Barcelona, Chelsea fined for financial monitoring rules breaches
Both clubs must pay tens of millions of more euros (dollars) in future seasons if they miss financial targets set by UEFA.
Chelsea had been under investigation for the 76.5 million pounds ($104.4 million) sale of two hotels between subsidiaries of Chelsea's holding company, Blueco 22 Ltd. Chelsea has been owned since 2022 by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.
Chelsea's fine matches the record 20 million euros ($23.6 million) sanction imposed in 2014 on Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain by UEFA. Those were the first round of penalties in the system then called Financial Fair Play.
In other investigations settled on Friday, UEFA fined financially troubled French club Lyon 12.5 million euros ($14.7 million) with future fines conditional on meeting targets.
The club owned by American businessman John Textor is fighting an appeal case next week against being demoted from Ligue 1 amid its financial turmoil, and could yet be excluded by UEFA from the Europa League next season.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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San Francisco Chronicle
12 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
With sanctions lifted, Syria looks to solar power as more than a patchwork fix to its energy crisis
DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Abdulrazak al-Jenan swept the dust off his solar panel on his apartment roof overlooking Damascus. Syria's largest city was mostly pitch-black, the few speckles of light coming from the other households able to afford solar panels, batteries, or private generators. Al-Jenan went thousands of dollars in debt to buy his solar panel in 2019. It was an expensive coping mechanism at the time, but without it, he couldn't charge his phone and run the refrigerator. Syria has not had more than four hours of state electricity per day for years, as a result of the nearly 14-year civil war that ended with the ouster of former President Bashar Assad in December. Syria's new leaders are hoping renewable energy will now become more than a patchwork solution. Investment is beginning to return to the country with the lifting of U.S. sanctions, and major energy projects are planned, including an industrial-scale solar farm that would secure about a tenth of the country's energy needs. 'The solution to the problem isn't putting solar panels on roofs,' Syria's interim Energy Minister Mohammad al-Bashir told The Associated Press. 'It's securing enough power for the families through our networks in Syria. This is what we're trying to do.' Restoring the existing energy infrastructure Some of the efforts focus on simply repairing infrastructure destroyed in the war. The World Bank recently announced a $146 million grant to help Syria repair damaged transmission lines and transformer substations. Al-Bashir said Syria's infrastructure that has been repaired can provide 5,000 megawatts, about half the country's needs, but fuel and gas shortages have hampered generation. With the sanctions lifted, that supply could come in soon. More significantly, Syria recently signed a $7 billion energy deal with a consortium of Qatari, Turkish, and American companies. The program over the next three and a half years would develop four combined-cycle gas turbines with a total generating capacity estimated at approximately 4,000 megawatts and a 1,000-megawatt solar farm. This would 'broadly secure the needs' of Syrians, said Al-Bashir. While Syria is initially focusing on fixing its existing fossil fuel infrastructure to improve quality of life, help make businesses functional again, and entice investors, the U.N. Development Program said in May that a renewable energy plan will be developed in the next year for the country. The plan will look at Syria's projected energy demand and determine how much of it can come from renewable sources. 'Given the critical role of energy in Syria's recovery, we have to rapidly address energy poverty and progressively accelerate the access to renewable energy,' Sudipto Mukerjee, UNDP's resident representative in Syria, said in a statement announcing the plan. Sanctions crippled the power grid While the war caused significant damage to Syria's infrastructure, crippling Washington-led sanctions imposed during the Assad dynasty's decades of draconian rule made it impossible for Syria to secure fuel and spare parts to generate power. 'Many companies over the past period would tell us the sanctions impact matters like imports, implementing projects, transferring funds and so on,' al-Bashir said. During a visit to Turkey in May, the minister said Syria could only secure about 1700 megawatts, a little less than 20%, of its energy needs. A series of executive orders by U.S. President Donald Trump lifted many sanctions on Syria, aiming to end the country's isolation from the global banking system so that it can become viable again and rebuild itself. The United Nations estimates the civil war caused hundreds of billions of dollars in damages and economic losses across the country. Some 90% of Syrians live in poverty. Buying solar panels, private generators or other means of producing their own energy has been out of reach for most of the population. 'Any kind of economic recovery needs a functional energy sector,' said Joseph Daher, Syrian-Swiss economist and researcher, who said that stop-gap measures like solar panels and private generators were luxuries only available to a few who could afford it. 'There is also a need to diminish the cost of electricity in Syria, which is one of the most expensive in the region.' Prices for electricity in recent years surged as the country under its former rulers struggled with currency inflation and rolling back on subsidies. The new officials who inherited the situation say that lifting sanctions will help them rectify the country's financial and economic woes, and provide sufficient and affordable electricity as soon as they can. 'The executive order lifts most of the obstacles for political and economic investment with Syria," said Qutaiba Idlibi, who leads the Americas section of the Foreign Ministry. Syria has been under Washington-led sanctions for decades, but designations intensified during the war that started in 2011. Even with some waivers for humanitarian programs, it was difficult to bring in resources and materials to fix Syria's critical infrastructure — especially electricity — further compounding the woes of the vast majority of Syrians, who live in poverty. The focus is economic recovery The removal of sanctions signals to U.S. businesses that Trump is serious in his support for Syria's recovery, Idlibi said. 'Right now, we have a partnership with the United States as any normal country would do," he said. 'We can at least know what's going on in the country and watch on TV,' he said. 'We really were cut off from the entire world.' ___ Chehayeb reported from Beirut.
San Francisco Chronicle
13 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
French police are slashing migrant boats but they're still determined to reach the UK
ECAULT BEACH, France (AP) — Across the English Channel, the white cliffs of the U.K beckon. On fine days, men and women with children in their arms and determination in their eyes can see the shoreline of what they believe will be a promised land as they attempt the perilous crossing clandestinely, ditching belongings to squeeze aboard flimsy inflatable boats that set to sea from northern France. In a flash, on one recent crossing attempt, French police swooped in with knives, wading into the water and slashing at the boat's thin rubber — literally deflating the migrants' hopes and dreams. Some of the men put up dispirited resistance, trying to position themselves — in vain — between the boat and the officers' blades. One splashed water at them, another hurled a shoe. Cries of 'No! No!" rang out. A woman wailed. But the team of three officers, one also holding a pepper-gas canister, lunged at the boat again and again, pitching some of those aboard into the surf as it quickly deflated. The Associated Press obtained video of the police boat-slashing, filmed on a beach near the French port of Boulogne. Growing numbers are getting through France's defenses France's northern coast has long been fortified against invasion, with Nazi bunkers in World War II and pre-French Revolution forts. Now, France is defending beaches with increasing aggression against migrants trying at a record pace to go the other way — out to sea, to the U.K. Under pressure from U.K. authorities, France's government is preparing to give an even freer hand to police patrols that, just last week, were twice filmed slashing boats carrying men, women and children. The video obtained by AP was filmed Monday. Four days later, on Écault beach south of Boulogne, the BBC filmed police wading into the surf and slashing another boat with box cutters, again pitching people into the water as it deflated. An AP journalist who arrived moments later counted multiple lacerations and saw dispirited people, some still wearing life jackets, clambering back up sand dunes toward woods inland. There, AP had spent the previous night with families and men waiting for a crossing, sleeping rough in a makeshift camp without running water or other basic facilities. Exhausted children cried as men sang songs and smoked around a campfire. The French Interior Ministry told AP that police haven't been issued orders to systematically slash boats. But the British government — which is partly funding France's policing efforts — welcomed what it called a 'toughening' of the French approach. The U.K. is also pushing France to go further and let officers intervene against boats in deeper waters, a change the government in Paris is considering. Campaigners for migrant rights and a police union warn that doing so could endanger both migrants and officers. Of the slashing filmed Friday by the BBC, the Interior Ministry said the boat was in distress, overloaded and riding low in the water, with migrants "trying to climb aboard from the back, risking being caught by the propeller.' 'The gendarmes, in water up to their knees, intervened to rescue people in danger, pull the boat to shore and neutralize it,' the ministry said. For migrants, boat-slashing is infuriating Around the campfire, the men stared into the flames and ruminated. Deniz, a Kurd with an infectious laugh and a deep singing voice, wanted more than anything to cross the channel in time to celebrate his 44th birthday in August with his 6-year-old daughter, Eden, who lives with her mother in the U.K. Like nearly all the migrating people that AP interviewed, surviving in camps that police frequently dismantle, Deniz didn't want to give his full name. Refused a short-stay U.K. visa, Deniz said he had no other option than the sea route, but four attempts ended with police wrecking the boats. He said that on one of those occasions, his group of around 40 people begged an officer patrolling alone to turn a blind eye and let them take to sea. 'He said, 'No,' nobody going to stop him. We could stop him, but we didn't want, you know, to hurt him or we didn't want to argue with him,' Deniz said. 'We just let him, and he cut it with a knife.' He believes that U.K. funding of French policing is turning officers into zealots. 'I say, 'Because of the money, you are not France soldiers, you're not France police. You are the English dogs now," he said. The cat-and-mouse between migrants and police The coastal battle between police and migrants never lets up, no matter the hour or weather. Drones and aircraft watch the beaches and gendarmes patrol them aboard buggies and on foot. On Écault beach, a WWII gun emplacement serves as their lookout post. Inland waterways have been sealed off with razor wire and floating barriers to prevent launches of so-called 'taxi boats." They motor to offshore pickup points, where waiting migrants then wade into the sea and climb aboard, children in their arms and on their shoulders. AP saw a 6 a.m. pickup Friday on Hardelot beach south of Boulogne. Many dozens of people squeezed aboard, straddling the sausage-like inflated sides — one foot in the sea, the other in the boat. It left about a half-dozen people on the beach, some in the water, apparently because there was no more room. Gendarmes on the beach watched it motor slowly away. Campaigners who work with migrants fear that allowing police to intervene against boats farther offshore will panic those aboard, risking casualties. French officials are examining the possibility of police interventions up to 300 meters (980 feet) from the water's edge. 'All that will happen is that people will take greater and greater risks,' said Diane Leon, who coordinates aid efforts for the group Médecins du Monde along the coast. 'The police entering the water — this was something that, until now, we saw only rarely. But for us, it raises fears of panic during boarding or of boats arriving farther and farther out, forcing people to swim to reach the taxi boats.' In an AP interview, police union official Régis Debut voiced concerns about potential legal ramifications for officers if people drown during police attempts to stop offshore departures. He said officers weighed down by equipment could also drown. 'Our colleagues don't want to cross 300 meters to intercept the small boats. Because, in fact, we're not trained for that,' said Debut, of the union UNSA Police. 'You also need to have the proper equipment. You can't carry out an arrest wearing combat boots, a police uniform and the bullet-proof vest. So the whole process needs to be reconsidered.' Migrants say crossings are atrocious but worth the risk Around the campfire, men laughed off the risks of the crossings that French authorities say claimed nearly 80 lives last year. They had nothing left to lose and the channel was just one more hardship after tortuous journeys to France filled with difficulties and misery, they said. 'We will never give up,' Deniz said. According to U.K. government figures, more than 20,000 people made the crossing in the first six months of this year, up by about 50% from the same period in 2024, and potentially on course toward a new annual record. About 37,000 people were detected crossing in 2024, the second-highest annual figure after 46,000 in 2022. Qassim, a 26-year-old Palestinian, messaged AP after crossing last week with his wife and their daughters, aged 6 and 4. The boat labored through waves for eight hours, he said. 'Everyone was praying,' he wrote. 'We were patient and endured and saw death. The children were crying and screaming.' 'Now we feel comfortable, safe, and stable. We are starting a new page," he wrote. 'We will do our best to protect our children and ourselves and to make up for the difficult years we have been exposed to." ___
Hamilton Spectator
15 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
French police are slashing migrant boats but they're still determined to reach the UK
ECAULT BEACH, France (AP) — Across the English Channel, the white cliffs of the U.K beckon. On fine days, men and women with children in their arms and determination in their eyes can see the shoreline of what they believe will be a promised land as they attempt the perilous crossing clandestinely, ditching belongings to squeeze aboard flimsy inflatable boats that set to sea from northern France. In a flash, on one recent crossing attempt, French police swooped in with knives, wading into the water and slashing at the boat's thin rubber — literally deflating the migrants' hopes and dreams. Some of the men put up dispirited resistance, trying to position themselves — in vain — between the boat and the officers' blades. One splashed water at them, another hurled a shoe. Cries of 'No! No!' rang out. A woman wailed. But the team of three officers, one also holding a pepper-gas canister, lunged at the boat again and again, pitching some of those aboard into the surf as it quickly deflated. The Associated Press obtained video of the police boat-slashing, filmed on a beach near the French port of Boulogne. Growing numbers are getting through France's defenses France's northern coast has long been fortified against invasion, with Nazi bunkers in World War II and pre-French Revolution forts. Now, France is defending beaches with increasing aggression against migrants trying at a record pace to go the other way — out to sea , to the U.K. Under pressure from U.K. authorities, France's government is preparing to give an even freer hand to police patrols that, just last week, were twice filmed slashing boats carrying men, women and children. The video obtained by AP was filmed Monday. Four days later, on Écault beach south of Boulogne, the BBC filmed police wading into the surf and slashing another boat with box cutters, again pitching people into the water as it deflated. An AP journalist who arrived moments later counted multiple lacerations and saw dispirited people, some still wearing life jackets, clambering back up sand dunes toward woods inland. There, AP had spent the previous night with families and men waiting for a crossing, sleeping rough in a makeshift camp without running water or other basic facilities. Exhausted children cried as men sang songs and smoked around a campfire. The French Interior Ministry told AP that police haven't been issued orders to systematically slash boats. But the British government — which is partly funding France's policing efforts — welcomed what it called a 'toughening' of the French approach. The U.K. is also pushing France to go further and let officers intervene against boats in deeper waters, a change the government in Paris is considering. Campaigners for migrant rights and a police union warn that doing so could endanger both migrants and officers. Of the slashing filmed Friday by the BBC, the Interior Ministry said the boat was in distress, overloaded and riding low in the water, with migrants 'trying to climb aboard from the back, risking being caught by the propeller.' 'The gendarmes, in water up to their knees, intervened to rescue people in danger, pull the boat to shore and neutralize it,' the ministry said. For migrants, boat-slashing is infuriating Around the campfire, the men stared into the flames and ruminated. Deniz, a Kurd with an infectious laugh and a deep singing voice, wanted more than anything to cross the channel in time to celebrate his 44th birthday in August with his 6-year-old daughter, Eden, who lives with her mother in the U.K. Like nearly all the migrating people that AP interviewed, surviving in camps that police frequently dismantle, Deniz didn't want to give his full name. Refused a short-stay U.K. visa, Deniz said he had no other option than the sea route, but four attempts ended with police wrecking the boats. He said that on one of those occasions, his group of around 40 people begged an officer patrolling alone to turn a blind eye and let them take to sea. 'He said, 'No,' nobody going to stop him. We could stop him, but we didn't want, you know, to hurt him or we didn't want to argue with him,' Deniz said. 'We just let him, and he cut it with a knife.' He believes that U.K. funding of French policing is turning officers into zealots. 'I say, 'Because of the money, you are not France soldiers, you're not France police. You are the English dogs now,' he said. The cat-and-mouse between migrants and police The coastal battle between police and migrants never lets up, no matter the hour or weather. Drones and aircraft watch the beaches and gendarmes patrol them aboard buggies and on foot. On Écault beach, a WWII gun emplacement serves as their lookout post. Inland waterways have been sealed off with razor wire and floating barriers to prevent launches of so-called 'taxi boats.' They motor to offshore pickup points, where waiting migrants then wade into the sea and climb aboard, children in their arms and on their shoulders. AP saw a 6 a.m. pickup Friday on Hardelot beach south of Boulogne. Many dozens of people squeezed aboard, straddling the sausage-like inflated sides — one foot in the sea, the other in the boat. It left about a half-dozen people on the beach, some in the water, apparently because there was no more room. Gendarmes on the beach watched it motor slowly away. Campaigners who work with migrants fear that allowing police to intervene against boats farther offshore will panic those aboard, risking casualties. French officials are examining the possibility of police interventions up to 300 meters (980 feet) from the water's edge. 'All that will happen is that people will take greater and greater risks,' said Diane Leon, who coordinates aid efforts for the group Médecins du Monde along the coast. 'The police entering the water — this was something that, until now, we saw only rarely. But for us, it raises fears of panic during boarding or of boats arriving farther and farther out, forcing people to swim to reach the taxi boats.' In an AP interview, police union official Régis Debut voiced concerns about potential legal ramifications for officers if people drown during police attempts to stop offshore departures. He said officers weighed down by equipment could also drown. 'Our colleagues don't want to cross 300 meters to intercept the small boats. Because, in fact, we're not trained for that,' said Debut, of the union UNSA Police. 'You also need to have the proper equipment. You can't carry out an arrest wearing combat boots, a police uniform and the bullet-proof vest. So the whole process needs to be reconsidered.' Migrants say crossings are atrocious but worth the risk Around the campfire, men laughed off the risks of the crossings that French authorities say claimed nearly 80 lives last year. They had nothing left to lose and the channel was just one more hardship after tortuous journeys to France filled with difficulties and misery, they said. 'We will never give up,' Deniz said. According to U.K. government figures, more than 20,000 people made the crossing in the first six months of this year, up by about 50% from the same period in 2024, and potentially on course toward a new annual record. About 37,000 people were detected crossing in 2024, the second-highest annual figure after 46,000 in 2022. Qassim, a 26-year-old Palestinian, messaged AP after crossing last week with his wife and their daughters, aged 6 and 4. The boat labored through waves for eight hours, he said. 'Everyone was praying,' he wrote. 'We were patient and endured and saw death. The children were crying and screaming.' 'Now we feel comfortable, safe, and stable. We are starting a new page,' he wrote. 'We will do our best to protect our children and ourselves and to make up for the difficult years we have been exposed to.' ___ Associated Press writer Jill Lawless in London contributed to this report. ___ Follow AP's global migration coverage at Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
