Foreign
Former US Senator Bob Menendez sentenced to 11 years in prison for bribery
A judge sentenced a powerful former US senator, Bob Menendez to 11 years in prison Wednesday, after he was convicted of corruption following the discovery of gold bars and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash at his home.
Bob Menendez, a 71-year-old Democrat from New Jersey, was convicted of federal charges of extortion, obstruction of justice and accepting bribes to perform favors for businessmen with connections to Egypt and Qatar. He said he would appeal.
“Somewhere along the way… you lost your way,” District Judge Sidney Stein said in announcing the sentence. “Working for the public good became working for your good.”
Menendez, who had served as chairman of the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee, had vowed to appeal the verdict handed down in July 2024, and on Wednesday he asked for leniency from the judge ahead of his sentencing.
“I am going to ask you for mercy — not for me, but for Anthony,” a crying Menendez said, referring to his son who has autism.
Ahead of the sentencing, the court received letters from acquaintances of Menendez testifying to his character.
“Bob inspired many people, including me, with hope that it is possible to change the world,” said one, from author Donald Scarinci.
Menendez’s attorney Adam Fee said that “despite his decades of service, he is now known more widely as ‘gold bar Bob.’”
The counts on which Menendez was convicted after less than three days of jury deliberations included conspiracy to commit bribery and acting as a foreign agent while a public official.
– ‘Egregious abuse’ –
Menendez said outside court following his conviction last year: “I have never been anything but a patriot of my country and for my country. I have never, ever been a foreign agent.”
On Wednesday he vowed to appeal and called his prosecution a “witch hunt.”
“President (Donald) Trump is right. This process is political and it’s corrupted to the core. I hope President Trump cleans up the cesspool and restores integrity to the system,” he said.
He was not immediately taken into custody following the hearing.
In a raid on Menendez’s New Jersey home, FBI agents were said to have found nearly $500,000 in cash hidden around the house, as well as gold bars worth around $150,000 and a luxury Mercedes-Benz convertible.
His wife Nadine Menendez, to whom defense lawyers sought to shift the blame, was charged but faces trial separately as she receives treatment for breast cancer.
Menendez was convicted alongside two of the businessmen he helped — Egyptian-American Wael Hana and Fred Daibes, a real estate developer. They were both sentenced to jail terms Wednesday.
A third businessman, insurance broker Jose Uribe, pleaded guilty to bribery charges in March and assisted investigators.
Menendez is said to have interfered in the nomination of New Jersey’s prosecutor in a bid to ensure that proceedings were dropped against Daibes and Uribe.
He is also accused of accepting bribes to use his power and influence to enrich his co-conspirators and benefit the government of Egypt, including by helping Hana protect his monopoly on US exports of halal food products to the country.
Prosecutors had sought a jail term of 15 years while Menendez’s defense sought no more than eight years behind bars.
Prosecutor Danielle Sassoon said in a statement “the sentences imposed today result from an egregious abuse of power at the highest levels.”
A Cessna 550 Citation Bravo carrying Brazilian singer Rey Vaqueiro and seven other people has overrun the runway while landing at Parelhas Airport in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.
The aircraft, with registration PP-WMO, was involved in the incident during the early hours of Sunday, September 13, according to aviation news platform FL360aero, which reported the incident in a post on X.
The aircraft reportedly ran beyond the runway while landing at the airport and subsequently caught fire, with both engines said to have been engulfed in flames.
Firefighters battled the blaze for approximately five hours before it was brought under control.
All eight people on board, comprising six passengers and two crew members, reportedly evacuated the aircraft.
Some of the occupants were said to have sustained minor injuries, while no serious injuries were reported.
The aircraft was destroyed by the fire.
The circumstances surrounding the incident remain under investigation by Brazil’s Centre for Investigation and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents (CENIPA).
The incident involved a Cessna 550 Citation Bravo, a business jet commonly used for private and charter flights.
More flights are expected to be delayed in the United Kingdom (UK) after a technical problem with the country’s air traffic control system led to more than 2,000 cancellations.
A total of 291 flights were cancelled on Wednesday after 1,750 were cancelled on Tuesday, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. Tens of thousands of passengers have been affected by the disruption.
National Air Traffic Services (NATS), the UK’s air traffic control provider, blamed the disruption on a technical glitch. Its chief executive, Martin Rolfe, apologised and said a full investigation would be carried out.
He admitted that resolving the problem had taken “longer than hoped”.
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband described the outage as “unacceptable”, while Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander summoned Rolfe to explain what happened.
The disruption affected several major UK airports, including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham. Airports in Ireland also reported disruption.
At Heathrow, departures were initially paused on Tuesday before operations resumed and then faced further disruption later in the day.
Heathrow said its operations were recovering on Wednesday but warned passengers of further delays because aircraft and crew needed to be repositioned.
Gatwick also said flights had resumed but warned that it would take time for operations to return fully to normal.
Passengers have been advised to check directly with their airlines before travelling to airports. Heathrow said passengers should only travel if they have a confirmed flight.
The technical fault affected NATS’ flight data processing system. Rolfe said it was not the same system that failed during a major disruption in 2023.
However, the latest incident is the third technical problem experienced by NATS in three years. A computer shutdown in 2023 caused widespread disruption affecting around 700,000 passengers, while another outage in 2025 resulted in about 150 cancellations.
Airlines including Ryanair and Wizz Air have called for changes to NATS. Wizz Air UK managing director Yvonne Moynihan said the company needed to consider whether NATS was “fit for purpose”.
Despite the disruption, Rolfe defended the UK’s air traffic control system, saying it remained one of the best in the world.
However, former NATS air traffic control manager Doug Maclean said repeated failures were undermining the system’s reputation.
Even though the technical issue has been resolved, passengers are expected to face further disruption because of the backlog of flights, aircraft and crew.
NATS said it was working to restore normal operations as quickly as possible.
(BBC News)
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will not be working royals allowed to carry out official engagements now they have returned to the UK, a letter sent on behalf of King Charles spells out.
The letter is intended to clarify the status of Prince Harry and Meghan, who moved back from California with children Archie and Lilibet last month.
They will still not be able to use titles of “His and Her Royal Highness”, and remain “private citizens”, says the letter sent on behalf of the King by the Lord Chamberlain, a top Palace official.
It comes as Prince Harry appears to have been pictured for the first time since his return, with a photo on social media showing him at a London TV and podcast studio.
The King’s letter has been sent to Prince Harry’s team, government departments, military officials and Lord Lieutenants, according to Palace sources.
Lord Lieutenants, who are the monarch’s local representatives, and government staff are often involved in royal visits and engagements.
This letter makes clear that any engagements carried out by the Sussexes will be in a private capacity and they will not be representing the Royal Family.
It seems to be something of a shot across the bows, making clear that any Prince Harry and Meghan visits should not be treated as royal engagements.
This comes ahead of what are likely to be public appearances by the Sussexes this autumn, as they settle in the UK and support their charities.
The couple have kept a low profile, but the first picture of Prince Harry since coming back to the UK appears to have been posted on the social media account of Tower Bridge Studios in London.
The message from the King emphasises that the position agreed in 2020 when the Sussexes left the UK – the so-called Sandringham Agreement – is still in place.
This ruled out any “half-in and half-out” status, so Harry and Meghan could not pursue their own commercial interests while continuing to be working royals.
“It is well known that in January 2020 the Duke and Duchess stepped down from undertaking representative duties on behalf of the Sovereign, and are no longer working members of the Royal Family,” the letter says.
The letter sent on behalf of the King makes it clear that this remains the case.
“The charitable work of the Duke and Duchess is a personal matter for them both and undertaken in their private capacity,” it adds.
The King’s message says that any questions from organisations about the reception to be given to the Sussexes, “particularly where recourse to public funds may be required, should be directed to Buckingham Palace”.
Prince Harry and Meghan faced an acrimonious departure from the UK in 2020, which they chronicled in their Netflix documentary.
They established their financial independence in California, including Prince Harry writing a best-selling memoir Spare and Meghan creating an online food range, As Ever.
This summer the couple made a surprise return to the UK, where their children will be going to school.
It’s expected that Prince Harry will be supporting his charities, including the Invictus Games, which are due to be held in Birmingham next year.
There have been reports that Meghan is considering a return to acting.
Disputes about Prince Harry and Meghan’s security in the UK remain unresolved and the letter spells out: “Any operational security issues should continue to be directed to the relevant police authorities.”
Prince Harry has complained about a lack of adequate police protection in the UK, but the Palace says that has to be addressed by the Royal and VIP Executive Committee – known as Ravec – which decides security for royals and public figures.
Palace sources have suggested it was better to make the Lord Chamberlain’s letter public, in a spirit of transparency, rather than risk it emerging in leaks.
Prince Harry and Meghan’s representatives have been contacted for a response.
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