LONDON: A television appeal about the 2007 disappearance of British girl Madeleine McCann in Portugal has triggered nearly 1,000 calls and e-mails, Scotland Yard said Tuesday.
Detectives published new electronic images of men they want to trace, plus a reworked timeline of events leading up to the three-year-old’s disappearance.
The appeal, based on two years of work raking over the case, was broadcast Monday on the BBC’s “Crimewatch” program.
“We have now had over 730 calls and 212 e-mails as a direct result of the specific lines of enquiry we issued,” said Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, who is leading the investigation.
“Detectives are now trawling through and prioritizing that material. This will take time.
“We are extremely pleased with the response.” Officers are particularly keen to find one man seen carrying a young child in the popular Algarve beach resort of Praia da Luz on the night of May 3, 2007.
He was spotted around 10:00pm — the time Kate McCann discovered her eldest daughter was missing from their holiday apartment.
Police said the man was of “vital importance” in their quest to discover what happened to Madeleine, who vanished just a few days before her fourth birthday.
The British detectives now believe an earlier sighting of a man carrying a child in pyjamas is irrelevant.
The appeal was to be repeated in the Netherlands on Tuesday, in Germany on Wednesday, and in Ireland.
Redwood is traveling to the Netherlands and Germany to appear on the broadcasts there.
But the appeal is not being screened in Portugal, although it has received media coverage there.
“Crimewatch” editor Joe Mather told BBC radio: “It’s been a truly unprecedented response.
“There were lots of calls from British people who were in Praia da Luz around the time of Madeleine’s disappearance who’d never previously spoken to the Met (Scotland Yard).” Regarding the man police are keen to trace, he said the public came forward with “several different names but also several callers mentioned the same name for that man.”
“It is a long shot but it’s remarkable how often results are possible even several years down the line. There were genuinely useful calls.”
The new e-fits of the man whom police are especially keen to trace were based on descriptions from an Irish family. He was seen about 500 meters away from the McCanns’ apartment.
The child fitted Madeleine’s description and did not seem in distress.
The witnesses described the man as white, between 20 and 40 years old, with short brown hair, of medium build and height and clean-shaven. One image shows him with a fuller jaw than the other.
Police said one theory was that the abduction could have been planned, which would have involved reconnaissance.
The McCanns had been dining with friends in a tapas restaurant about 50 meters away.
They were also interested in tracing “one or two” fair-haired men who had been seen “lurking” around the apartment complex before Madeleine’s disappearance. Witnesses said the men were speaking German or Dutch.
Detectives also speculated that Madeleine may have disturbed a burglary, pointing to a sharp increase in local break-ins in the months leading up to the incident.
They were also looking at possible bogus door-to-door charity collectors operating in the area.
During “Crimewatch,” the McCanns — who launched a global media campaign to find their daughter — said they were still optimistic she could be traced.
“We’re feeling hopeful,” said father Gerry McCann. “These cases can get solved,” he said, citing instances where long-lost people have been found.
Scotland Yard is offering a reward of up to £20,000 ($32,000, 23,000 euros) for information leading to the prosecution of McCann’s abductor.
Portuguese authorities closed their investigation in 2008, but Scotland Yard spent two years reviewing the case at the British government’s request and opened their own probe in July this year.
The operation has interviewed more than 440 people and identified 41 “persons of interest.”
Appeal for missing McCann triggers flood of calls
Appeal for missing McCann triggers flood of calls
Colombia declares health emergency due to yellow fever cases, deaths
- The outbreak has resulted in 74 confirmed cases and 34 deaths since the start of last year
- Most critical situation is in Tolima, in central-west Colombia, where 22 cases have been detected
The outbreak has resulted in 74 confirmed cases and 34 deaths since the start of last year, said Health Minister Guillermo Alfonso Jaramillo.
Yellow fever is a viral disease transmitted by the bite of Aedes and Haemagogus mosquitoes.
Jaramillo said the most critical situation is in Tolima, in central-west Colombia, where 22 cases have been detected.
Myanmar junta says to free nearly 5,000 prisoners in amnesty
- Civil rights groups say the junta has arrested thousands of protesters and activists since its 2021 coup
- Amnesties are regularly announced to commemorate national holidays or Buddhist festivals
YANGON: Myanmar’s military government said Thursday it will release nearly 5,000 prisoners in an amnesty to mark the country’s new year festivities.
Civil rights groups say the junta has arrested thousands of protesters and activists since its 2021 coup cut short Myanmar’s experiment with democracy and plunged the nation into a multi-sided civil war.
Amnesties are regularly announced to commemorate national holidays or Buddhist festivals, but most high-profile political prisoners including deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi remain detained.
A junta statement said 4,893 prisoners will be pardoned “to participate in the state-building process, for peace of mind of people and on compassionate grounds.”
To convey the “loving kindness of the state,” the junta also said other prisoners would have their sentences reduced by one-sixth, except for those who had committed serious offenses.
The offenses include unlawful association and terrorism, as well as murder and rape.
The junta said 13 foreign nationals would also be pardoned and deported, without giving details of their identities or crimes.
Early on Thursday morning an AFP journalist saw crowds of families gathered outside Yangon’s Insein prison, prepared to meet those freed.
The amnesty announcement was made as junta chief Min Aung Hlaing was reportedly due to make a rare foreign trip to Bangkok to meet Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is chairing the 10-country ASEAN bloc this year.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has in the past barred junta officials from its summits over lack of progress on a peace plan.
But Anwar said he would meet Min Aung Hlaing Thursday to discuss the safety of Malaysian humanitarian teams dispatched to Myanmar following last month’s magnitude-7.7 earthquake.
The junta has not confirmed the meeting.
Myanmar’s ongoing “Thingyan” water festival typically marks the country’s new year with water-splashing rituals representing cleansing and renewal.
But celebrations have been muted following the March 28 tremor in the country’s central belt, which has killed 3,725 according to the latest official toll.
China says it will ignore US threats to raise tariffs up to 245%
- Washington said Trump was open to making a trade deal with China but Beijing should make the first move, insisting that China needed “our money”
BEIJING: China will pay no attention if the United States continues to play the “tariff numbers game,” China’s foreign ministry said on Thursday, after the White House outline how China faces tariffs of up to 245 percent due to its retaliatory actions.
In a fact sheet released on Tuesday, the White House said China’s total duties include the latest reciprocal tariff of 125 percent, a 20 percent tariff to address the fentanyl crisis, and tariffs of between 7.5 percent and 100 percent on specific goods to address unfair trade practices.
US President Donald Trump announced additional tariffs on all countries two weeks ago, before suddenly rolling back higher “reciprocal tariffs” for dozens of countries while keeping punishing duties on China.
Beijing raised its own levies on US goods in response and has not sought talks, which it says can only be conducted on the basis of mutual respect and equality. Meanwhile, many other nations have begun looking at bilateral deals with Washington.
Last week, China also filed a new complaint with the World Trade Organization expressing “grave concern” over US tariffs, accusing Washington of violating the global trade body’s rules.
China this week unexpectedly appointed a new trade negotiator who would be key in any talks to resolve the escalating tariff war, replacing trade tsar Wang Shouwen with Li Chenggang, its envoy to the WTO.
Washington said Trump was open to making a trade deal with China but Beijing should make the first move, insisting that China needed “our money.”
Trump administration stops work on Biden-approved New York offshore wind project
- Expected to start producing power in 2027, the project a key part of New York state’s efforts to reduce the use of fossil fuels and combat climate change
US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum ordered a halt to construction of Equinor’s Empire Wind project off the coast of New York, saying information suggested the Biden administration approved it without enough environmental analysis.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Burgum said the information would be reviewed further but did not elaborate on the faults identified.
The sudden order marks a major blow to Norway’s Equinor and the nascent US offshore wind industry, which enjoyed substantial support as a part of former President Joe Biden’s plan to decarbonize the power grid and combat climate change.
An Equinor spokesperson said the company had received the stop-work order from the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the Interior arm that permits offshore energy projects.
“We will engage directly with BOEM and the Department of Interior to understand the questions raised about the permits we have received from authorities,” Equinor said. “We will not comment about the potential consequences until we know more.”
Burgum said he had consulted with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on the decision. Commerce houses the National Marine Fisheries Service, which is involved in permitting offshore wind facilities.
The Interior Department decision stems from a review of offshore wind permitting and leasing that President Donald Trump ordered on his first day back in the Oval Office in January. Interior officials did not respond to a request for additional comment.
Since the January order, the offshore wind industry has sought to position itself as being aligned with Trump’s domestic energy agenda. Trade groups reacted with disappointment following Burgum’s announcement.
“Halting construction of fully permitted energy projects is the literal opposite of an energy abundance agenda,” Jason Grumet, CEO of the American Clean Power Association, said in a statement.
“With skyrocketing energy demand and increasing consumer prices, we need streamlined permitting for all domestic energy resources. Doubling back to reconsider permits after projects are under construction sends a chilling signal to all energy investment,” Grumet added.
Empire Wind was approved by the Biden administration in November 2023 and began construction last year.
The lease area, which will house two projects, is located 12 nautical miles (22 km) south of Long Island, New York. The facilities together are expected to generate enough electricity to power 700,000 homes a year.
The project was expected to start producing power in 2027. It is a key part of New York state’s efforts to reduce the use of fossil fuels and combat climate change.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said the project was already contributing to the state’s economy and creating hundreds of jobs.
“This fully federally permitted project has already put shovels in the ground before the President’s executive orders — it’s exactly the type of bipartisan energy solution we should be working on,” Hochul said in a statement.
“As Governor, I will not allow this federal overreach to stand. I will fight this every step of the way to protect union jobs, affordable energy and New York’s economic future.”
Burgum’s questions about the permitting of Equinor’s project come even as the Trump administration has moved to speed up environmental reviews and fast-track approvals for other projects under a declaration of a national energy emergency.
US government agency seeks criminal probe of Trump legal foe
- Based on media reports, Ms Letitia James has, in multiple instances, falsified bank documents and property records to acquire government backed assistance
NEW YORK: A US government agency has asked for a criminal probe of New York State Attorney General Letitia James, one of President Donald Trump’s main adversaries, on grounds of alleged mortgage fraud, US media said Wednesday.
James drew the wrath of Trump after leading a civil fraud case against him that saw the Republican ordered to pay a multi-million dollar penalty last year.
Trump and allies on the right regularly attacked James during the trial in New York, and he has put revenge against his foes high on the agenda since returning to the White House in January.
US media reported the Federal Housing Finance Agency has asked the Justice Department to investigate James, alleging that she “appeared to have falsified records” related to properties she owns in Virginia and New York to obtain better loan terms.
“Attorney General James is focused every single day on protecting New Yorkers, especially as this Administration weaponizes the federal government against the rule of law and the Constitution,” her office said in a statement.
“She will not be intimidated by bullies — no matter who they are,” it added.
Neither the housing agency nor the Justice Department responded to AFP requests for comment.
“Based on media reports, Ms Letitia James has, in multiple instances, falsified bank documents and property records to acquire government backed assistance and loans and more favorable loan terms,” the housing agency wrote in its referral letter, parts of which were carried in US media.
In James’s civil case, Trump was found liable for fraud by conspiring to alter his net worth to get better loan and insurance terms. Trump and his older sons were ordered to pay $454 million.
The US president has vowed repeatedly to exact vengeance on those he feels wronged him during and following his first 2017-2021 term.
His second term in office has seen FBI and Justice Department staff involved in criminal cases against Trump fired, among other acts of retribution.
