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Straits Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Spain will stick to 2% of GDP defence spending goal, defence minister says
Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles speaks during the La Toja Forum on global challenges in Lisbon, Portugal, April 1, 2025. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes/File Photo Spain will stick to 2% of GDP defence spending goal, defence minister says MADRID - Spain stands by its defence spending target of 2% of GDP, Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles said on Thursday, as pressure grows from NATO leadership and the United States for the Mediterranean country to increase it. "We think that this 2% is enough to meet the responsibilities we have committed to," Robles said. Spain will not veto a NATO decision to raise the defence spending target during a summit to be held later this month in The Hague, she said. "What is important is that each country is able to meet the objectives it has set itself," she added. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced in April a plan to increase military spending by 10.5 billion euros ($11.99 billion) this year, bringing forward to this year a goal to meet the 2% of GDP target from its previously self-imposed deadline of 2029. Despite the new plan Spain, which spent just 1.3% on defence in 2024, the lowest among NATO members, is under pressure to spend even more. European defence commissioner Andrius Kubilius said on May 3 Spain ought to raise spending to 3% of GDP. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
7 days ago
- General
- Straits Times
Vast police search for Madeleine McCann evidence launched in Algarve
A criminal police investigator walks near ruins as the police resumes the search for the body of Madeleine McCann, who went missing in the Portuguese Algarve in May 2007, in Atalaia, Portugal, June 3, 2025. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes A police barrier blocks a road as police resumes the search for the body of Madeleine McCann, who went missing in the Portuguese Algarve in May 2007, in Atalaia, Portugal, June 3, 2025. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes A car is seen as the police resumes the search for the body of Madeleine McCann, who went missing in the Portuguese Algarve in May 2007, in Atalaia, Portugal, June 3, 2025. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes Police officers move a barrier blocking a road as they resume the search for the body of Madeleine McCann, who went missing in the Portuguese Algarve in May 2007, in Atalaia, Portugal, June 3, 2025. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes LAGOS, Portugal - Portuguese and German police on Tuesday launched joint searches of a "vast" area in Portugal's southern Algarve region for new evidence related to the 2007 disappearance of three-year-old British child Madeleine McCann. The scale of the searches could be the most extensive since the initial investigation was closed in 2008, a year after Madeleine went missing while on holiday with her family in the Algarve town of Praia da Luz. Her disappearance sparked a frenzied search and gained the attention of the world's media. She has never been found. Fresh though relatively focused searches were ordered by Portuguese, British and German police of scrubland, wells and reservoirs in 2014, 2020 and 2023. None of these searches were confirmed to have yielded significant evidence. Portugal's investigative Judicial Police (PJ) had said on Monday they would execute search warrants at the behest of the public prosecutor's office in Germany's Braunschweig, which in 2022 formally identified German national Christian Brueckner as an official suspect in the case. The search operation is expected to end on Thursday, a spokesperson for the public prosecutor's office in the northern German city of Braunschweig said. A source involved in the search said the targeted area was "vast" with police using ground-penetrating radar across several hectares. Portuguese officers were following instructions from German police under a European Investigation Order. Reuters footage showed uniformed PJ officers in a cordon on a dirt road in Atalaia - a neighbourhood of Lagos municipality - waving through unmarked vans and cars with German license plates from the city of Wiesbaden, where the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) has its headquarters. The BKA is assisting Portuguese law enforcement with "criminal procedural measures", Braunschweig prosecutors told Reuters, declining to provide further details. The occupants of one of the German vehicles wore bucket hats, clothing with camouflage patterns and bandanas covering their faces. A van belonging to Portugal's Maritime Police also arrived. That force has jurisdiction over coastal areas and took part in previous searches of beaches, wells and reservoirs using specialist divers. The road the police cordoned off is located close to a golf course and less than 1 km (0.6 miles) from the beach. The search area was close to a property that Brueckner lived in, a neighbour told Reuters in 2020, though when was unclear. German police said in June 2020 that Madeleine was presumed dead and that Brueckner, in his 40s, was probably responsible. He has denied responsibility. Brueckner, a convicted child abuser and drug dealer, is behind bars in Germany for raping a 72-year-old woman in the same area of the Algarve. His sentence runs until September, meaning he is set for release unless prosecutors find enough evidence to charge him over Madeleine's disappearance. In January, Sky News quoted the German prosecutor investigating Madeleine's disappearance as saying there was currently no prospect of charges being brought against Brueckner. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
03-06-2025
- General
- Straits Times
Police combing 'vast' area of Portugal's Algarve in Madeleine McCann case
A criminal police investigator walks near ruins as the police resumes the search for the body of Madeleine McCann, who went missing in the Portuguese Algarve in May 2007, in Atalaia, Portugal, June 3, 2025. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes A police barrier blocks a road as police resumes the search for the body of Madeleine McCann, who went missing in the Portuguese Algarve in May 2007, in Atalaia, Portugal, June 3, 2025. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes A car is seen as the police resumes the search for the body of Madeleine McCann, who went missing in the Portuguese Algarve in May 2007, in Atalaia, Portugal, June 3, 2025. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes Police officers move a barrier blocking a road as they resume the search for the body of Madeleine McCann, who went missing in the Portuguese Algarve in May 2007, in Atalaia, Portugal, June 3, 2025. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes LAGOS, Portugal - Portuguese and German police on Tuesday launched joint searches of a "vast" area in Portugal's southern Algarve region for new evidence related to the 2007 disappearance of three-year-old British child Madeleine McCann. Portugal's investigative Judicial Police (PJ) had said on Monday they would execute search warrants between June 2 and 6 at the behest of the public prosecutor's office in Germany's Braunschweig, which in 2022 formally identified German national Christian Brueckner as an official suspect in the case. A source involved in the search operation said the targeted area was "vast" with police using ground-penetrating radar across several hectares. Portuguese officers were following instructions from German police under a European Investigation Order. The scale of the searches could be the most extensive since the initial investigation was closed in 2008. Fresh but relatively focused searches were ordered by Portuguese, British and German police of scrubland, wells and reservoirs in 2014, 2020 and 2023. None of these searches were confirmed to have yielded significant evidence. Reuters footage showed uniformed PJ officers on a cordon on a dirt road in Atalaia - a neighbourhood of Lagos municipality - waving through unmarked vans and cars with German license plates from the city of Wiesbaden, where the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) has its headquarters. The BKA is assisting Portuguese law enforcement with "criminal procedural measures", Braunschweig prosecutors told Reuters, declining to provide further details. The occupants of one of the German vehicles wore bucket hats, clothing with camouflage patterns and covered their faces with bandanas. A van belonging to Portugal's Maritime Police also arrived. That force has jurisdiction over coastal areas and took part in previous searches of beaches, wells and reservoirs using specialist divers. The road the police cordoned off is located close to a golf course and less than 1 km (0.6 miles) from the beach. The search area was close to a property that Brueckner lived in, a neighbour told Reuters in 2020, though when was unclear. Madeleine went missing on May 3, 2007, while on holiday with her family in the Algarve town of Praia da Luz, sparking a frenzied search and gaining the attention of the world's media. She has never been found. German police said in June 2020 that Madeleine was assumed dead and Brueckner, in his 40s, was probably responsible. He has denied responsibility. Brueckner, a convicted child abuser and drug dealer, is behind bars in Germany for raping a 72-year-old woman in the same area of the Algarve. His sentence runs until September, meaning he is set for release unless prosecutors find enough evidence to charge him over Madeleine's disappearance. On Jan. 17 Sky News quoted the German prosecutor investigating Madeleine's disappearance as saying there was currently no prospect of charges being brought against Brueckner. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
17-05-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Portuguese head to the polls in election unlikely to yield stable government
A view shows a billboard of the AD - Coalition PSD/CDS, ahead of Portugal snap elections in Lisbon, Portugal, May 5, 2025. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes/File Photo LISBON (Reuters) -Millions of Portuguese will cast their ballots on Sunday in a third general election in as many years, though many are bracing for more uncertainty as the vote is unlikely to deliver a stable government. Sunday's ballot was called just one year into the centre-right minority government's term after Prime Minister Luis Montenegro failed to win parliament's confidence in March in a vote he himself proposed when the opposition questioned his integrity over the dealings of his family's consultancy firm. Montenegro has denied any wrongdoing and most opinion polls have shown voters dismissing the opposition's criticism. Polling stations are open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. (0700-1800 GMT), with exit polls expected from 8 p.m. (1900 GMT). The election, also dominated by issues such as housing and immigration, comes after a decade of fragile governments, only one of which has had a parliamentary majority but which still collapsed halfway through its term last year. Opinion polls show Montenegro's Democratic Alliance (AD) garnering the most votes and probably a few more seats than in the previous election in March 2024, but again no parliamentary majority. "We can't have elections every year," said 26-year-old bank worker Diogo Lima, adding the AD should be left to govern even if it does not win the election by a significant margin. AD's perennial rival, the centre-left Socialist Party (PS), was polling around 26%, behind the AD on more than 32%, in Radio Renascenca's 'poll of polls' aggregator. Political scientist Antonio Costa Pinto said the new parliament would likely be similar to the last, and it was impossible to predict how long the government would last, as it depended on factors ranging from the international situation to the AD's ability to reach deals with other parties. "The only doubt is whether the AD will form a new minority government ... or whether it will form a post-electoral coalition with IL, even if this coalition does not guarantee an absolute majority," he said, referring to the pro-business Liberal Initiative (IL) party, standing fourth in the polls. It has some affinities with Montenegro's AD and many analysts see them as natural partners, but IL's polling numbers throughout the campaign have been insufficient for a potential alliance between the two to reach a majority of 116 in the 230-seat parliament, which requires at least 42% of the vote. Voter turnout is usually low in Portugal, and some political scientists have expressed concern it could be even lower this year due to election fatigue. The far-right Chega party, with which Montenegro refuses any deals, has been polling in third place on around 18%, similar to its result last year, though last-minute health problems for its charismatic leader Andre Ventura could influence the outcome. After landing in hospital twice in the past week with an esophageal spasm, he made a surprise appearance at his party's final event on Friday. (Reporting by Catarina Demony and Sergio Goncalves. Editing by Andrei Khalip and Mark Potter)
Straits Times
15-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Tired of elections, Portuguese just want a stable government
People wave flags of the Socialist party (PS) as a man wears a card reading, \"To be socialist is not a sin\", while waiting for PS leader Pedro Nunes Santos, for a rally ahead of the snap elections, in Lisbon, Portugal, May 13, 2025. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes MARINHA GRANDE, Portugal - For many Portuguese, the hope for Sunday's general election is pretty simple: a government that can navigate the challenges thrown up by global trade tensions and other geopolitics, and an end to the non-stop cycle of polls every year. But for sceptical residents of Marinha Grande, a working-class town of 40,000 in central Portugal and a hub for the injection moulding industry, even that seems like wishful thinking. The vote is the third general election in as many years and comes after a 10-year period of fragile governments, only one of which has had a parliamentary majority but which still collapsed halfway through its term last year. Luis Simoes, a 36-year-old moulding plant worker, was among those worried that no lasting government would emerge on Sunday, leaving much-needed stability hinging on fragile deals between parties. That, at a time of global trade tensions triggered by Donald Trump's tariff blitz, and a high domestic tax burden. "If they (parties) don't reach an understanding up there at the top of the pyramid, we will suffer here," he told Reuters at the Iberomoldes plant filled with the hum of precision machines. The impact of new U.S. tariffs on imports - including from the EU - has barely featured in the election campaign, however, even as Portugal's net exports already felt the pinch in the first quarter and the economy shrank from the previous three months, setting off alarm bells at Marinha Grande's big exporters. Portugal's moulding industry is Europe's third-largest after Germany and Switzerland, selling almost 1 billion euros ($1.12 billion) a year mostly to other European countries. Its moulds are used to make plastic toys, cars and aircraft cabin panels. Iberomoldes President Joaquim Menezes, whose company exports 90% of its output, said he feared trade tensions may affect his big European clients and subsequently his company, while any further political instability at home would only compound such risks and "surely affect our productivity". NO MAJORITY IN SIGHT Opinion polls show the centre-right Democratic Alliance (AD) of Prime Minister Luis Montenegro garnering the most votes but no parliamentary majority, a similar outcome to the previous ballot in March 2024. There's also little change for its perennial rival, the centre-left Socialist Party (PS), which is hard on its heels. Marinha Grande has traditionally voted for the PS but in last year's election many turned to the far-right Chega party, which won 20.5% of the vote in the region, up from 7% in 2023. The PS won 29.8%, well below the 43.5% it won the year before in the region. At a national level, Chega has been polling steady to lower since quadrupling its parliamentary representation last year. Its anti-establishment, anti-immigration rhetoric is seen as too toxic for it to serve as kingmaker to any party. No party has come up with fresh proposals to generate much enthusiasm among the Portuguese or address their concerns. "Each party is just saying they are the serious ones and the others are unethical or corrupt," said Samuel Silva, an office administrative assistant in Lisbon. "Europe's economic woes will reach Portugal sooner or later, but I don't see any of the major parties talking about it, it doesn't bring votes." Much of the campaign has centred around ethical matters such as the business dealings of Montenegro's family consulting firm. The issue brought down his government in March but failed to resonate with voters - who still largely consider him the better man for the job, according to opinion surveys. Montenegro has denied any wrongdoing. VOTER FATIGUE "People really don't care that much about the issue. They are fed up," said political science professor Jose Tomaz Castello Branco of Lisbon's Catholic University, citing voter fatigue after so many elections. "There is not that much hope that the future will be different to the present," he added. The only potential for some stability appears to lie with the fourth-placed, pro-business Liberal Initiative party, which could garner enough votes to form a majority ruling coalition with Montenegro's AD, with which it has some affinities. There could be a prolonged legislative paralysis before yet another election, Castello Branco said. No new general election can be called until at least mid-2026 because Portugal will hold a presidential election next January. "If you are an optimist, you will hope for the parties to come together the day after the election to form an alliance to rule the country for at least the coming year," he said. Retired metalworker Luis Esperanca, 58, held out little such hope. He was angry with what he said was politicians' reluctance to compromise for the good of the country and criticised a disappointing campaign dominated by "very weak ideas for the future". "They think they don't need to explain anything to anyone, as if everyone were idiots," he said. "This cannot continue." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
