Rubio is coming. Portugal has a problem.

America's top diplomat lands in Lisbon this week, while Portuguese prosecutors examine how US forces used an Azores airbase. It's Sunday, 4 October. Twenty-six degrees. Air quality: 45 (Good). Here's what you need to know.

🗞️ TOP STORY

RUBIO ARRIVES AS PROSECUTORS LOOK AT LAJES

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio visits Lisbon this week, the final stop on a European tour from 5 to 8 October that also takes in Iceland and Greece. He's due to meet Prime Minister Luís Montenegro and Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel, and Washington says the talks will cover defence, the economy and technology.

The timing is awkward. On Friday, the Attorney-General's Office confirmed it has opened an inquiry into how Lajes, the Portuguese airbase on Terceira in the Azores that US forces use, was used in support of the American offensive against Iran. The inquiry follows a complaint the Left Bloc filed in April. According to Expresso, the complaint raises the possibility of a crime of aggression, an offence added to Portuguese law in 2019 that, as far as is publicly known, has never before been investigated here. An inquiry doesn't mean a crime was committed, and prosecutors haven't said who is leading it or whether anyone is a suspect.

The sensitive window is the start of the offensive on 28 February. Expresso reports that two American refuelling aircraft left Lajes on 27 February and five more on the 28th, while Lisbon only issued its conditional authorisation at the end of that day. Rangel then set three conditions: use of the base had to be a response to an attack, necessary and proportionate, and aimed only at military targets. He said those applied to future operations. The government's position is that the earlier flights were covered by standing arrangements, under which permission is assumed if Portugal doesn't object within 24 hours. The Left Bloc disputes that, arguing the rules required prior diplomatic authorisation for each operation.

Any prosecution would face a high bar. The offence applies only to people who can direct a state's political or military action, and prosecutors would need to show a clear breach of the UN Charter and that those who authorised the help knew what it was for. The Left Bloc's complaint doesn't name any member of the government.

Rubio himself is part of the backstory. In May he praised Portugal as an exemplary NATO ally over Lajes, and was reported as saying Portugal agreed before knowing what it was being asked; the government rejected that account. Rangel has said the Lajes agreement could be reviewed, but only once the Middle East conflict ends. Separately, Portugal is weighing a replacement for its F-16 fighter jets, with the American F-35 among the options.

For most readers this won't change daily life. It matters for how Portugal handles US requests to use Portuguese territory in future, and what Montenegro and Rangel say about Lajes after Rubio's visit will be worth watching.

Bottom line: the talks are about future cooperation, but the inquiry keeps February's decisions firmly on the table.

⚡ QUICK HITS

Fuel prices are forecast to fall again next week. The ACP, the Automobile Club of Portugal, expects diesel to drop by about 3 cents a litre and petrol by 3.5 cents for the week of 5 to 11 October, the second weekly fall in a row. If the forecast holds, diesel will average €2.15 a litre, down from €2.18 on Friday, and petrol €2.061, down from €2.096. On a 50-litre fill, that's about €1.50 less for diesel and €1.75 for petrol. The forecast is based on market prices at Thursday's close, before Friday's agreement to release emergency fuel reserves. Prices also vary between petrol stations.

Lisbon's Water Museum is running guided tours of an underground water tunnel beneath the city centre. The Museu da Água, the Water Museum, is opening the Galeria do Loreto, part of the historic Águas Livres water system, for two tours on Sunday 25 October, at 2:30pm and 4:30pm. The route runs beneath Rua do Loreto, Rua da Misericórdia, Rua de São Pedro de Alcântara, Rua Dom Pedro V and Rua da Escola Politécnica, starting at Casa do Registo on Rua das Amoreiras and finishing at the Reservatório da Patriarcal in Príncipe Real. Tickets are €6 on Ticketline. Places are limited and tend to sell out, and organisers say it's not for anyone who is claustrophobic.

Leaked messages show a former health secretary regularly passing requests from political contacts to Lisbon's Santa Maria hospital. They come from the long-running twins case. In 2020, Portuguese-Brazilian twin girls received a multi-million-euro drug treatment at Santa Maria, and prosecutors have since charged former health secretary António Lacerda Sales, the hospital's then clinical director Luís Pinheiro, and Nuno Rebelo de Sousa, son of the former president, with abuse of power over how that came about. Now WhatsApp messages gathered in the investigation, reported by CNN Portugal, show Sales forwarding many other appeals to Pinheiro, including help for patients, updates on relatives and even a hospital job contract, from contacts including senior Socialist Party (PS) figures. The report doesn't show that every request led to special treatment, and the charges are allegations for the courts to decide.

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🍽️ SPOT OF THE DAY

SUNDAY IN LISBON (SANTOS)

Yes, another brunch spot. We're determined to try them all. But this one sets itself apart, starting with the name: Sunday in Lisbon serves brunch every day, from 8:30am to 8pm, on Largo Conde-Barão in Santos. It comes from the team behind the Balthazar cafés.

The draw is how much you can make your own. Eggs come your way for €6: poached, scrambled or fried, on brioche, croissant or sourdough. There's an omelette with spinach, mushrooms and ricotta (€9), and eggs Benedict on brioche or croissant with asparagus and bacon (€12). Pancakes and waffles can be built to order, with toppings ranging from salted caramel and maple syrup to more adventurous savoury options. If you'd rather not decide, the Brunch Lisbon is €18, Brunch Sunday (€39.90) covers two people with eggs, pancakes, yoghurt and granola, orange juice and coffee, and there's a kids' brunch for €10.

Worth knowing before you go: it gets busy, and a couple of reviewers mention waiting more than half an hour for food at peak times. It takes bookings, so reserve if you're going late morning at the weekend.

→ Find them here ←

Insider tip: for a savoury brunch, order the salmon waffle, topped with smoked salmon, ricotta, a poached egg and pickled fennel.

📅 WHAT'S ON

See you tomorrow morning.

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