Madeleine McCann suspect can be tried for separate sex offences in Portugal, court rules
The prime suspect in the Madeleine McCann case can be tried over a separate string of alleged sex offences in Portugal, a German court has ruled. The decision overrules the northern city of Braunschweig’s state court’s prior ruling that it did not have the jurisdiction, because suspect Christian Brueckner did not live there. The court had argued its supposed responsibility for the case had been based on the suspect’s last residence before he went abroad and subsequently to prison. However, further evidence of a later residence in the neighbouring state of Saxony-Anhalt, where Brueckner was registered as the owner of a property that he kept after going abroad, means it can hear the case. In October 2022, prosecutors charged the 45-year-old – who is currently serving a seven-year sentence for a rape he committed in Portugal in 2005 - in several separate cases involving sexual offences allegedly committed there between 2000 and 2017. Brueckner hasn’t been charged in the McCann case, but he remains under investigation for murder. He has denied any involvement in her disappearance but is believed to have lived in Portugal between 1995 and 2007. He was first named in connection with the unsolved mystery in summer 2020, and officially named as a suspect last year. His yellow and white VW T3 Westfalia campervan was reportedly identified as having been near to the Praia da Luz resort where Madeleine went missing. German prosecutors say telecomms data shows Brueckner received a phone call on 3 May 2007 – the day that Madeleine went missing - near the Praia da Luz holiday apartment. But he reportedly claims to have been miles from the scene with a young German woman. In April 2022, he was jailed for the rape of a 72-year-old woman in the same resort. In total, it is believed he has 17 convictions including burglary, and he has also been linked to other disappearances of children. Read More Madeleine McCann prime suspect case ‘on verge of collapsing’ Detectives searching for Madeleine McCann give update after scouring reservoir Madeleine McCann case: Timeline of the missing child’s disappearance How much has the Madeleine McCann investigation cost? Who is Christian Brueckner? Madeleine McCann suspect and the accusations against him Madeleine McCann suspect ‘said she didn’t scream’ when kidnapped, friend claims in explosive interview
2023-09-20 06:16
Secret Service agents protecting Biden's granddaughter open fire when 3 people try to break into SUV
Secret Service agents protecting President Joe Biden’s granddaughter have opened fire after three people tried to break into an unmarked Secret Service vehicle in Washington
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Sonny Gray contract structure could forecast another Cardinals splash
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Declan Rice not a priority target for Bayern Munich as Man Utd links resurface
Bayern Munich do not consider Declan Rice to be a priority transfer target this summer despite an admiration from head coach Thomas Tuchel. West Ham will remain firm on their £100m valuation.
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Fans bid Alyssa Farah Griffin goodbye as she looks forward to summer vacation after 'The View' season finale: 'We will miss you'
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US to provide depleted uranium rounds to Ukraine
The United States will provide depleted uranium tank ammunition to Ukraine as part of a $175 million aid...
2023-09-07 03:15
Richie Palacios has 3 hits as the Cardinals beat the Pirates to avoid a sweep
Richie Palacios had a career-best three hits and drove in two runs, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-4 to avoid a three-game sweep
2023-08-24 06:26
Tony Awards 2023 worst-dressed celebs: From Lupita Nyong'o's breastplate to Jordan Roth's scarlet cloak
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2023-06-12 16:17
Alex Albon, James Vowles and the start of a Williams renaissance
Alex Albon has a habit of leaving no stone unturned. Another victim of Red Bull’s brutal driver merry-go-round in 2021, dropped as Max Verstappen’s team-mate for Sergio Perez, the British-Thai driver was desperate for a race seat for 2022. Aware of George Russell’s impending move to Mercedes, Albon approached then-Williams CEO Jost Capito with a list of resources: a CV and an Excel spreadsheet, comparing his superior lap times to his rivals. Suitably impressed by both his determination and statistics, a deal was agreed. “Albono” was back on the grid. So to now, and the rebirth of the 27-year-old at a team rejuvenated. Albon has carved out 21 points in the first 14 races of this season at a team who managed only 39 points from 2018-2022. A five-year period where they were bottom of the pile, the wooden spoon holders, in four of those five years. Sunday’s seventh-place finish at the Italian Grand Prix was Albon’s best performance yet for Williams, more impressive than an identical result in Montreal in June. A display of crisp driving to qualify sixth on Saturday was coupled with dogged defensive work lap after lap on Sunday, even with his tyres dropping off in the final stages in Monza. Though the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull of Sergio Perez had too much pace, Albon had the McLarens on his gearbox for most of the afternoon. But using exquisite car placement and intimate driver nous, that’s exactly where Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri stayed. First to acknowledge Albon’s display was Williams team principal James Vowles, whose influence on this team in his first six months cannot be overstated. Arriving after years of success and experience as Mercedes’ chief strategist, the highly astute 44-year-old was ready to step out of Toto Wolff’s shadow. Tasked with rebuilding a team whose level and morale was rock bottom – the years of title triumphs under Sir Frank Williams in the 1990s a very distant memory now – Vowles was under no illusions to the scale of the challenge. “The main thing is this: what I want to see is positive progress and it won’t be weeks or months, it will be more than that – it’s on a years [long] timescale,” Vowles said, back in March. “There are no short-term solutions, everything is long-term.” Yet if this is what short-term progress looks like, how far can Vowles take this sleeping giant of the sport in the long-term? Williams are currently seventh in the constructors’ standings and a clear seventh at that, leapfrogging Alfa Romeo, Haas and AlphaTauri this season. In Albon, they have a driver who is flourishing as a clear No 1 in the garage. And in Vowles they have an experienced head whose obsession with F1 means, much like his driver, every ounce of effort and second of lap-time will be eked out to the maximum. For example, he was attuned to McLaren’s “dummy” pit-stop late in the day at Monza, with the papaya even shuffling out their mechanics in an attempt to trigger Williams to pit Albon instead. Vowles, who has seen such moves numerous times in his 12 years at Mercedes, could not help but laugh about it afterwards. He also stole a march on Alpine – next up the road, sixth in the standings – by poaching Pat Fry in July to be Williams’ new Chief Technical Officer. The straight-line speed of the FW45 has contributed to top-10 finishes in Bahrain, Silverstone and Zandvoort this year. Even Lewis Hamilton was bemoaning Williams’ pace in qualifying on Saturday – who could have predicted that a few years back? There are still issues to solve, the most prescient their second seat currently occupied by Logan Sargeant. Albon’s sturdy points-tally is in stark contrast to the American rookie, languishing at the bottom of the standings. Point-less after 14 races, another glimpse of a top-10 finish went astray for Sargeant on Sunday. Speculation is rife that Mercedes reserve Mick Schumacher could be thrust into the seat for 2024. Sargeant has eight races left, including two in the US, to prove his worth to Vowles and keep a seat which will be highly sought after if Williams continue in the same direction. Race wins and championships are still some way off. The tally of nine constructors’ crowns and seven drivers’ titles will not change anytime soon. But the gradual renaissance of one of Formula 1’s staple teams – who celebrated their 800th grand prix earlier this year – is one of 2023’s feel-good sub-plots in a season dominated by Red Bull and Max Verstappen. Albon has committed until at least the end of 2024 and is likely to extend further should the top-dogs not come calling. Vowles is, quite clearly, in it for the long-haul. How quick the ascension can arrive remains unclear in the unrelenting arms race that is F1, but both driver and team principal have reinvigorated all personnel in the famed dark blue kit both in the pit-lane and back at base in Oxfordshire. What’s more, neither want to seal the sole limelight. There is no room for overinflated ego. Is this an Alex Albon story? Is it a James Vowles story? What is abundantly clear is that it is a bit of both. Read More The moment McLaren failed with a ‘dummy’ pit-stop over shrewd Williams Max Verstappen breaks new ground with record victory at Italian Grand Prix ‘It was totally my fault’: Lewis Hamilton admits mistake in Italian Grand Prix Carlos Sainz chases down thieves and recovers £500,000 watch in scary Milan incident ‘Box to overtake’: The moment McLaren failed with a ‘dummy’ pit-stop over Williams ‘It was totally my fault’: Lewis Hamilton admits mistake in Italian Grand Prix
2023-09-04 19:17
Nick Sirianni's brutally honest comments on "Tush Push" play will flatten rivals' hopes
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Twitter faces 'stress test' of Europe's tough new Big Tech rules
A top European Union official is in Silicon Valley to check whether Twitter is ready to comply with sweeping new standards that the world’s biggest online platforms must obey soon
2023-06-23 12:55
Alex Jones, Ronna McDaniel potential witnesses in Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro's Georgia trial
The Georgia prosecutor who has accused former President Donald Trump and others of trying to illegally overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state is seeking to call Republican Party Chair Ronna McDaniel and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones as witnesses in a trial for two of the defendants scheduled to begin later this month
2023-10-11 05:59
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