Latest news with #Hamburg
New York Times
2 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Magnus Carlsen, world chess No. 1, signs St Pauli contract extension for 2025-26 Bundesliga season
World chess No. 1 Magnus Carlsen will continue with Bundesliga team St Pauli for the 2025-26 season. Carlsen joined the German team in May 2024. Nicknamed 'the Mozart of Chess', the former world champion helped St Pauli to a 12th-placed finish in the 15-team standings, cementing their top-flight status in their debut season following promotion. Advertisement 'Last season was a great success for the team,' Carlsen said. 'We proved that we can hold our own in the Bundesliga and compete with the very best. I'm looking forward to the team's continued development – and to contributing to it.' Carlsen's arrival at St Pauli came with significant fanfare, his stature and reputation in chess attracting an oversubscription in interest for tickets and his matches were covered by the majority of German newspapers and several television channels. The Norwegian's arrival also meant each of the top-10 chess players in the world were playing in Germany. Both St Pauli's football team and its amateur chess team won promotion to the top-flight in 2024. The club's branding as one of the most widely-recognised left-wing teams in Europe was one of the factors which attracted Carlsen, with his acquisition a significant coup in their attempt for survival. Carlsen attended a St. Pauli match at their stadium, the Millerntor, when they were a struggling second-division team, and he cited the 'relaxed and joyful atmosphere' as a factor in persuading him to become a part of the club. Thomas Schuttler, chairman of the FC St. Pauli chess department, said: 'Magnus Carlsen is not only an extraordinary player but also a tremendous asset to our team culture. His presence has inspired everyone involved. We're thrilled that he's staying on — together, we're writing a special chapter in German chess, in true St. Pauli style.' Carlsen made his debut in the fifth round of the Bundesliga season, defeating Dutch grandmaster Max Warmerdam as St Pauli triumphed over SG Solingen, their first victory of the season. He was then held to a draw by Wei Yi in his side's narrow defeat to Dusseldorfer SK. The 34-year-old has not played for St Pauli since, with appearances at the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam in Weissenhaus and Paris, the TCh-NOR Elite 2024-25 and 13th Norway Chess 2025 comprising a busy schedule. Jan Henric Buettner, founder of Freestyle Chess and sponsor of the team said Carlsen's contract extension 'reflects the strength of our shared project and our ambition to increase the popularity of chess in Germany'.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Meet The Parents 4': Paramount To Co-Produce With Universal & Distribute Internationally
Paramount has come on board to co-produce Meet the Parents 4 with Universal, and will handle international distribution on the latest entry in the $1 billion-plus grossing franchise. Universal has domestic. The film is set to roll out from November 25, 2026. Paramount President of International Theatrical Distribution, Mark Viane, confirmed the news during the studio's presentation at CineEurope today in Barcelona. More from Deadline 'Superman' Flies Into Barcelona With 30 Minutes Of Footage During Warner Bros' CineEurope Presentation Universal Swoops Into CineEurope With Fresh 'Jurassic World Rebirth' & 'Wicked: For Good' Clips; Touts Steven Spielberg & Christopher Nolan Projects Sony Unleashes Extended Footage Of '28 Years Later', Screens Scenes From Darren Aronofsky's Austin Butler-Starrer 'Caught Stealing' - CineEurope Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Teri Polo and Blythe Danner are reprising their roles from the previous movies while Ariana Grande also recently joined the film that's being directed by John Hamburg. Hamburg, who co-wrote the three previous Meet the Parents movies, is also penning this script. The original cast earlier this month celebrated the franchise's 25th anniversary during the Tribeca Film Festival. Jane Rosenthal and De Niro will produce through their Tribeca Productions. Jay Roach will produce through Delirious Media. Stiller and John Lesher will produce through Red Hour Films. Hamburg will produce through Particular Pictures. The first Meet the Parents grossed more than $330 million at the global box office when it was released in 2000, becoming that year's seventh highest-grossing film worldwide. Its sequels Meet the Fockers (2004) and Little Fockers (2010) were also box office successes. In all, the franchise has grossed $1.13 billion worldwide. Paramount is enjoying the continued global success of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning which this past weekend crossed $500 million worldwide. Its next two major wide releases are Smurfs beginning July 16 overseas and Liam Neeson-starrer The Naked Gun in August. Best of Deadline 'The Buccaneers' Season 2 Soundtrack: From Griff To Sabrina Carpenter 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery 2025-26 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Tonys, Emmys, Oscars & More
The Sun
3 hours ago
- The Sun
Mystery female donor who paid £1,300 fine to free Madeleine McCann suspect Brueckner is former COP who investigated him
THE woman who has paid for the prime Madeleine McCann suspect's early release has been revealed as a cop who had been investigating the paedophile. The mystery donor settled a £1,300 outstanding court fine which means Christian Brueckner, 48, will walk free in less than three months, on September 17. 6 6 Reports have now identified her as a former officer with the German FBI - known as the BKA - who claims to have been involved in wire-tapping his jail cell. She confirmed to respected Hamburg-based publication Der Spiegel she paid the funds directly to the justice system - allowing the fiend out early. Convicted rapist Brueckner had only been able to pay off £210 of the total fine and faced being kept behind bars until January. That scenario would have granted cops four precious extra months to hunt down forensic evidence and finally charge him over Maddie's disappearance. As it is, the ex-cop's intervention undermined the same force she previously worked for - all as they tirelessly dug for new clues in Portugal two weeks ago. The woman - who has not been publicly named - claims she worked in the field of 'Operative Technology Audio'. She says she was involved in bugging Brueckner's prison cell - allegations that emerged in court last year as the disturbed German was cleared of fresh rape charges. The female fine-payer did confirm: 'I never had personal contact with Christian B.' And when confronted over the fine payment, the woman bizarrely told Spiegel it has been a 'misunderstanding' and she had tried in vain to reverse the payment. She reportedly believed the fine was due to Brueckner insulting a police officer, something she said "wasn't justified". When she learned that the penalties were actually to do with a number of infractions, including bodily harm, 'it was already too late,' she said. Spiegel reports it has been able to verify she transferred £1,300 to an account of the Braunschweig public prosecutor's office at the Comdirect bank. It cleared a 2016 Helmstedt District Court fine for drunkenness in traffic and forgery of documents and a 2017 Braunschweig court levy for assault. Brueckner will now walk free when his sentence for raping an American woman, 72, in Praia da Luz, in 2005, ends. He has been named publicly as the prime suspect over the May 3, 2007 disappearance of Maddie, of Rothley, Leics., since 2020 but has never been charged. He has used letters to deny the claims but has refused to answer police questions or provide an alibi. His phone was in Praia da Luz on the night Madeleine vanished and made a 30-minute call from the area. 6 6 His Jaguar was re-registered into a name the day after the disappearance. A Sun investigation this year revealed bombshell new evidence - including Brueckner's obsession with snatching and abusing small, young, blonde girls. We also placed him at key police locations of interest, including a lake where cops dug for evidence, And we showed evidence he was at the scene of an al-but-confession when he allegedly said Maddie 'did not scream,' in 2008. Our probe - aired on Channel 4 - revealed the existence of a hard-drive and laptop containing crucial picture evidence on the case. Police maintain they have physical evidence Maddie is dead - but no forensic links. German police have recently stressed the value UK authorities could provide by getting involved in the case again before Brueckner's release. He has refused to rule out leaving Germany and insisted he will go to ground on his release. If he travelled to a non-extradition country all hopes for McCann justice could disappear with him. Timeline of Maddie's disappearance May 3, 2007 Madeleine McCann disappears from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, sparking a massive police search and becoming one of the most famous missing persons cases in history. January 15, 2016 Neighbour reports a possible 'grave' at Brueckner's abandoned factory in East Germany. Cops find disturbing images on USB sticks and launch a full-scale search. February 16, 2016 Christian Brueckner is convicted for abusing a girl of five in a park after images found on his laptop. He was sentenced to 15-months behind bars but was already on the run by then. May 3, 2017 Around this time, Helge B calls an information hotline after watching a ten-year anniversary special on the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. He reports an alleged confession by Christian Brueckner. September 27, 2018 On-the-run Christian Brueckner is arrested over outstanding drugs claims in Italy. He is extradited to Germany the following year. December 16, 2019 Christian Brueckner was convicted, in Germany, for the 2005 rape of an American woman in Praia da Luz, Portugal, after his DNA was matched to a hair found on her bed. He was sentenced to seven years behind bars. June 4, 2020 German prosecutors reveal to the world they have a suspect in custody under investigation for the abduction of Madeleine McCann. For the first time they claim Madeleine is dead. German media later name him as Christian B (Christian Brueckner). June 23, 2023 In his first interview, witness Helge B alleges to German newspaper Bild that Christian Brueckner all-but-confessed the Madeleine abduction to him, by allegedly saying 'she didn't scream' as they talked about the case, at a music festival, in Spain. February 16, 2024 Brueckner goes on trial accused of none-McCann allegations of rape and sex assault, in Braunschweig, Germany. Prosecutors hope for a conviction to keep him behind bars permanently and lead to McCann charges. October 8, 2024 Brueckner was acquitted of all claims. Prosecutors launch an appeal, however. Decision pending. September 17, 2025 Date on which Christian Brueckner will be released from custody without action being taken. Prosecutors require an arrest warrant for a retrial over claims from last year - or over the McCann case. June 1, 2025 Police order a renewed search for clues in Praia Da Luz on the Algarve in Portugal. It lasts for just three days. 6 6
The National
8 hours ago
- The National
UAE foils major drug trafficking attempt linked to international network
The UAE's Ministry of Interior has arrested two men accused of smuggling thousands of narcotic pills into the country. Police were monitoring the two suspects before raiding two key locations during the operation. The first raid caught the accused at a site used to store narcotic pills while they were unloading and preparing for distribution within the country. Mechanical construction equipment including an excavator machine, in which another quantity was hidden, was seized at a second site. 'The two Arab nationals have connections to an international drug trafficking network,' the ministry said in a statement on Friday. 'The suspects were caught in one location that was used to store the narcotic pills. The pills were extracted from the excavator and they were packing them to be distributed inside the UAE.' A global network During interrogation, the suspects admitted to having other partners who prepared and smuggled the shipment from Hamburg, Germany, to one of the UAE's ports. 'One of the suspects had entered the country on a visit visa to oversee the operation.' The ministry didn't disclose details of the suspects or the type of narcotics. According to the ministry, the suspects confessed that the ringleader resides outside the UAE and is responsible for financing and coordinating the entire operation. A senior official at the ministry emphasised the importance of international co-operation in the fight against drug trafficking, to stop overseas criminal networks. While the investigation is still continuing, the ministry said that it will chase the other suspects who are outside the country in collaboration with international agencies through the appropriate legal channels. Earlier this week, Sharjah Police announced that an attempt to distribute 3.5 million Captagon pills had been successfully thwarted. The illegal stimulant pills, totalling about 585 kilograms, were believed to have a street value of Dh19 million. Their seizure came at the culmination of an operation known as Bottom of Darkness, the anti-narcotics department at Sharjah Police General Command said.
Khaleej Times
11 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
UAE foils drug smuggling attempt by 2 suspects linked to international network
UAE thwarted an attempt to distribute narcotic pills within the country, after monitoring the suspicious activity of two individuals of Arab nationality. Investigations confirmed their links to an international network for drug smuggling and trafficking. The two accused admitted that they had partners who prepared the shipment and smuggled it from Hamburg to one of the country's ports. One of them came to the country on a visit visa specifically to complete this mission. He added that the mastermind of the network resides outside the country and is the one who finances and manages the entire operation. The competent security services were able to raid two sites, one of which was used to store narcotic pills while the accused were unloading and preparing them for distribution within the country. The other site was where a mechanical construction equipment (excavator) was seized, in which another quantity was hidden, based on confidential information obtained by the task force.
