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Breaking news and developing stories from across Portugal.

The green gated entrance of the Escola Basica dos 2.o e 3.o Ciclos de Figueiro dos Vinhos, its name carved into a stone wall beside the gate, with the white school building behind

Twelve to Fifteen Year Olds Lose Their Phones at School on 1 January, and About Half of Third-Cycle Schools Had Already Decided That Themselves

President Seguro signed the diploma on Friday extending the school smartphone ban to years seven, eight and nine. It does not start in September: schools get the whole first term to adapt, and the obligation lands on 1 January 2027.

The Portugal Brief 28 Aug 2026

Daytime aerial view of Matosinhos showing the city, the Leixoes port basins with container terminal, the marina and the surrounding residential blocks

Matosinhos Will Borrow €40 Million to Build 500 Affordable-Rent Homes Rather Than Wait for the Government's Share

Luísa Salgueiro says the council is fronting money that belongs to central government. The loan goes before the executive on Wednesday, funds 500 homes on municipal land including one development reserved for under-35s, and also pays for seven estates totalling 1,173 dwellings left out of the PRR.

The Portugal Brief 28 Aug 2026

A TAP Air Portugal A320neo registered CS-TVB lifting off from Lisbon airport, with the control tower and the Vasco da Gama bridge behind it

Parpública Delivers Its Report on the Air France-KLM and Lufthansa Bids for TAP on Tuesday, and Eleven Criteria Frame the Government's Choice

ECO reports the evaluation of the two binding offers for 44.9 percent of TAP reaches the finance and air transport ministers on 1 September. The tender specification requires a reasoned appraisal of absolute and relative merit, and price is only the first of eleven criteria.

The Portugal Brief 28 Aug 2026

Elevated daytime view over Praca Dom Pedro IV in Lisbon's Baixa, with the Teatro Nacional D. Maria II, the central column and the two fountains

Lisbon's Mayor Says Not One of the 200 Police Promised in May Has Arrived, and Thursday's Meeting With the PSP Chief Ended Without Agreement

Carlos Moedas met the PSP's national director on Thursday and the two sides parted without a deal. The Interior Ministry says the reinforcement is already on the street through redeployed Intervention Corps units; the mayor counts none of the 200 officers promised on 12 May.

The Portugal Brief 28 Aug 2026

A Portuguese fishing boat coming into Quarteira harbour past Faro-registered trawlers, with gulls following across the water

A €500,000 Pot Opens for Farm Co-ops and Fish Processors Hit by April's Fuel Spike, and Claims Above the Ceiling Will Be Cut Pro Rata

Portaria n.º 395/2026/1 sets the rules for a per-vehicle, non-repayable support covering April's fuel and AdBlue price rise, for co-operatives, producer organisations, fish processors and aquaculture firms that run their own lorries. IFAP will announce the application window separately.

The Portugal Brief 28 Aug 2026

A tower crane standing over red-tiled roofs on the Portuguese coast at dusk, with a harbour breakwater and the Atlantic behind

Portugal's Builders Have Not Been This Confident Since 2001, While Household Sentiment Slipped Back in August

INE's August surveys put construction and public works confidence at 6.1, the highest since January 2002, on fuller order books and hiring plans. Consumer confidence fell to minus 20.1 after three months of gains, and trade and manufacturing both weakened.

The Portugal Brief 28 Aug 2026

Cargo ships anchored beyond the breakwaters at the port of Sines, with yachts moored inside the marina in the foreground

A Decade Added 98 Non-Native Marine Species to Portuguese Waters, and the Scientists Say Nobody Verifies the Ballast Rules

A survey by 31 researchers from 11 Portuguese institutions counts 231 non-indigenous marine species against 133 ten years ago. Shipping is the main route, Sines is a strategic entry point, and MARE says no compliance reports on ballast-water treatment are published in Portugal.

The Portugal Brief 28 Aug 2026

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