🇵🇹 Portugal news, in English, every morning. Free. Subscribe

The Portugal Brief

Home
Politics
Economy
Guides
About

Sign in Subscribe

Living in Portugal

The perimeter wall, iron gate and watchtower of a Portuguese prison, a white crenellated building set back behind stone walls on a quiet street.

Six Months of Strike at Vale de Judeus, and It Is the Prisoners Who Are Locked In 22 Hours a Day

The strike began on 10 March and now runs to the end of September. The union says the yard netting, the security towers and the reorganised activity timetable promised after the 2024 escape have still not arrived.

The Portugal Brief 02 Sep 2026

The former episcopal palace in Castelo Branco, now the Museu Francisco Tavares Proenca Junior, its colonnaded loggia and baroque windows facing an empty gravel forecourt.

Seventy-Two Kilometres of Missing Motorway Land on the Minister's Desk Today, Two and a Half Years After the Meeting Was Asked For

The Extremadura and Beira Baixa alliance says 88 percent of the toll-free Lisbon to Madrid route through the interior is already built. The gap is the EX-A1 between Moraleja and Cilleros and the IC31 between Alcains and Idanha-a-Nova.

The Portugal Brief 02 Sep 2026

Beef cattle grazing on walled green pasture below a low volcanic hill at Guadalupe on Graciosa in the Azores, under a heavy grey sky.

Brazilian Beef, Poultry and Honey Stop Entering the European Union on Thursday, and Brussels Says the Reason Is Antibiotics

Nobody found a contaminated shipment. Brazil simply failed to make the EU list of countries that have proved compliance with the 2019 antimicrobial rules, and the deadline is 3 September. Poultry and honey have written assurances; beef does not.

The Portugal Brief 02 Sep 2026

Riders in traditional Portuguese dress on grey Lusitano horses in the sand arena of the Feira Nacional do Cavalo at Golega, with spectators behind.

Keeping a Horse or Donkey in Portugal

The compulsory equine passport, the microchip in the left side of the neck, the 7.92 euro fee, and the paper route that closed on 1 July.

The Portugal Brief 02 Sep 2026

Three older people sit together on a red bench in the square at Porto Covo, Portugal, in front of whitewashed single-storey houses with blue skirting and red doors.

Five Weeks of Door Knocking by the PSP Flagged 284 Older People, and 182 Were Already at Risk

The interim figures from the PSP's fourteenth annual outreach operation: 386 visits since 27 July, 284 people flagged, 182 in social risk. Lack of autonomy led the list, but the categories that grew fastest were the ones about isolation. The operation runs to 25 September.

The Portugal Brief 01 Sep 2026

A green and cream CP railcar, unit 0360, standing on track at Entroncamento station in Portugal, with a platform in the foreground and a steel footbridge crossing overhead.

A Train Two Hours Late Will Owe You Half the Fare From October, Under the Passenger Rights Law Gazetted Today

Decreto-Lei 173/2026 rewrites the rail, road, sea and inland-waterway statutes at once. Trains pay 25 percent of the fare at 60 minutes late and 50 percent at 120, from 1 October. Coaches and boats follow on 1 December. Some of the rules it repeals date from 1948.

The Portugal Brief 01 Sep 2026

The Mouraria at night on the slope below the floodlit Castelo de Sao Jorge in Lisbon, lit windows and street lamps picking out the tiers of houses on the hillside.

739 Arrests for Dealing in Central Lisbon Since 2024, and the Officers Who Made Them Say Everyone Is Replaced

PSP figures given to Diario de Noticias cover 1 January 2024 to 15 August 2026. The Mouraria accounts for 316 arrests and the Baixa for 114. The commander says the trade there is run by long-established Portuguese families, not by foreigners.

The Portugal Brief 01 Sep 2026

Subscribe to The Portugal Brief

Don't miss out on the latest news. Sign up now to get access to the library of members-only articles.

Sign up
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service
Partner with Us
Editorial Standards

The Portugal Brief © 2026. Powered by Ghost

Operated by Thrifty Explorations LLC.

[email protected]