🇵🇹 Daily Portugal news for expats & investors — FREE Subscribe

Azores

Rangel Contradicts Marco Rubio's Fox News 'Said Yes Before We Asked' Praise on Lajes for Operação Fúria Épica — MNE Says Pedido Landed After the 28 February Iran Strikes, PS Calls It 'Humilhação à Escala Planetária' and PCP Files CPI on Friday 15 May

Rangel Contradicts Marco Rubio's Fox News 'Said Yes Before We Asked' Praise on Lajes for Operação Fúria Épica — MNE Says Pedido Landed After the 28 February Iran Strikes, PS Calls It 'Humilhação à Escala Planetária' and PCP Files CPI on Friday 15 May

Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel rejects Marco Rubio's Fox News claim that Portugal 'said yes before we even asked' on Lajes for Operação Fúria Épica. MNE says the formal pedido for equipment transit, including MQ-9 Reapers, only arrived after the 28 February strikes on Iran began.
The Portugal Brief
Sonae's SC Hospitality Pours €50 Million Into Eight New The Editory Hotels — First Açores Property, Two Each in Madeira, Lisboa and the Algarve, Plus a €5 Million Renovation Tape, on a Plan To Triple the Portfolio to 30 Hotels by 2031

Sonae's SC Hospitality Pours €50 Million Into Eight New The Editory Hotels — First Açores Property, Two Each in Madeira, Lisboa and the Algarve, Plus a €5 Million Renovation Tape, on a Plan To Triple the Portfolio to 30 Hotels by 2031

SC Hospitality CEO Gonçalo Bernardes told Diário de Notícias the Sonae hospitality unit is putting €50M into eight new The Editory hotels — including its first Açores property — plus a €5M renovation tape, on a plan to lift the portfolio from 12 to 30 hotels by 2031.
The Portugal Brief
Hiking in Portugal in 2026 — A Practical Guide to the Rota Vicentina Fishermen's Trail, the Caminho Português de Santiago, Serra da Estrela's Long Trail, Madeira's Levadas, the Açores Trilhos, and the FCMP Markings System (PR/GR/E)

Hiking in Portugal in 2026 — A Practical Guide to the Rota Vicentina Fishermen's Trail, the Caminho Português de Santiago, Serra da Estrela's Long Trail, Madeira's Levadas, the Açores Trilhos, and the FCMP Markings System (PR/GR/E)

Portugal's hiking stack runs from the Rota Vicentina Fishermen's Trail (226 km) and the Caminho Português de Santiago to Serra da Estrela's GR50, Madeira's levadas, and the Açores trilhos — all marked under the FCMP system. A 2026 guide for foreign residents to routes, season, gear and federation.
The Portugal Brief
Polícia Judiciária Searches AIMA's Ponta Delgada Office in Operação Linha Direta — Public Servants Suspected of Selling Appointment Priority and Case-Processing Speed Inside the Loja AIMA dos Açores

Polícia Judiciária Searches AIMA's Ponta Delgada Office in Operação Linha Direta — Public Servants Suspected of Selling Appointment Priority and Case-Processing Speed Inside the Loja AIMA dos Açores

PJ executed nine warrants on 29 April in Operação Linha Direta — three residences and three premises including the Loja AIMA in Ponta Delgada. Crimes: abuso de poder, recebimento indevido de vantagem, corrupção. AIMA opened an internal inquiry; STM union responded 2 May.
The Portugal Brief
Cruise Tourism Pushed €940 Million Into the Portuguese Economy in 2025 — CLIA's Numbers Show 9,800 Jobs, an €174 Million Buy-Local Bill, and Eight New Multifuel Ships Sailing in 2026

Cruise Tourism Pushed €940 Million Into the Portuguese Economy in 2025 — CLIA's Numbers Show 9,800 Jobs, an €174 Million Buy-Local Bill, and Eight New Multifuel Ships Sailing in 2026

CLIA's 2026 State of the Cruise Industry report puts Portugal at €940M in cruise-driven economic activity for 2025 — €410M GDP, 9,800 jobs, €174M cruise-line on-shore spend, and 80,000 Portuguese passengers (+7.3%). Eight new multifuel ships enter service in 2026 on $6.6B of capex.
The Portugal Brief