrubland and dirt access tracks between them

Insolvency Catches Up With the British Owner of Solara4, Portugal's Largest Solar Plant at Alcoutim

Welink Energy Portugal 2 UK Limited, which holds the roughly 220 MW plant in the eastern Algarve, has entered insolvency after output came in below forecast and Iberian wholesale prices fell. Investec and Kommunalkredit are owed about €64 million; the Chinese builder claims €143 million.

The Portugal Brief 24 Aug 2026

Algae-covered rock shelves and a sandy beach backed by cliffs in the Parque Natural do Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina

The Alga Smothering Algarve Beaches Is Worth Money, and the Only Lawful Route to Selling It Runs Through a Plan Portugal Has Not Written

Rugulopteryx okamurae has been on the EU list of invasive alien species since August 2022, and Article 7 of Regulation 1143/2014 bans placing it on the market. The one door left open, in Article 19(2), needs a control plan the government's own strategy says still has to be drawn up.

The Portugal Brief 23 Aug 2026

The Guadiana estuary at Vila Real de Santo Antonio in the eastern Algarve, looking across choppy water towards the Guadiana International Bridge and the Spanish bank

A Spanish Tip-Off on the Guadiana Ends With 2,133 Bales of Hashish and Seven Men in Custody

The GNR's coastal-control unit took roughly 5,320 kilograms of cannabis resin near Castro Marim on Saturday after the Guardia Civil flagged movements across the river. Seven foreign nationals aged 21 to 39 were detained, along with a pistol, two boats and three vehicles.

The Portugal Brief 23 Aug 2026

A street of low whitewashed houses with terracotta pantile roofs and red doors in Sao Bras de Alportel, in the Algarve, under a blue sky with cumulus cloud

Maria da Conceição, Portugal's Oldest Resident, Has Died at 113 in the Algarve Town Where She Was Born

Born on 22 December 1912 in Sao Bras de Alportel, she died on Saturday morning at the Misericordia home where she had lived for fifteen years. She had held the title of Portugal's oldest resident for about three years.

The Portugal Brief 23 Aug 2026

Portugal's Childhood Vaccination Holds Above 95%, but Algarve Councils Lag on HPV and Flu Shots

Portugal's Childhood Vaccination Holds Above 95%, but Algarve Councils Lag on HPV and Flu Shots

The DGS annual review for 2025 shows most childhood vaccines above 95% coverage nationally, yet several Algarve councils sit at the bottom of the table — in Aljezur, only 39.5% of 11-year-old boys had the HPV shot.

The Portugal Brief 10 Aug 2026

Electric Units Replace Diesel on the Algarve Line, Adding 18 Percent More Regional Service

Electric Units Replace Diesel on the Algarve Line, Adding 18 Percent More Regional Service

From 19 July, CP replaced diesel railcars with electric units on the Algarve Line, lifting regional supply 18%, raising capacity to 536 places and adding direct Lagos–Vila Real links.

The Portugal Brief 21 Jul 2026

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