United States

• Friday, March 15th 2019 - 09:27 UTC

  Boeing's 737 MAX 8 and 9 grounded “for weeks”; France analyzes black boxes

  

  Boeing’s 737 Max 8 and 9 planes will be grounded for weeks if not longer until a software upgrade can be tested and installed, US lawmakers said on Thursday as officials in France prepare to begin analyzing the black boxes from a jet that crashed in Ethiopia.

• Friday, March 15th 2019 - 09:21 UTC

  US considering banning Visa and Mastercard transactions in Venezuela

  

  The United States is considering imposing financial sanctions that could prohibit Visa, Mastercard and other financial institutions from processing transactions in Venezuela, a senior Trump administration official said on Thursday. The move, which has not been finalized, would represent another step in tightening the financial noose on the government of President Nicolas Maduro and his supporters.

• Friday, March 15th 2019 - 09:04 UTC

  China approves foreign investment law hopefully to improve relations with US

  

  China's rubber-stamp parliament approved a foreign investment law on Friday that was fast-tracked and may serve as an olive branch in trade talks with the United States. The legislation aims to address long-running grievances from foreign businesses, but the US and European chambers of commerce have voiced concerns that they were not given enough time to give their input.

• Friday, March 15th 2019 - 08:57 UTC

  Connecticut court rules families can sue Remington gun maker for killings of school children

  

  A Connecticut court has ruled that families of schoolchildren killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook mass shooting can sue American gun-maker Remington. In a 5-4 vote, the US state's Supreme Court said the lawsuit could proceed on the basis of state consumer protection laws.

• Thursday, March 14th 2019 - 07:59 UTC

  Brazil to discuss meat, sugar and ethanol trade with the United States

  

  Brazilian Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina Dias said that she will discuss U.S.-Brazil trade in meat, sugar and ethanol in talks next week between officials of the two countries. Dias, who will travel with President Jair Bolsonaro to the United States, said one of her priorities is to reopen the U.S. market for Brazil’s fresh beef exports, which were suspended almost two years ago over safety concerns.

• Wednesday, March 13th 2019 - 19:02 UTC

  Trump suspends Boeing 737 MAX 8 and 9 flights in the US

  

  The president of the United States, Donald Trump, ordered on Wednesday that the Boeing 737 MAX 8 and 9 planes stop operating in the country for safety reasons of “maximum importance”.

• Wednesday, March 13th 2019 - 09:15 UTC

  The EU, UK and India ban the Boeing 737 Max from their airspaces

  

  The European Union and India have banned the Boeing 737 Max from flying over their airspace to ensure passenger safety. They join a long list of countries in suspending the plane, including the UK. It comes after an Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed on Sunday, killing 157 people on board. It was the second fatal accident involving the 737 Max 8 model in less than five months.

• Wednesday, March 13th 2019 - 08:48 UTC

  Venezuela orders US diplomats to leave within 72 hours; blames Trump for the “cyber sabotage”

  

  Venezuela ordered American diplomats to leave the country within 72 hours on Tuesday after President Nicolas Maduro accused US counterpart Donald Trump of cyber “sabotage” that plunged the OPEC nation into its worst blackout on record.

• Tuesday, March 12th 2019 - 11:33 UTC

  FAA says Boeing 737MAX8 model is airworthy but US Transport Secretary calls for “appropriate action”

  

  The US Federal Aviation Administration has told airlines it believes Boeing's 737 Max 8 model to be airworthy, after two fatal crashes inside six months. An Ethiopian Airlines plane en route from Addis Ababa to Nairobi crashed six minutes after take-off on Sunday, killing all 157 people on board. The incident followed Lion Air 737 Max 8 crash in October that killed 189.

• Tuesday, March 12th 2019 - 09:50 UTC

  US and Brazil reach space accord to be signed next week when Bolsonaro visits Washington

  

  The United States and Brazil have negotiated an accord to safeguard U.S. space technology the South American nation hopes will be used in commercial rockets lifting off from its launch site near the equator, the Brazilian government said on Monday.