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The entrance of a Continente Bom Dia supermarket in Portugal, with the red Continente lettering above the doors and a line of trolleys parked outside.

Continente 27.6, Pingo Doce 22.3, Lidl 13.8: Portuguese Households Are Splitting the Weekly Shop Across More Chains

Worldpanel by Numerator's first-half figures put Continente on 27.6 percent, Pingo Doce on 22.3 and Lidl on 13.8, with traditional grocers still ahead of Mercadona. Pingo Doce grew the basket, Lidl grew the visit, and the leader stopped losing.

The Portugal Brief 26 Aug 2026

Aerial view of the Valorsul waste treatment and energy recovery plant in Lisbon, its curved blue hall and red and white chimney set among rail sidings and shipping containers.

Spain's Urbaser Files to Buy Egeo, Its Fifth Portuguese Waste Deal in Under Three Years

The Blackstone and EQT-backed group notified the Competition Authority on Tuesday of its purchase of Egeo SGPS, everything except Egeo Solventes. Since selling SUMA to Mota-Engil in January 2024 it has bought Carmona, Stericycle Portugal, EcoAmbiente and now Egeo.

The Portugal Brief 26 Aug 2026

The main square in Santo Tirso on a market day, with stalls laid out on the calcada paving and the town hall clock tower behind the trees.

Europe Grows the Flax and Asia Spins It: a 30 Million Euro Mill at Santo Tirso Starts Up to Take That Step Back

Calvelex, Mundifios, Paulo de Oliveira and Riopele have put 30 million euros into Portugal's only flax and hemp wet-spinning plant, with China's Kingdom Holdings as partner. It sits in a rebuilt Filatex shed at Rebordoes and expects about 250 workers.

The Portugal Brief 26 Aug 2026

A TAP Air Portugal Airbus A321neo, registration CS-TJM, parked on stand at Lisbon Airport with a Luxair aircraft and the control tower behind it.

Thirty-Nine Years of Fixing NATO's Radar Planes: TAP's Maintenance Arm Wants a Share of Europe's Rearmament

TAP has maintained NATO's AWACS fleet since 1987. Its maintenance division now says national defence work and European partnerships are where it grows next, and that the privatisation could help it get there.

The Portugal Brief 26 Aug 2026

A large heap of cut branches burning at night in Braga, flames rising through the tangle of wood with a lit street and a spectator behind it.

Burning Garden and Farm Waste in Portugal in 2026: A Practical Guide to the 4 Square Metre Pile Rule, When the Council Has to Say Yes, the Days All Fire Is Banned, and Fines up to 25,000 Euros

Since January 2022 burning cut vegetation has been a regulated use of fire, not waste disposal. Whether you need the council's authorisation or only a notification depends on the date, the day's fire danger rating and whether your heap is under 4 square metres.

The Portugal Brief 26 Aug 2026

The village of Serra d'El-Rei in the council of Peniche seen across a ploughed field and a strip of maize, with wind turbines and a water tower on the skyline.

1,655 Submissions and Two Councils Against the Serra d'El-Rei Kaolin Mine, and the Consultation Shuts on 1 September

The Royal China Clay C-185 concession would work 51.4 hectares of open pit for 20.5 years, 100 metres from the nearest hamlet, for 12 jobs and 11 lorries an hour. Peniche, Óbidos and the parish council all want an unfavourable environmental decision.

The Portugal Brief 26 Aug 2026

A white and blue PSP patrol car parked on granite cobbles at Largo Primeiro de Dezembro in Porto, with the word POLICIA along its bonnet and side.

More Crime, Less Violence: Porto's Police Area Counts 10.9 Percent More Offences and 8.4 Percent Fewer Violent Ones

Provisional PSP figures given to Lusa put general crime in the Porto metropolitan command 10.9 percent above the same stretch of last year, with violent and serious crime down 8.4 percent. Offences the police found themselves, rather than ones reported to them, rose 17.5 percent.

The Portugal Brief 26 Aug 2026

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