Fresh searches in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann have seen police dig a concentrated area of woodland near the banks of a remote reservoir in Portugal. Personnel spent a number of hours cutting back the undergrowth of a peninsula next to the water on Wednesday, before using shovels to excavate part of the area. A large section of the Barragem do Arade has been cordoned off since Tuesday morning, around 30 miles from where the three-year-old went missing in 2007. Follow our live blog for all the latest updates Sniffer dogs and rakes have been used by uniformed and plain-clothed officers over the course of two days, before specialist forest workers used strimmers and heavy machinery to cut back the landscape. It is understood the operation will continue on Thursday. The fresh searches are being carried out at the request of German investigators who believe their prime suspect, convicted sex offender Christian Brueckner, 45, kidnapped and murdered the youngster. He is currently in prison in Germany for the rape of a woman in Praia da Luz in 2005, and is suspected of further rapes and child sexual abuse committed in the area between 2000 and 2017. German authorities have not revealed what triggered the latest search operation, but prosecutor for the city of Braunschweig Christian Wolters said they were acting on the basis of “certain tips”. He told German public broadcaster NDR: “We have indications that we could find evidence there. I don’t want to say what that is exactly, and I also don’t want to say where these indications come from. “The only thing that I would clarify is that it doesn’t come from the suspect — so we don’t have a confession or anything similar now, or an indication from the suspect of where it would make sense to search.” The Sun reported that investigators previously found photos and video of Brueckner at the reservoir. He has reportedly denied any involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance. Madeleine vanished while on holiday with her parents in Praia da Luz, after they left her and her younger twin siblings asleep in their apartment while they went out to dinner with friends. Portuguese lawyer Marcos Aragao Correia previously claimed that criminal contacts had told him that Madeleine’s body was in the reservoir, and in 2008 he raised funds for unsuccessful private searches of the water. Four teams of officers from the Portuguese Policia Judiciaria are involved in the operation, along with at least 20 of their German counterparts, Portuguese news outlet SIC said. British officers from the Metropolitan Police are also present while the work is carried out so they can inform Madeleine’s parents if there are any developments. On Tuesday, search teams were seen scouring the banks – hammering away at the ground with pickaxes and combing through small rocks with rakes and spades. Around a dozen officers with sniffer dogs were also at the site, while the fire service boat took officers onto the water. Portuguese daily Expresso said that the first day ended with no significant results, and that police had collected some objects including fabrics and garments. Madeleine’s disappearance has attracted enormous media attention since she vanished, and reporters are being kept at arm’s length around a mile away from where search activity is taking place. A no-fly zone has also been imposed over the reservoir. The new searches come as the Home Office granted an extra £110,000 in funding this financial year for the Metropolitan Police to assist with finding Madeleine, down from just over £300,000 last year. The total funding given to Operation Grange has been just under £13.1 million since 2011. Read More Madeleine McCann – latest news: Key suspect visited reservoir ‘days after disappearance’ Madeleine McCann case: Timeline of the missing child’s disappearance How much has the Madeleine McCann investigation cost? Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

Women are discovering that their husbands think about the Roman Empire all the time in a new bizarre TikTok trend. It's clear from the reactions of many wives and girlfriends that this is something they didn't know about their partner before asking about the post-Republican state of ancient Rome. This topic began to gain popularity when Rev. Kelsey Lewis Vincent tweeted about something she had seen about it and asked her husband if he thinks about the Roman Empire to which he informed her it's an everyday thought. “I saw an IG Reel that said something along the lines of ‘Women have no idea how often the men in their lives think about the Roman Empire’,” she wrote. “So I asked my husband: ‘How often do you think about the Roman Empire?’ and without missing a beat he said ‘Every day’ “YALL! Why!?” Since then the tweet has had 7.5m views and now women posting on TikTok where they are asking men 'how often do you think about the Roman Empire?' as part of a new popular trend, and they all seem to think about it a lot. TikToker Sam (@theyaresam_) who posted about her husband who thinks about the Roman Empire "every single day," followed by a 45-minute discussion on the topic. @theyaresam_ the roman empire is actually fascinating While Britt (@listenwithbritt) was surprised to discover her husband thinks about the Roman Empire "all the time," and added how he "just mentioned" this subject to her. "Every boy you've ever met is like 'I wonder if I could survive in the Roman Legion," he told his wife. @listenwithbritt #stitch with @HapaGirl learning new things after 13 years. #romanempire #husband #trend "I have been married to this man for 6 years and I never would have guessed this," Jenna (@ifitwerentfunny) wrote in a TikTok post after her husband informed he thinks about the Romans "in some capacity, probably every day." @ifitwerentfunny I have been married to this man for 6 years and I never would have guessed this. #wivesoftiktok #husband #marriagecomedy #romanempire Who knew the Roman Empire occupied so much space in the minds of men? Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has been named the League Managers Association’s manager of the year. Guardiola, who has guided City to a third straight Premier League title and is hunting a domestic treble, has won the Sir Alex Ferguson trophy for a third time and was also named Premier League manager of the year. City face Manchester United in the FA Cup final on Saturday and Inter Milan in the Champions League final. Guardiola, who has previously won the award in 2017-18 and 2020-21, said: “I’m delighted to receive the Premier League Manager of the Year. It’s an incredible honour to get his trophy. “We are in the best league in the world and I promise you we will be there next season.” Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta, Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi, Newcastle’s Eddie Howe, Aston Villa boss Unai Emery and Fulham’s Marco Silva had all been nominated. Vincent Kompany, who guided Burnley straight back to promotion to the top flight, won the Championship award, beating fellow nominees Michael Carrick (Middlesbrough), Paul Heckingbottom (Sheffield United), Rob Edwards (Luton) and Mark Robins (Coventry). Kompany said: “The players have done it and the staff have been relentless. “I can still relate to the players, I feel connected to what they are going through. I make mistakes and don’t see myself as the finished article. You make mistakes and learn. I’m pretty pleased where I am today.” Plymouth boss Steven Schumacher took the League One award after guiding the Pilgrims to the title and Richie Wellens was voted League Two manager of the year after leading Leyton Orient to the top of the fourth tier. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

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