LAUSANNE, France: FIFA’s disgraced former secretary general Jerome Valcke and Paris Saint-Germain chief Nasser Al-Khelaifi go on trial in Switzerland on Monday in the latest chapter of football’s seemingly endless corruption saga.
The two men have been indicted for alleged corruption in the attribution of football broadcasting rights — Al-Khelaifi is also the boss of beIN Media.
The hearing, which has already been delayed because of the coronavirus, is scheduled to last until September 25 at the Federal Criminal Court of Bellinzona. But it will open under another cloud as suspicions of collusion between the Swiss prosecution and FIFA have undermined its credibility.
Center stage is Valcke, former right-hand man of ousted FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who appears in two separate cases of television rights corruption — he faces up to five years in prison if found guilty.
The 59-year-old Frenchman stands accused of wanting to transfer the Middle East and North Africa rights for screening the 2026 and 2030 World Cups to the Qatari giant beIN Media, in exchange for “unwarranted benefits” from Al-Khelaifi.
According to the prosecution, the case relates to a meeting on October 24, 2013 at the French headquarters of beIN, when Al-Khelaifi allegedly promised to buy a villa in Sardinia for five million euros, granting its exclusive use to Valcke.
Al-Khelaifi, who has denied the charges, was then to hand the property over to the Frenchman two years later under certain conditions.
In return, the prosecution claims, Valcke committed to “do what was in his power” to ensure beIN would become the regional broadcaster for the two World Cups, something which happened on April 29, 2014, in an agreement that FIFA has never since contested.
Legally, however, it is no longer a question of “private corruption.” The prosecution had to drop that qualification because of an “amicable agreement” reached at the end of January between FIFA and Al-Khelaifi, the contents of which have not been made public.
So Valcke must now justify having “kept for himself” advantages “which should have gone to FIFA.”
An employee at the time, the obligation to return money received in the course of his duties “also applies to bribes,” according to a decision in March.
Al-Khelaifi, one of the most influential men in world football, faces the charge of “inciting Valcke to commit aggravated criminal mismanagement,” for which he could also face five years in prison.
“The major part of this file does not concern our client,” his lawyers told AFP while dismissing the charges against him as “clearly artificial.”
Al-Khelaifi denies buying the property in question or promising it to Valcke.
Valcke, who will be at the hearing, also stands accused of exploiting his position at FIFA between 2013 and 2015 to influence the awarding of media rights for Italy and Greece for various World Cup and other tournaments scheduled between 2018 and 2030 “in order to favor media partners that he preferred” in exchange for payments from Greek businessman Dinos Deris, who has also been charged.
Valcke, who allegedly stood to receive 1.25 million euros in exchange, “disputes the charges,” according to his lawyer Patrick Hunziker.
The case has been weakened by accusations of collusion born of three secret meetings in 2016 and 2017 between the current president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, and Switzerland’s former Attorney General Michael Lauber.
Both are under investigation for “obstructing criminal proceedings” — Lauber resigned from his post in July.
If the hearing runs its course, it will be the first judgment handed down in Switzerland, the seat of most international sports organizations, on the 20 or so proceedings opened in the last five years surrounding FIFA.
FIFA on trial as Valcke, Al-Khelaifi trial begins in Swiss court
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FIFA on trial as Valcke, Al-Khelaifi trial begins in Swiss court
- Switzerland will judge Valcke, Al-Khelaifi in a case of TV rights on Monday
- The case is major step in the cascade of investigations on world football
Philippines, US launch joint drills aimed at ‘deterrence’
- The drills follow months of confrontations between Beijing and Manila over disputed areas of the South China Sea
- Military ties between the Philippines and US have deepened since the 2022 election of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
MANILA: The Philippine and US air forces kicked off joint exercises Monday aimed at boosting operational coordination and enhancing “strategic deterrence,” Manila’s military said.
The drills follow months of confrontations between Beijing and Manila over disputed areas of the South China Sea, with significantly larger US-Philippine air, land and sea exercises set for late April.
“Enhancing combat readiness and elevating joint mission effectiveness” would be central to the Cope Thunder exercise, Philippine Air Force commander Arthur Cordura said Monday at a ceremony to launch the drills.
Military ties between the Philippines and United States have deepened since the 2022 election of President Ferdinand Marcos, with Manila pushing back on sweeping Chinese claims in the South China Sea that an international tribunal has ruled are without merit.
The US State Department last week approved a long-mooted sale of F-16 fighter jets to the Philippines, though Manila said the deal was “still in the negotiation phase.”
Speaking at Monday’s ceremony, US Major General Christopher Sheppard said that “the pace of our alliance is accelerating.”
Cope Thunder, which will continue through April 18, aims to enhance “asymmetric warfare capabilities,” operational coordination and strategic deterrence, according to the Philippine Air Force.
“Further down the road, we look forward to the seamless transition to exercise Balikatan, which will continue to push the boundaries of our interoperability,” Cordura added.
Like the majority of Balikatan’s planned activities, Cope Thunder will be conducted on northern Luzon island, the area of the Philippines closest to Taiwan.
As China encircled Taiwan with planes and ships in a simulated blockade last week, Philippine military chief Romeo Brawner warned troops that their country would “inevitably” be involved should the self-ruled island be invaded.
Beijing insists Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to forcefully bring under its control.
While Manila later said Brawner’s comments were primarily referencing efforts to retrieve Filipino workers in Taiwan, the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement with Washington gives US forces access to nine bases in the country.
One is a naval facility at Cagayan’s Santa Ana about 400 kilometers from Taiwan.
During a recent visit to Manila, US Defense Chief Pete Hegseth said Washington was “doubling down” on its alliance with the archipelago nation.
“Deterrence is necessary around the world, but specifically in this region, in your country – considering the threats from the Communist Chinese,” he said on March 28.
Dominican Republic steps up forces on Haiti border
- President Luis Abinader also approved construction of a new section of a wall between the two countries
- The Haiti-Dominican Republic border stretches for more than 300 kilometers roughly north to south
SANTO DOMINGO: The Dominican Republic’s President Luis Abinader said Sunday he was deploying more troops to the country’s border with Haiti, which is suffering a grave security crisis.
Abinader added that he had approved construction of a new section of a wall between the two countries, which share the second-largest island in the Caribbean after Cuba.
Abinader, who was first elected in 2020 and secured a second term last year, has made battling immigration a top issue for his administration, conducting mass expulsions of undocumented Haitians.
Around 86,400 were expelled between January and March, after 276,000 were expelled in 2024, according to official data.
“We will step up surveillance of the borders with 1,500 additional troops, on top of 9,500 already deployed,” the president said in a speech on migration.
The Haiti-Dominican Republic border stretches for more than 300 kilometers roughly north to south across the island of Hispaniola.
Abinader said his government would “speed up construction of the border wall,” adding a further 13 kilometers to the 54 already installed.
Around 500,000 Haitian immigrants live in the Dominican Republic, out of a total 10.5 million inhabitants, according to official data.
Three dead in Japan after medical helicopter crash
- A total of six passengers were on board the helicopter heading to a hospital in Fukuoka city from Tsushima Island
- A few hours after losing communication, the six passengers were found by a patrol ship along with the helicopter
TOKYO: Three people died after a medical helicopter crashed into the sea off southwestern Japan, the coast guard said Monday.
A total of six passengers were on board the helicopter heading to a hospital in Fukuoka city from Tsushima Island in the Nagasaki region on Sunday afternoon.
Ryuji Tominaga, the hospital’s head, told reporters that the accident was “utterly heartbreaking.”
A few hours after losing communication, the six passengers were found by a patrol ship along with the helicopter.
The 86-year-old patient, her 68-year-old family member and a 34-year-old doctor were unresponsive and later confirmed dead, the Japan’s coast guard said.
The other three people, found holding on to the helicopter, were conscious, it added.
An official from the helicopter operator said Monday that the pilot and mechanic on board were both experienced and that the weather did not appear to be a problem for the flight.
The national Maritime Safety Committee will carry out investigations, he added.
According to the Asahi Shimbun daily, a helicopter operated by the same company crashed into farmland in the Fukuoka region, killing two people on board, in July last year.
Boeing faces new civil trial over 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crash
- The Chicago trial is the first civil case related to the Max 737 plane crash of March 10, 2019 to reach court
- Relatives of 155 of the victims had sued Boeing for wrongful death, negligence and other charges
NEW YORK: Boeing is poised to face a jury trial from Monday over the fatal 2019 crash of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX plane, the first civil case related to the disaster to reach court.
The Chicago trial, expected to last two weeks, was to feature two plaintiffs who lost family members in the calamity.
But one of the complaints was resolved in an out-of-court settlement late Sunday, a judicial source told AFP, in line with most earlier litigants.
Barring another last-minute settlement, the trial will begin Monday with the selection of an eight-person jury.
“We have had some ongoing discussion that may continue throughout the day and the ensuing days,” Robert Clifford, who represents relatives of several crash victims, told the US District court on Wednesday at a pre-trial hearing.
A deal could also be struck even while the trial is underway.
The Boeing plane crashed on March 10, 2019, just six minutes after takeoff from Addis Ababa on its way to Kenya, killing all 157 people on board.
Relatives of 155 of the victims had sued Boeing between April 2019 and March 2021 for wrongful death, negligence and other charges.
As of late last month, there were 18 complaints still open against Boeing, a source familiar with the case told AFP.
Sunday’s deal meant that a further three cases had been settled since then, multiple judicial sources told AFP.
This week’s Chicago litigation will now examine only the case of Canadian Darcy Belanger.
Belanger, 46, who lived in Colorado, was a founding member of environmental NGO, the Parvati Foundation, and also worked in construction. He had been visiting Nairobi for a UN conference.
US Judge Jorge Alonso has split the Boeing lawsuits into groups of five or six plaintiffs, annulling a potential trial if all the suits settle.
In November, the aviation giant reached a last-minute agreement with the family of a woman killed in the crash.
The Ethiopian Airlines disaster followed another fatal crash involving a MAX plane — that of a Lion Air jet that crashed in Indonesia in October 2018, killing all 189 people on board.
Boeing also faced dozens of complaints from Lion Air family victims. Just one case remained open, as of the end of March.
Boeing’s settlements with civil plaintiffs have been confidential.
The US manufacturer has “accepted responsibility for the MAX crashes publicly and in civil litigation because the design of the MCAS... contributed to these events,” a Boeing lawyer said during an October hearing.
The MCAS (Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System) flight stabilizing software was implicated in both the Ethiopian Airlines and Lion Air crashes.
The disasters led to congressional hearings, with irate lawmakers demanding answers, and to leadership shake-ups at the aviation company. The entire 737 MAX fleet was grounded for more than 20 months.
Boeing later revised the MCAS program under scrutiny from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which ultimately cleared the jets to resume service in November 2020.
The Chicago trial comes as Boeing also faces a potential criminal trial in June in Texas over the MAX.
That trial follows on from a January 2021 deferred prosecution agreement between Boeing and the US Justice Department over the two MAX crashes.
In May 2024, the Justice Department notified the court that Boeing had violated terms of the accord. That came after a January 2024 incident in which an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX was forced to make an emergency landing when a panel blew out mid-flight.
US District Judge Reed O’Connor last month ordered a jury trial from June 23 after earlier throwing out a proposed settlement between Boeing and the Justice Department.
Sahel alliance recalls ambassadors from Algeria after the downing of a Malian drone
- The Alliance of Sahel States, which includes Mali, said the drone downing was an “irresponsible act” that violated international law
- Algeria once served as a key mediator during more than a decade of conflict between Mali’s government and Tuareg rebels
DAKAR, Senegal: A military alliance between Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger withdrew their respective ambassadors from Algeria in response to the downing of a Malian drone this week, the group said late Sunday.
The Alliance of Sahel States, which goes by its French acronym AES, blamed Algeria on social media for the drone’s downing and condemned it as an “irresponsible act” that violated international law.
The act was “contrary to historical relations and fraternal relations between the peoples of the AES Confederation and the Algerian people,” the group said.
The Malian Foreign Ministry in a statement on social media Sunday denied claims by the Algerian government that the drone had violated Algeria’s airspace by over 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) and instead claimed that “this action proves, if proof were needed, that the Algerian regime sponsors international terrorism.”
Mali in the statement also summoned the Algerian ambassador, withdrew from a 15-year-old regional military group that includes fellow AES member Niger, and filed a complaint with “international bodies” about the incident.
The development comes as tensions are on the rise between Algeria and its southern neighbors, including Mali.
Rida Lyammouri, a Sahel expert at the Morocco-based Policy Center for the New South, said the latest war of words was unlikely to escalate beyond that. He doubted the Malian government’s ability to conduct a thorough investigation because the crash “took place in an area it doesn’t control, and what remains of the drone has been recovered by groups opposed to the government.”
Algeria once served as a key mediator during more than a decade of conflict between Mali’s government and Tuareg rebels. But the two countries have grown apart since a military junta staged coups in 2020 and 2021, putting military personnel in charge of Mali’s key institutions.
Algeria has denounced the direction that Mali’s new government has taken and its expanded efforts to quash rebellion in historically volatile parts of northern Mali. Afraid of the conflict spilling over the border, Algerian officials have denounced Mali’s use of Russian mercenaries and armed drones near Tin Zaouatine, a border town in the north were the drone was found.
Algeria has one of Africa’s largest militaries and has long considered itself a regional power but military leaders in neighboring Mali and Niger have distanced themselves as they’ve championed autonomy and sought new alliances, including with Russia.
