FIFA chiefs will decide on Friday whether to back an expansion of the 2022 World Cup to 48 teams but a final decision will only be taken at a meeting in Paris in June, sources said Thursday.
The FIFA Council meeting in Miami on Friday will give its verdict on an internal feasibility study which supported increasing the number of teams at the 2022 tournament in Qatar from 32 to 48, However a final vote on increasing the number of teams at the football showpiece would only be taken at a full Congress meeting of football's global governing body in June.
And any declaration of support by FIFA's Council on Friday would acknowledge that expansion in 2022 can only take place if one or more countries on Qatar's borders are able to host games, according to a document seen by AFP.
FIFA's feasibility study into an expanded World Cup in 2022 said Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman and United Arab Emirates were potential options to host games in three years time.
But Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the 

Final decision on 48-team 2022 World Cup set for June: FIFA

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Germany's under-fire Catholic Church admitted Thursday it must urgently confront its child sex abuse scandal, but victims accused it of continued "stonewalling", especially on compensation.
As in Australia, Chile, France, Ireland and the United States, Germany's Catholic Church has had to admit to abuses by predator priests and clergy and their systematic cover-up over decades.
"We carry responsibility toward those affected around the world -- no-one among us can still negate the problem or treat it as a taboo," said Cardinal Reinhard Marx, head of the German Bishops' Conference.
To the thousands of German victims and to other critics, Marx said, "we see and hear you ... we have understood", speaking at the end of a four-day episcopal conference in the western city of Lingen.
The era of silence "is over", he stressed weeks after a Vatican conference also addressed the issue, and he admitted that it should have been dealt with "perhaps 20 years, 30 years ago".
But Cardinal Marx also ...

German Catholics accused of 'stonewalling' by child abuse victims

US President Donald Trump warned the European Union on Thursday of consequences that will be "severe economically" if Brussels fails to enter trade talks.
The comments came after the European Parliament on Thursday failed to back the launch of trade talks with Washington, dealing an unexpected blow to efforts to avert a trade war.
Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on auto imports, which would hit German carmakers especially hard.
Pursuing a trade deal was the central part of a truce agreed in July when Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker pledged no new tariffs following the US tariffs on steel and aluminum.
"The European Union treats us very, very unfairly," Trump told reporters at the White House.
"They're willing to talk to us. If they don't talk to us we'll do something that will be severe economically. We'll tariff a lot of their products coming in."
But he added, "It will probably work out. They're negotiating." Juncker is working with the European ...

Trump warns of 'severe' consequences if EU won't hold trade talks

An alleged racially-motivated attack by a group of white people who beat up a black South African TV presenter trying to help them after a road accident has sparked outrage on social media.
The incident occurred last week when Samora Mangesi, who presents a lifestyle show for the South African Broadcasting Corporation, said he and some friends pulled over to help after a car overturned on a road in west Johannesburg.
"On Friday night I was the victim of a racially motivated attack," the 26-year-old wrote on Twitter on Wednesday, sharing pictures of his injuries.
"They called my friends and I monkeys. When we engaged them on why we were being called such, they beat me up until I was unconscious." The tweet sparked fury among his followers, who shared the post more than 3,700 times.
"They kicked me on the ground after one of them had hit me on the back of the head," wrote Mangesi who sustained cuts, bruises and grazes on his face and body.
Race relations remain tense in South Africa 25 .

'Racial attack' on South Africa TV host sparks outrage online

The reputed boss of New York's Gambino crime family, Francesco "Frank" Cali, was shot dead outside his New York home, police said.
Cali, thought to have headed the family since 2015, suffered "multiple gunshot wounds to the torso" in front of his home on Staten Island on Wednesday evening, police said.
The New York Daily News reported Cali, also known as "Franky Boy," was shot six times then hit by a blue truck in which the suspects fled.  Police added he was taken to Staten Island University North hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
"There are no arrests and the investigation is ongoing," police said.  Cali had served 16 months in prison following a 2008 extortion conviction.
US media reported the 53-year-old's death marked the first murder of a New York mob boss in 34 years, since the death of Paul Castellano -- another Gambino family boss -- by order of John Gotti.
Following Castellano's murder, Gotti headed the Gambino family until his incarceration for conspiracy and murder ..

Reputed New York crime boss shot dead outside home

Hundreds of men, women and children trudged out of a remote eastern Syrian village Thursday where the Islamic State group has been making a suicidal last stand against advancing US-backed forces.
All that remains of a sprawling cross-border "caliphate" the jihadists declared in 2014 is a battered riverside camp in the village of Baghouz near the Iraqi border.
The Syrian Democratic Forces, and warplanes of a US-led coalition backing them, have rained fire on the enclave since Sunday, blitzing thousands of IS members into surrender.
Hundreds more followed on Thursday, slowly walking up the orange cliff overlooking the smouldering IS encampment in a bend of the Euphrates River, an AFP reporter there said.
Under the drizzle, men with thick beards struggled on crutches, while women stumbled under the weight of bags stuffed full, one with a toothbrush poking out of a back pocket.
Children followed, covered in dust and hair in disarray. When they saw the journalists, some started ...

Hundreds lumber out of last IS redoubt in east Syria

Acting Pentagon chief Patrick Shanahan denied Thursday reports that the United States has a "cost-plus-50 percent" formula for allies to pay for the US military presence on their soil.
Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that President Donald Trump is pushing the formula as a basis for Germany, Japan and other allies to compensate Washington for US troops based in their countries.
But Shanahan told the Senate Armed Services Committee that such reports were "erroneous." "We won't do cost-plus-50 percent," he said in a hearing.
He said US partners should pay their "fair share" when they can, but there was no such business-like formula.
"We're not going to run a business and we're not going to run a charity," Shanahan said.
"Payment comes in lots of different forms. At the end of the day, people need to carry their fair share," he said.
"Not everyone can contribute. It is not about cost-plus-50 percent." Shanahan did not say whether Trump, who built a multibillion-dollar fortune in the 

Pentagon denies US wants 'cost + 50%' from allies for bases

Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, who has twice stood for the FIFA presidency, on Thursday called on world football's governing body to take firmer action against Afghanistan's football chief over allegations of sexual assault on  members of the country's women's team.
FIFA this week extended the suspension of Afghan Football Federation (AFF) president Keramuddin Karim by 90 days at the recommendation of the investigating arm of its ethics commission.
"This further extension is an added delay and it is vital that the investigation into the allegations against the president is made an absolute priority," Prince Ali said.
"Serious sanctions must be taken against the AFF and all its presiding staff members, until the AFF can demonstrate that safeguarding policies and processes are in place," the Jordanian prince added in a statement.
"All AFF officials who are implicated in the current crisis should not be permitted to stand for the forthcoming election to the AFC Executive Committee or any ...

Prince Ali urges FIFA to act on Afghanistan abuse investigation

President Donald Trump expressed optimism again Thursday about reaching an agreement to resolve a trade war with China, saying talks are "moving along very well."
"We are doing very well with China talks," he told reporters.
"We are getting what we have to get." Despite Trump's upbeat assessment, the two sides continue to lock horns on the hugely complex dispute between the world's biggest economies.
Earlier this week, Trump said there was still no plan for him to hold a summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Trump said Wednesday he is "in no rush" for a deal but that there is "a very good chance" for one.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told a congressional committee earlier Thursday that he expects the deal to be finalized soon, but cautioned that the process is complex.
"We are working diligently but there are 150 pages documents that we are working on," Mnuchin said in response to a question.
The accord will include "very clear enforcement provisions and we want get the ...

Trump still optimistic on China trade talks

US President Donald Trump said Thursday that a new Brexit referendum -- touted as a solution by many in Britain who believe the first attempt led to today's political chaos -- would be "unfair."
"I don't think another vote would be possible because it would be very unfair to people who have won" in the initial referendum to quit the European Union, he said in the White House.
Trump also said he was "surprised to see how badly it has all gone" in the attempt to disentangle Britain from the EU.
"I think it could have been negotiated in a different manner, frankly," he said, calling the shambolic situation a "shame.

Trump says second Brexit referendum should be ruled out

Greta Thunberg, the Swedish school girl climate campaigner who has inspired worldwide protests, should be awarded this year's Nobel Peace prize, Norwegian lawmakers said Thursday.
"We have proposed Greta Thunberg because if we do nothing to halt climate change it will be the cause of wars, conflict and refugees," Norwegian Socialist MP Freddy Andre Ovstegard told AFP.
"Greta Thunberg has launched a mass movement which I see as a major contribution to peace," he added.
Six months ago no one knew who Thunberg was when, as a 15-year-old, she camped outside Sweden's parliament next to a hand-written sign: "SCHOOL STRIKE FOR CLIMATE".
Since then she has gone global, striking a chord with younger people disillusioned by the slow progress of the adult world in halting climate change.
On Friday, thousands of students are expected to demonstrate in more than 100 countries in what activists say could be a milestone moment in a grassroots campaign to push world leaders into doing more.
"We are ..

Norway MPs want Nobel for student climate campaigner Greta

Facebook appeared to be back in operation Thursday after a massive outage affecting its applications around the world, creating fresh woes for the social network leader under fire for its handling of sensitive user data.
The outage affected users for some 12 hours in most areas of the world, with the biggest impact in North America and Europe, according to the tracking website downdetector.com, which suggested that most Facebook users were back to normal.
Facebook, however, offered little information on the extent or cause of the outage, which is believed to be the worst ever for the internet giant that reaches an estimated 2.7 billion people with its core social network, Instagram and messaging applications.
Facebook acknowledged the outage on Wednesday while saying it did not appear to be the result of a denial-of-service attack. The hashtag #FacebookDown was a popular theme on Twitter.
In some cases, the apps could be accessed but would not load posts or handle messages.
A tweet ...

Massive outage adds to growing Facebook woes

An investigation into celebrated photographer Shahidul Alam was suspended by a Bangladesh court Thursday, after his arrest last year on controversial charges for criticising the government attracted global outrage.
Alam was arrested in a midnight raid in August and held under draconian internet laws which critics say have been wielded by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to stifle dissent and harass journalists.
The award-winning photographer was charged with making "false" and "provocative" statements in a televised interview, offences carrying a maximum 14 years in jail.
He was jailed for 107 days -- the photographer said he was badly beaten while in custody -- and denied bail four times before being freed in November.
His lawyers said Thursday the investigation into Alam, 63, was suspended by the High Court for three months -- a first step toward charges being dropped.
Bangladesh's attorney general said the government would appeal the decision.
"We will do that as soon as the court ...

Bangladesh court suspends case against outspoken photographer

Michael Ballack says Bayern Munich's exit from the Champions League -- meaning not a single Bundesliga club survived the last 16 -- mirrors deeper problems within German football.
"We (the German national team) went out of the World Cup early, were relegated in the League of Nations and the Champions League has ended for all German sides in the round of 16," the former Germany captain told Sky.
"It's a clue we're not doing everything right, we must not try to explain that away with excuses."
For the first time since 2006, there will be no German club in the quarter-finals and for the first time since 2011, Bayern have failed to advance past the Champions League's last 16.
"A perfect Dexit" commented broadcaster RTL.
The combination of Deutschland and exit sums up the national mood after Bayern -- the last German hope in the Champions League -- bowed out with a 3-1 defeat to Liverpool.
A hard truth for a proud footballing nation is that in three last-16 matches between Premier League ..

'Dexit' worries in German football as Bayern complete Europe exit

Rapacious middlemen and coaches with forged or few qualifications are trying their luck in China's fast-growing grassroots football, imperilling its ambitions to become a major force in the sport, insiders warn.
At the behest of football-fan President Xi Jinping, for whom it is a soft-power tool, the world's second-biggest economy is throwing resources at the game domestically.
Central to that is getting more youngsters to play at schools, clubs and academies. The education ministry plans to have 50,000 "schools characterised by soccer" by 2025.
But five people involved in youth football in the country told AFP they had encountered coaches with counterfeit certificates.
Just being from overseas was sometimes enough to get work, many involved in the scene said, as so-called coaches -- Chinese and foreign -- rush for a share of the money swilling around football in China.
Former international forward Xie Hui, now an assistant coach at Chinese Super League (CSL) champions Shanghai SIPG, .

'Fake' coaches, fixers undermine China's football ambitions

Lee Chong Wei is likely to miss next month's Malaysia Open and delay his comeback from nose cancer for a second time, an official said Thursday, as the badminton great struggles to make a full recovery.
Norza Zakaria, president of the Badminton Association of Malaysia, warned fans to "lowe their expectations" for the 36-year-old former world number one.
The three-time Olympic silver medallist has been on the sidelines since July last year, when he was diagnosed with early-stage nose cancer.
He underwent a gruelling programme of specialist treatment in Taiwan but opted not to retire and resumed training in January.
Lee originally planned to play the All England Open in March but then delayed his return to the Malaysia Open, where he is the defending champion, in early April.
But Zakaria said Lee looked likely to miss his home tournament and was now targeting the Sudirman Cup mixed-team event in China in May.
"The probability of him not playing in the Malaysia Open is very high," he ...

Badminton's Lee likely to delay cancer comeback again

A former British soldier was charged with murder on Thursday over the 1972 Bloody Sunday killings, one of the darkest chapters in the Northern Ireland conflict.
The ex-paratrooper, identified only as Soldier F, was charged with murdering two people and the attempted murder of four others in what was an early turning point in the history of the Troubles, three decades of deadly sectarian unrest.
British troops opened fire on a civil rights demonstration in Derry, Northern Ireland's second city, killing 13 people on January 30, 1972. A 14th victim later died of his wounds.
Soldier F was one of 17 British veterans who had faced investigation, plus two alleged Irish Republican Army (IRA) paramilitaries, but he was the only one charged.
Relatives of the victims looked visibly upset after learning that there would only be a prosecution over two of the deaths.
"The Bloody Sunday families are not finished yet," said John Kelly, whose 17-year-old brother Michael was killed.
He raised the ...

British ex-soldier charged with Northern Ireland Bloody Sunday killings

A "terrorist attack" ruptured storage tanks at a heavy oil processing plant in eastern Venezuela, Oil Minister Manuel Quevedo said Thursday, blaming the United States and opposition chief Juan Guaido.
No casualties were reported in the incident that occurred late Wednesday at the Petro San Felix facility located on the outskirts of the Venezuelan city of Barcelona in which three tanks caught fire.
Quevedo blamed Guaido, the head of Venezuela's opposition-ruled legislature and self-proclaimed interim president backed by 50 countries, accusing him of collusion with the United States.
"There was a terrorist act that we denounce at an international level," Quevedo told state television network VTV.
He singled out a US senator, Marco Rubio, whom Caracas considers to be a leading politician in the US policies against Maduro's government.
On Twitter, the minister said Rubio "ordered more violence in Venezuela." Guaido and the opposition, he said, were "intensifying terrorist incursions" ...

Venezuela accuses US of 'terrorist attack' on oil facility

Germany has agreed to speed up the return of human remains and artwork from former African colonies where the country carried out brutal massacres and pillaged indigenous heritage.
The German culture and foreign ministries as well as regional and local cultural authorities signed a pledge late Wednesday committing museums and scientific institutions to completing an inventory on their "ethnology, natural history, art and cultural history holdings" from the colonial era.
The aim is to determine which "were acquired in a way that legally or ethnically would no longer be acceptable today" and work toward their restitution.
"The priority in this work are the human remains dating from the colonial period" in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the signatories said.
The commitment comes after a study commissioned by French President Emmanuel Macron in November 2018 recommended returning African treasures held by French museums -- a radical policy shift seen as putting pressure on other .

Germany pledges to speed return of colonial-era loot

Beto O'Rourke, a skateboarding former punk rocker feted as one of the Democratic Party's rising stars, announced Thursday he is running for president -- joining a crowded field of candidates vying to challenge Donald Trump in 2020.
"The only way for us to live up to the promise of America is to give it our all and to give it for all of us," O'Rourke, 46, said in a video, filmed alongside his wife in their El Paso, Texas home.
O'Rourke has been discussed as a potential frontrunner since dazzling the grassroots during an unexpectedly tight race last year to unseat Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz, his charismatic stump performances and message of inclusion turning heads in Washington.
On Thursday morning, he was already taking questions from voters in Keokuk, Iowa -- following in the footsteps of other Democrats keen to raise their profiles in the state that will vote before any other in the 2020 primary process.
He has vowed to run a positive campaign that would seek to "bring out the 

Democratic rising star Beto O'Rourke announces White House run

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has apologised to European conservative parties for calling them "useful idiots" over an anti-EU billboard campaign that could see his party ejected from the European Parliament's dominant centre-right EPP bloc.
"(Orban) has sent a letter of apology to the European People's Party (EPP)," a government spokesperson told AFP Thursday.
In a newspaper interview earlier this month, Orban called critics within the EPP "useful idiots" and accused them of helping the group's leftwing and liberal opponents ahead of European Parliament elections in May.
"I would hereby like to express my apologies, if you found my quote personally offensive," Orban said in his letter to the Belgian Christian Democratic & Flemish (CD&V) party which was published by the De Standaard newspaper.
The letters were sent Wednesday to leaders of 13 member parties of the EPP who have proposed expelling Orban's ruling Fidesz party from the bloc, Orban's press chief Bertalan ...

AFP

AFP

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