Myanmar quake death toll at 2,065, state media says

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.
 

PARIS: Convicted of embezzling public funds and banned from running for office, far-right politician Marine Le Pen stood unshaken before a sea of French flags in Paris on Sunday. “For 30 years I have fought against injustice,” she told the crowd. “And I will continue to fight.”
Thousands of supporters gathered at Place Vauban, near the golden dome of Les Invalides and the tomb of Napoleon, for what was billed as a protest — but observers said it had all the markings of a campaign rally.
The National Rally, Le Pen’s party, organized the event in response to what it calls a politically motivated verdict. But with chants of “Marine Présidente!” and “They won’t steal 2027 from us,” the message was clear: this was more than a protest. It was a show of populist defiance aimed squarely at France’s institutions.
Bardella sharpens the attack
At the heart of that charge stood Jordan Bardella, Le Pen’s 29-year-old protégé and president of the National Rally. His speech was fiery, accusing France’s judges of trying to silence the opposition.
“March 29 was a dark day for France,” he said, referencing the date of Le Pen’s conviction. “The people must be free to choose their leaders — without interference from political judges.”
Though he claimed the party would respect democracy, Bardella denounced magistrates’ unions and warned of “a system determined to crush dissent.” Supporters carried signs reading “Justice taking orders” and “Stop the judicial dictatorship.” Others wore “Je suis Marine” (“I am Marine“) shirts or compared Le Pen to US President Donald Trump, who was convicted of civil fraud: “Trump can run — why not Marine?”
“The system’s not broken — it’s rigged,” said Alice Triquet, a 26-year-old bartender. “If they can do this to her, what stops them from coming after anyone who doesn’t think like them?”
One woman raised a handmade scale of justice, its arms bent and broken — a symbol of what Le Pen’s supporters see as a justice system turned against the people.
A nation divided over justice and power
Le Pen was found guilty of using European Parliament funds to pay party staff in France — a scheme the court described as “a democratic bypass.” She was sentenced to four years in prison, including two under house arrest and two suspended, and banned from public office for five years, effective immediately. Her appeal is expected next year.
The reaction has been sharply divided. While National Rally supporters denounce the ruling as politically motivated, many outside the party see it as legitimate accountability. “I challenge the notion that there is a tsunami of support for Le Pen on this issue,” said John Goodman, Ph.D., director of Syracuse University’s flagship program in France.
He also criticized the unusually rapid pace of Le Pen’s appeal. “Her appeal has been fast-tracked so it can be heard in the summer of 2026, well before the 2027 presidential election, and significantly faster than a typical criminal case,” Goodman said.
Warnings of a ‘Trumpist turn’
On the other side of the Seine, hundreds gathered for a counter-rally led by left-wing parties, warning that France’s far right is embracing US-style authoritarianism.
“This is bigger than Marine Le Pen,” said Green Party leader Marine Tondelier. “It’s about defending the rule of law from people who think justice is optional.”
Placards read “No Trumpism in France” and “Anti-fascist response.” Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal addressed supporters at a meeting of the center-right Renaissance party in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, calling the moment “a test of the Republic.” Former PM Edouard Philippe stood by his side.
Though police were out in force, only minor clashes were reported.
The real message: trust the people, not the courts
Beyond the legal battle, Sunday’s gathering of the National Rally revealed a deeper strategy. Party leaders have spent the week accusing judges of plotting a “judicial coup.” They’ve called the sentence a political “execution.” The goal is not just to overturn the ruling — it’s to convince voters the legal system itself can’t be trusted.
It’s a page from the Trump playbook: paint the courts as biased, the system as broken, and frame any legal setback as an attack on democracy. The ballot box becomes the only authority that matters.
“The judges wear robes, but they’re just politicians in disguise,” said Claude Morel, 68, a pensioner from the southern city of Marseille. “Let the people decide.”
What comes next
Le Pen may be barred from running — for now — but her political machine is far from finished. Bardella, long seen as her polished understudy, is stepping into the spotlight with growing confidence and sharpened rhetoric.
“We will be here tomorrow,” he told the crowd. “And we will be stronger.”
Sunday’s rally was more than a show of strength. It was a test: can the far right convince enough French voters that justice is no longer neutral, and that only they can return power to the people?
How that question is answered may shape not only the 2027 presidential race — but the future of French democracy.