Latest news with #Europe-wide
Saudi Gazette
an hour ago
- Saudi Gazette
New search in Portugal in Madeleine McCann case
LISBON — Portuguese and German police have launched a new search in Portugal this week as part of ongoing investigations into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. The search will cover the municipality of Lagos, which sits next to Praia da Luz, the town in the Algarve where she went missing nearly two decades ago. Madeleine was three years old when she vanished from an apartment complex on 3 May 2007 while on holiday with her family. Her disappearance sparked a Europe-wide police investigation, and has become one of the highest-profile unsolved missing person cases in the world. Portuguese police confirmed on Monday that they were carrying out the search between 2-6 June on warrants issued by German prosecutors. German investigators have taken the lead in the case since identifying 48-year-old Christian Brückner — who is currently in prison in Germany for a separate crime — as their prime suspect in authorities suspect him of murder but have not found enough evidence to bring charges. Brückner has repeatedly denied any is currently serving a sentence in Germany for raping a 72-year-old American tourist in Portugal in authorities told the BBC on Monday that "criminal proceedings are currently underway in Portugal", and that this was being done with the support of Portugese authorities have also named Brückner as a formal suspect, or "arguido". They said they would hand over any evidence seized in the latest search to German the Met Police said: "We are aware of the searches being carried by the BKA (German federal police) in Portugal as part of their investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann."The search will be the first to take place in two years. The previous search in 2023 focused on a remote dam, a 40-minute drive from where Madeleine was last who spent time in the area between 2000 and 2017, was found to have photographs and videos of himself near the media reported on Monday that the new search would focus on the area between the Ocean Club holiday resort where the McCann family were staying and the house where Brückner used to live.A map showing the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz and two properties linked to the suspect in the German investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine night Madeleine disappeared, her parents had been at dinner with friends at a restaurant a short walk away while Madeleine and her younger twin siblings were asleep in the ground-floor parents checked in on the children throughout the evening until her mother, Kate, discovered Madeleine was missing at around 22: authorities continue to treat Brückner as their main suspect. However, prosecutors in Germany said earlier this year that there was "no prospect" of a charge against him relating to Madeleine's disappearance.A German documentary in 2022 found evidence that Brückner occasionally worked at the Ocean Club as a handyman, while German prosecutors have also linked his mobile phone data and a car sale to their case against parents last month marked the 18th year anniversary of her disappearance, saying their "determination to leave no stone unturned is unwavering".The Metropolitan Police continues its investigation into Madeleine's disappearance, known as Operation Grange, which has been going since 2011. — BBC
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
New search in Portugal in Madeleine McCann case
German police will undertake a new search in Portugal this week as part of ongoing investigations into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. The search will reportedly take place in Praia da Luz, the town in the Algarve where she went missing nearly two decades ago. Madeleine was three years old when she vanished from a holiday apartment complex on 3 May 2007. Her disappearance sparked a Europe-wide police investigation, and has become one of the highest-profile unsolved missing person cases in the world. The Metropolitan Police said it was not involved in the new search, but was aware of the operation being carried out by German authorities. "We are aware of the searches being carried by the BKA (German federal police) in Portugal as part of their investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann," the Met Police said. German authorities said in a statement on Tuesday that "as part of the investigation into the Madeleine McCann case, criminal proceedings are currently underway in Portugal". They said this was being undertaken with the support of Portugese police. Tuesday's search will be the first to take place in two years. The last search took place near a remote dam, a 40-minute-drive from where Madeleine was last seen. Local media reports the new search will focus on the area between her family's holiday resort and the house where the prime suspect in the German investigation, Christian Brückner, used to live. The 48-year-old was named by German authorities in 2020, while serving a sentence in Germany for raping a 72-year-old American tourist in Portugal in 2005. He has never been charged in the McCann case and denies involvement.
The Sun
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Germany hopes for EU deal on sending failed asylum seekers to third countries, minister says
GERMANY'S interior minister is hoping the European Union can reach a bloc-wide agreement on sending failed asylum seekers who cannot go home to safe countries near their original homelands. Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservatives won February's national election on a promise to bring down immigration levels, which opinion polls showed many voters regarded as being out of control, although numbers have been falling for over a year. In an interview with the Welt am Sonntag newspaper published on Saturday, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the approach of using third countries could work only if there was a Europe-wide consensus. 'We need third countries that are prepared to take migrants who are objectively unable to return to their home countries,' he told the newspaper. Earlier this month, the EU's executive Commission proposed a scheme that would let member states reject asylum applications from migrants who passed through a 'safe' third country on their way to the bloc. The proposals, criticised by rights groups, have yet to be adopted by national governments or the European Parliament. 'No individual EU member state can create this model on its own: it will have to happen on an EU level,' Dobrindt said. 'We are preparing the foundations for that right now.' Dobrindt's initial promises to tighten border controls on taking office angered neighbours who protested at plans to return to their territory those migrants found not to have a right to enter Germany. An Italian plan to process asylum seekers picked up at sea in Albania has stalled amid Italian court challenges. A scheme by Britain, which is not an EU member, under its previous Conservative government to send asylum seekers who arrived in Britain without permission to Rwanda was scrapped by Prime Minister Keir Starmer when he took office last year.
The Sun
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Germany pushes EU deal on third-country asylum transfers
GERMANY'S interior minister is hoping the European Union can reach a bloc-wide agreement on sending failed asylum seekers who cannot go home to safe countries near their original homelands. Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservatives won February's national election on a promise to bring down immigration levels, which opinion polls showed many voters regarded as being out of control, although numbers have been falling for over a year. In an interview with the Welt am Sonntag newspaper published on Saturday, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the approach of using third countries could work only if there was a Europe-wide consensus. 'We need third countries that are prepared to take migrants who are objectively unable to return to their home countries,' he told the newspaper. Earlier this month, the EU's executive Commission proposed a scheme that would let member states reject asylum applications from migrants who passed through a 'safe' third country on their way to the bloc. The proposals, criticised by rights groups, have yet to be adopted by national governments or the European Parliament. 'No individual EU member state can create this model on its own: it will have to happen on an EU level,' Dobrindt said. 'We are preparing the foundations for that right now.' Dobrindt's initial promises to tighten border controls on taking office angered neighbours who protested at plans to return to their territory those migrants found not to have a right to enter Germany. An Italian plan to process asylum seekers picked up at sea in Albania has stalled amid Italian court challenges. A scheme by Britain, which is not an EU member, under its previous Conservative government to send asylum seekers who arrived in Britain without permission to Rwanda was scrapped by Prime Minister Keir Starmer when he took office last year.
Straits Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Germany hopes for EU deal on sending failed asylum seekers to third countries, minister says
Germany hopes for EU deal on sending failed asylum seekers to third countries, minister says BERLIN - Germany's interior minister is hoping the European Union can reach a bloc-wide agreement on sending failed asylum seekers who cannot go home to safe countries near their original homelands. Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservatives won February's national election on a promise to bring down immigration levels, which opinion polls showed many voters regarded as being out of control, although numbers have been falling for over a year. In an interview with the Welt am Sonntag newspaper published on Saturday, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the approach of using third countries could work only if there was a Europe-wide consensus. "We need third countries that are prepared to take migrants who are objectively unable to return to their home countries," he told the newspaper. Earlier this month, the EU's executive Commission proposed a scheme that would let member states reject asylum applications from migrants who passed through a "safe" third country on their way to the bloc. The proposals, criticised by rights groups, have yet to be adopted by national governments or the European Parliament. "No individual EU member state can create this model on its own: it will have to happen on an EU level," Dobrindt said. "We are preparing the foundations for that right now." Dobrindt's initial promises to tighten border controls on taking office angered neighbours who protested at plans to return to their territory those migrants found not to have a right to enter Germany. An Italian plan to process asylum seekers picked up at sea in Albania has stalled amid Italian court challenges. A scheme by Britain, which is not an EU member, under its previous Conservative government to send asylum seekers who arrived in Britain without permission to Rwanda was scrapped by Prime Minister Keir Starmer when he took office last year. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
