11 World News

WORLD NEWS

By: Staff

Madeleine McCann Suspect Declared

Prosecutors in southern Portugal are formally accusing a suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

Since 2007, this is the first time Portuguese authorities have a formal suspect in the case.

Madeleine McCann, a British girl, was three years old when she went missing on May 3, 2007 from a resort in Praia da Luz, Portugal while on a family vacation.

Madeleine had disappeared from her bedroom while her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, were dining with friends in the resort.

It has been almost 15 years since Madeleine went missing. Throughout the years of her disappearance there has been an international hunt to find her. Madeleine has never been found, and no one has ever been charged for her disappearance.

In 2020, Christian Brueckner was named as a person of interest by German police. According to www. apnews.com, “Brueckner, 45, is serving a sentence on drug offenses in a German prison and has a pending seven-year sentence for the 2005 rape of a 72-yearold American woman in Portugal. The rape also took place in Praia da Luz.”

Brueckner has denied being involved in the disappearance and is being treated by Portuguese police but has not been arrested or charged.

Reasons are unclear as to why prosecutors identified Christian Brueckner as a suspect but may be due to Portugal’s 15-year statute limitations. After 11 years, the investigation is set to close by London police due to the budget running out in the fall. Kate and Gerry McCann will likely continue the investigation through private funds and have said they won’t stop looking for their daughter.

Photo: www.7news.com.au

Florida Takes Away Disney's Special Privileges

The Florida house recently passed a bill to remove the special district, Reedy Creek Improvement District, that allows Walt Disney Co. to self-govern.

The district was created by a 1967 state law which allowed Disney to collect taxes and provide emergency services. According to NBC News, “Disney controls about 25,000 acres in the Orlando area, and the district allows the company to build new structures and pay impact fees for such construction without the approval of a local planning commission.”

According to Investopedia, “The bill eliminating Disney's self-governing status awaits signature by Governor Ron DeSantis after passing the Florida Senate by a vote of 23-16 on April 20, 2022, and the Florida House by a vote of 68-38 on April 21.”

The Florida legislation will strip Disney’s Special District on June 1, 2023.

Worldwide Efforts To Raise Funds For Ukraine Continue

Zhanna Kadyrova, an artist from Kyviv, has launched a new exhibition in Berezovo, a small village in the Zakarpattia Oblast ("oblast" translates roughly to "region" in English. It is more or less the equivalent of a county in the United States).

Her exhibition, which she calls "Palianytsia" (Ukrainian for "bread"), consists of several stones sourced from the area surrounding the village, carefully chiseled and carved into the shape of loaves of bread. Zhanna's sculptures are meant to be symbolic; as Zhanna turns stones into bread, she is in turn using her art to raise money for food and medicine for the elderly citizens of Kyiv.

Efforts are being made around the world to help fund Ukraine, at home and abroad.

Pictured left are University of St. Francis Social Work Department Assistant Professors Laura Honegger (left) and Althia Gayle (right).

Photo courtesy of Scott Marshall

Women Protest in Mexico After Missing Woman Found

Photo: www.infobae.com On April 8, Debanhi Escobar went missing after attending a house party with two friends, who sent her home with a driver. Escobar was left on the side of a highway in Monterrey.

Her case made headlines because of a photo taken by the taxi driver, which shows Escobar out on the road. The taxi driver had taken the photo to show she got out of his car alive.

Debanhi had been missing for about two weeks before she was found on April 22, when investigators found her body from a 12-foot water tank of a motel in Nuevo León. During the search for her, five other bodies of women who went missing had also been found. Although authorities say they conducted a massive search for Escobar, according to www.cbsnews.com, Mario Escobar stated, “The prosecutors didn’t do their job correctly.”

Escobar's death sparked outrage, with activists demanding justice for her death and are protesting gender violence. Protesters shouted, “The police don’t take care of me, my friends take care of me” says www.wearemitu.com. Women are demanding the government take action to help end femicide, the intentional killing of women or girls simply for being female.

In Mexico, seven women go missing every day and about 25,000 women are missing nationally.