⏳ Friday Fix: A Formal Suspect
Morning all,
Madeleine McCann is dominating a lot of the headlines today, as a man in Germany is declared a formal suspect in the case less than two weeks ahead of the 15th anniversary of her disappearance.
Until Monday,
Your Fixers
GOOD LISTENER?
Click the screenshot below to access the podcast version of today's NewsFix.
UKRAINE - WHAT'S THE LATEST?
Satellite images appear to show a mass grave of civilians about 20km west of Mariupol.
According to the city council, the graves "could hold as many as 9,000 dead", but the numbers being reported vary. For example, BBC News cited the US satellite firm who took the image below, saying that particular site contains "about 200 graves".
The Guardian cited the mayor of Mariupol, who estimated "more than 20,000 Mariupol residents had been killed since Russian forces began attacking the city".
The financial cost: According to the World Bank, roughly $60 billion in damage has been caused to buildings and infrastructure so far in Ukraine.
WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
A German man has been named as a formal suspect in the 2007 disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
As RTÉ News noted, the 44-year-old - known as Christian B - was investigated by authorities in 2020 in relation to the case.
May 3 will mark 15 years since her disappearance. As The Irish Times noted, "it is the first time Portuguese prosecutors have identified an official suspect in the case" since her parents were cleared by authorities.
Worth noting: BBC News pointed out that in Portuguese law after 15 years it would "no longer be possible to declare someone a person of interest beyond this date". The article added "declaring someone a person of interest is a necessary step to any criminal charges".
ON TODAY'S AGENDA...
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is in India and will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi later today. BBC News said the pair will discuss "defence and energy ties" as well as a possible trade deal.
WAGATHA CHRISTIE
In the ongoing saga between Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney, a court heard Vardy tried to sell a story about one of her husband's former teammates.
According to The Telegraph, Vardy text her agent about the player who was arrested for drink driving. Ironically, his name is Danny Drinkwater.
Remember: Coleen Rooney famously accused "Rebekah Vardy's account" in 2019 of being behind leaked stories about her in the press. Vardy denies the allegations and is suing Rooney for libel.
Keeping an eye: The full trial will begin on May 9, and is expected to last seven days.
TWITTER TRENDS
#MikeTyson
Why? Because video appears to show the boxer repeatedly punching a fellow passenger, who his representatives described as "aggressive".
"Unfortunately, Mr. Tyson had an incident on a flight with an aggressive passenger who began harassing him and threw a water bottle at him while he was in his seat." - Tyson's representatives, according to CNN
LOOKING AHEAD...
Don't forget there's a highly consequential French presidential election, where President Macron is seeking a second term in office and is once again battling for votes against Marine Le Pen.
RTÉ News actually published a really helpful piece all about the election - the most interesting and informative we have come across so far. You can read it here.
"The French presidential election is a two-round election with voting taking place on two Sundays, two weeks apart. Should a candidate win an outright majority (more than 50%) in round one, they would automatically become president, but that's never happened since the system was introduced in 1962." - RTÉ News
MOST READ
- BBC News: Suspect formally declared in Madeleine McCann case
- The Guardian: Madeleine McCann: Portuguese authorities declare man formal suspect
- The Financial Times: Musk unveils $46.5bn financing package to fund Twitter bid
- Al Jazeera: Images suggest mass graves near Mariupol
- The Irish Times: Madeleine McCann case: suspect formally identified by Portuguese police
ON A LIGHTER NOTE...
This is actually quite cute 🥺
