Boeing will cut 737 Max production as it works to get plane back in the air - CNN

"We have decided to temporarily move from a production rate of 52 airplanes per month to 42 airplanes per month starting in mid-April," CEO Dennis Muilenburg said in a statement Friday.

Muilenburg was talking about the company's entire 737 production system, which includes more than just the Max line of jets. But most are Max planes.

The Max came under scrutiny following two crashes in the span of about five months involving Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines. A total of 346 people died in the two accidents.

All of Boeing's 737 Max planes were grounded after the crash in Ethiopia last month.

In a new statement Friday, Muilenburg also said he has asked the company's board to establish a committee that will review the policies and processes Boeing uses to design and develop its airplanes.

That committee will look at how effective the company is able to assure the "highest level of safety" for the Max planes, as well as Boeing's other planes.

The latest decision comes the day after a preliminary report on the Ethiopian Airlines tragedy showed that the pilots of that plane performed all of the aircraft manufacturer's procedures, but were unable to control the jet before it crashed.

On Thursday, Boeing recognized the similarities between the two crashes, and acknowledged the role of its anti-stall system. The Ethiopian report does not specifically name that system, but its findings seem to indicate that the system pushed the plane into a dive fueled by erroneous angle of attack sensor readings.

Boeing is working to develop a software fix that will get the 371 grounded 737 Max jets back in the air.

Muilenburg also said Thursday that the company was "sorry for the lives lost" in the 737 Max crashes.

"The history of our industry shows most accidents are caused by a chain of events," he wrote in his apology. "This again is the case here, and we know we can break one of those chain links in these two accidents."

Boeing's (BA) stock dipped nearly 2% in after-hours trading Friday.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/05/business/boeing-737-max-production-cut/index.html

2019-04-05 21:12:00Z
52780260498727

Brexit: Government offers 'no change' to deal, says Labour - BBC News

The government has not proposed any changes to the PM's Brexit deal during cross-party talks, says shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer.

Meetings have been taking place between Tory and Labour politicians to find a proposal to put to the Commons before an emergency EU summit next week.

But Sir Keir said the government was not "countenancing any change" on the wording of the existing plan.

A Downing Street spokesman said: "We have made serious proposals."

The government was "prepared to pursue changes to the political declaration", a plan for the future relationship with the EU, to "deliver a deal that is acceptable to both sides", the spokesman said.

Sir Keir said the government's approach was "disappointing", and it would not consider any changes the "actual wording" of the political declaration. "Compromise requires change," he said.

"We want the talks to continue and we've written in those terms to the government, but we do need change if we're going to compromise."

The UK is currently due to leave the EU on 12 April and, as yet, no withdrawal deal has been approved by MPs.

Theresa May has written to European Council President Donald Tusk to request an extension to 30 June.

But she says if the Commons agrees a deal in time, the UK should be able to leave before European parliamentary elections on 23 May.

Prisons minister Rory Stewart told BBC Radio 4's PM programme that there were "tensions" but there was "quite a lot of life" left in the talks with Labour.

"In truth the positions of the two parties are very, very close and where there's goodwill it should be possible to get this done and get it done relatively quickly," he said.

He insisted that "of course we are prepared to compromise" on the political declaration.

BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg said: "The sense is that the government has only offered clarifications on what might be possible from the existing documents, rather than adjusting any of their actual proposals in the two documents."

She added that both sides agree the talks are not yet over, but there are no firm commitments for when further discussions might take place.

In case no agreement has been reached by 23 May, the prime minister has said the UK would prepare to field candidates in European parliamentary elections.

BBC Europe editor Katya Adler has been told by a senior EU source that European Council President Donald Tusk will propose a 12-month "flexible" extension to Brexit, with the option of cutting it short if the UK Parliament ratifies a deal.

But French President Emmanuel Macron's office said on Friday that it was "premature" to consider another delay.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-47833841

2019-04-05 16:50:10Z
52780260471939

A US citizen wants to overthrow a US-backed government in Libya. Here's why - CNN

At the heart of this is Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, now leading the current move by forces from the east of the country towards the capital Tripoli. Haftar is, to be polite, the ultimate pragmatist. He supported Moammar Gadhafi in his 1969 coup, then found himself in Langley, Virginia in the 90s where he gained US citizenship, before returning to overthrow Gadhafi in the 2011 conflict. Since then, he has been one of many strongmen claiming pre-eminence in the nation's descent into disarray, based in the city of Benghazi and exerting most of his control in eastern Libya.

It is unclear how serious Haftar is about moving into Tripoli, the heavily populated capital where warring militia occasionally spar for control, preventing the UN-recognized and Western-backed government of Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj from fully grasping the reins of power.

A Western diplomat in the city, who did not want to be named in order to discuss a sensitive topic, said Haftar was likely hovering somewhere between posturing and making a definitive move on the capital. The outcome could be extremely bloody or, given the quixotic nature of Libya's power struggles and backroom dealing, over quite fast. It is also taking place, somewhat daringly, just as the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres is in the country. Guterres was flying on Friday between Tripoli and Benghazi to mediate.

On Friday morning Haftar's spokesman Ahmed al-Mesmari said from Benghazi that his forces continue to advance. "The people of Tripoli, hopefully, will be seeing the victories of the armed forces in accomplishing the main mission in the war against terrorism, which is the purging of the capital," he told Agence France-Presse. "Therefore, the law enforcement in the capital will have an effect on the entire country."

"There will be other hubs that will be opened within the next hours for the advancement towards Tripoli from multiple sides and places. Large forces have now been set out: approximately two teams, light infantry and mechanized infantry," Mesmari said.

By now Libyans must crave some stability, the bickering in Tripoli having reached a point of absurdity. When I was last there in 2016, Sarraj's government was proclaiming its dominance. A spokesman in a completely empty, brand-new office told me to ignore the Libya Dawn movement, which ran most of the capital, and only accept visas from him. The power kept going off, and you could tell the location of a bank by the long lines of people outside. Things have only got worse.

Haftar has been growing in strength in recent years. The sources of his power are easy to guess at, but hard to prove. Neighboring Egypt has been sympathetic. Moscow too, although on Friday the Kremlin's spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, noting the advance, told reporters: "The most important thing is that actions do not lead to renewed bloodshed... Moscow is not taking part in this is any way."

Yet Moscow has courted Haftar, lavishing him with a tour of the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier in 2017. Ukrainian intelligence officials have shown me flight paths of Russian aircraft that they say have been dropping off Russian mercenaries in Benghazi and Tobruk. Evidence, they say, of Russia using its favorite new form of proxy contractor to bolster the Libyan strongman of the east.

Could this be the reason for the new spring in Haftar's military step? Is it a show of strength to burnish his position with Guterres as he discusses his political ambitions? It is unclear. But Libya has not seen a move as potentially decisive as this for years, and few have felt so unsettled about what it means.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/05/africa/libya-khalifa-haftar-tripoli-analysis-intl/index.html

2019-04-05 14:14:00Z
52780260096394

May Asks for a Short Brexit Delay. E.U. Leaders Send Conflicting Signals. - The New York Times

LONDON — Prime Minister Theresa May asked the European Union on Friday to delay Britain’s departure from the bloc for a second time, until June 30, and conceded that the country was preparing to take part in elections for the European Parliament in May.

Mrs. May made a formal request in a letter to Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, for a postponement of the departure, now scheduled for April 12, but analysts said her proposed date was likely to be rejected in Brussels — and some countries said they had yet to see a sufficient reason to support an extension of any sort.

What Is Brexit? A Simple Guide to Why It Matters and What Happens Next

The basics of Brexit, the troubled plan for Britain to quit the European Union.

Mr. Tusk was pushing European leaders to offer Mrs. May a one-year extension for Brexit, as the process is known, while leaving the door open to an earlier withdrawal if Britain ratifies a deal, according to a senior European Union official familiar with his thinking. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, in keeping with standard practice.

That plan, described as a “flextension,” would eliminate the need for European leaders to repeatedly consider British requests for a delay. And in allowing Britain to leave sooner if an agreement is reached, Mr. Tusk appears to be trying to make it clear that Brussels is not trying to trap Britain in the bloc.

Mr. Tusk’s plan would still need the backing of the leaders of European Union member states, but there were some signs of resistance from France, which typically takes the hardest line in these matters, Austria and the Netherlands.

Image

Pro-Brexit protesters outside the Parliament in London.CreditHenry Nicholls/Reuters

“The French president has made very clear that if we want to grant an extension: What for?” the French finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, said before a meeting of European finance ministers in Bucharest, Romania, on Friday. He added, “It is up to the British government to give an answer to that key question.”

The Netherlands have generally been more sympathetic to Britain, but Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, expressed exasperation with the British negotiating approach. “I keep being amazed at how the fifth economy of the world handles its interests,” he said.

In asking for an extension until June 30 — the same date she previously asked for, but which the European Union rejected — Mrs. May was bowing to pressure from within her Conservative Party not to be seen as forcing the country into a longer delay.

Image

Donald Tusk, center-left, president of the European Council, and Jean-Claude Juncker, center-right, president of the European Commission, in Brussels last month.CreditJohn Thys/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

But she was also laying the ground for a more protracted extension by agreeing that Britain was prepared to participate in European elections in May. That was seen in Brussels as a condition for another Brexit postponement.

Those moves have not gone over well with hard-line Brexit supporters. That rancor was reflected in a Twitter post on Wednesday by the lawmaker Jacob Rees-Mogg, who recommended that, if “stuck” in the European Parliament over the next year that Britain be “as difficult as possible.”

Mrs. May has sought over the past week to break months of deadlock by meeting with the leader of the opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, to try to reach an agreement on withdrawal. But she said in her letter to Mr. Tusk that if those talks did not produce a compromise, she would hold a series of votes in Parliament on alternative paths in the hopes that lawmakers would eventually settle on one.

Image

In a Twitter post, Jacob Rees-Mogg, center, recommended that, if “stuck” in the European Parliament over the next year, Britain should be “as difficult as possible.”CreditFacundo Arrizabalaga/EPA, via Shutterstock

“This impasse cannot be allowed to continue,” Mrs. May wrote. “In the U.K. it is creating uncertainty and doing damage to faith in politics, while the European Union has a legitimate desire to move on to decisions about its own future.”

The prime minister’s Brexit deal has already been rejected three times by British lawmakers, and there is likely to be a lively debate in Brussels on whether — or more particularly, on what terms — to grant a second extension. Britain was originally scheduled to leave the bloc on March 29, but European leaders granted a short extension to give Parliament more time to approve the withdrawal deal.

Mrs. May and Mr. Corbyn met on Wednesday, and teams from both sides continued the discussions on Thursday. The session ended with neither breakthroughs nor breakdowns.

The Labour Party received a glimmer of good news in a by-election in South Wales, retaining a traditional Labour seat in an area that had backed Brexit in the 2016 referendum. But amid low turnout, the margin was relatively slim, with the winner, Ruth Jones, receiving 39.5 percent of the vote, compared with 31 percent for the Conservatives and 9 percent for the rejuvenated far-right U.K. Independence Party.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/05/world/europe/brexit-extension-theresa-may.html

2019-04-05 14:09:23Z
52780260471939

Trump: 'I don't see Biden as a threat' | TheHill - The Hill

ADVERTISEMENT

Biden, who is expected to announce a presidential campaign in the coming weeks, has been at the center of controversy in recent days after multiple women said he touched them inappropriately.

Trump shared a doctored video on Thursday that mocked Biden over the allegations. The 14-second clip showed an image of the former vice president rubbing Biden's shoulders as he addressed the allegations of inappropriate behavior.

The president defended the video on Friday, saying he believes people "got a kick" out of it.

Trump, who himself has been accused of sexual misconduct by more than a dozen women, downplayed a question about whether he's the right person to speak out about Biden, telling reporters he believes he's a "very good messenger."

"He’s going through a situation and let’s see what happens," Trump said of Biden. "But people got a kick. We’ve got to sort of smile a little bit."

Several women have gone public in recent days to describe accounts of past interactions with Biden in which they said he touched them inappropriately or behaved in ways that made them uncomfortable.

Biden addressed the women's stories in a video message posted Wednesday. He did not directly apologize to his accusers, but acknowledged that times have changed and that he would adjust his behavior.

“Social norms have begun to change, they’ve shifted, and the boundaries of protecting personal space have been reset, and I get it,” he said. “I hear what they’re saying. I understand it. I’ll be much more mindful. That’s my responsibility, and I’ll meet it.”

Trump has seized on the allegations, at times aggressively. 

In addition to the parody video, the president took multiple shots at Biden during a House GOP fundraising dinner this week. 

Trump's attacks on Biden have drawn criticism given his own history with allegations of misconduct.

More than a dozen women accused Trump during the 2016 campaign of sexual misconduct. The president has denied the allegations.

Trump was widely criticized during the campaign after audio from a 2005 "Access Hollywood" appearance emerged in which he bragged about groping and kissing women without their consent. He later described his comments as "locker room talk."

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/437539-trump-i-dont-see-biden-as-a-threat

2019-04-05 14:12:02Z
52780261164983

British police stationed outside Ecuador Embassy following WikiLeaks tweets | TheHill - The Hill

British police are prepared to arrest WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange if he is ousted from his sanctuary at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.

Officers with London's metropolitan police department were stationed outside the embassy Friday morning following messages from WikiLeaks claiming that Assange would be moved out of the facility within hours or days, The Associated Press reported.

ADVERTISEMENT

Police told reporters that Assange faces a warrant for his arrest in the United Kingdom, which he has been avoiding for years by living in the Ecuadorian diplomatic compound, and officers said that they are “obliged to execute that warrant should he leave the Embassy," according to the AP.

The news comes hours after a Twitter account representing WikiLeaks cited a high-level source in the Ecuadorian government who said that Ecuadorian President Lenín Moreno, himself at the center of a corruption scandal triggered by leaked documents, was seeking to oust Assange from the embassy.

"BREAKING: A high level source within the Ecuadorian state has told @WikiLeaks that Julian Assange will be expelled within 'hours to days' using the #INAPapers offshore scandal as a pretext--and that it already has an agreement with the UK for his arrest," WikiLeaks tweeted from its verified account.

BREAKING: A high level source within the Ecuadorian state has told @WikiLeaks that Julian Assange will be expelled within "hours to days" using the #INAPapers offshore scandal as a pretext--and that it already has an agreement with the UK for his arrest.https://t.co/adnJph79wq

— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) April 4, 2019

In a post on the organization's legal defense blog, WikiLeaks claimed that the move was punishment for Assange's alleged involvement in the leak of the INA Papes, which implicated Moreno in corruption schemes.

"The leak has sparked a congressional investigation into President Moreno for corruption. Moreno can’t be summoned for a criminal probe while he remains president. He is currently being investigated and risks impeachment," the blog post read.

Assange's lawyers have maintained that he had nothing to do with the leak. If he is ousted from the embassy, he could be arrested by British authorities and possibly extradited to the U.S., where he faces charges under seal.

“Remember that WikiLeaks has an internal organization and Mr. Assange is no longer in the editor," Assange's lawyer said, according to the legal defense blog.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://thehill.com/policy/international/437530-british-police-stationed-outside-ecuador-embassy-following-wikileaks

2019-04-05 13:16:11Z
52780260724116

Wildfire Rips Along South Korea's Eastern Coast, Prompting National Emergency - NPR

Enlarge this image

A forest fire is seen raging near buildings in Sokcho, South Korea, in the early hours of Friday. South Korea mobilized troops and helicopters to deal with the massive blaze that roared through forests and cities along the eastern coast. Kangwon Ilbo via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption

Kangwon Ilbo via Getty Images

South Korea is using its military to gain control of a large forest fire that spread quickly after igniting in Gangwon Province, along the country's east coast. Strong winds moved the blaze from city to city, prompting President Moon Jae-in to declare a national emergency.

It's being called the worst wildfire to hit South Korea in years, forcing thousands to evacuate and ravaging rural towns. Fire officials are reporting two deaths, according to the Associated Press.

The main fire is now nearly under control, said Moon, who visited the area Friday. Taking note of the hundreds of homes and buildings that have reportedly been destroyed, Moon urged government officials to "take extra care of displaced victims who – after having lost their homes in an instant – may now find time to catch their breath."

The fire started early Thursday night in Goseong, a mountainous county just below the border with North Korea.

"Moon's office said he would cooperate with North Korea on fighting the fire if it spread northward," NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports from Seoul. "But as it happened, the winds were blowing to the south."

Enlarge this image

Firefighters work to put out flames during a wildfire in Sokcho, South Korea, April 5, 2019. Yonhap via Reuters hide caption

toggle caption

Yonhap via Reuters

The fire struck an area where a line of mountains bracket towns and cities along the coast — including Gangneung, the city that hosted events in last year's Winter Olympics.

In Gangwon's national forests and other woodlands, fires are common in the spring — but they usually don't spread so quickly, and they're usually confined to unpopulated areas, residents tell the Korea Herald.

Among those caught off-guard was Kim Tae-gi, 69, a volunteer fire lookout who received a text alert warning of imminent danger less than an hour after he finished his shift. Kim told the Herald that he immediately rushed to his home in the town of Toseong-myeon, to make sure his dog was safe.

"I escaped from the burning house right after I brought out my dog. I couldn't bring anything else with me, and all I have now are these clothes that I was wearing last night. I had to watch my house burn from my car," Kim said.

As he spoke, he was holding his dog, the newspaper says.

With firefighters gaining control of the main blaze, many of the residents who spent last night in temporary shelters had started to return home by early evening Friday local time, according to Arirang News. But smaller fires were still burning elsewhere.

Enlarge this image

Vehicles burn in Sokcho, South Korea, part of the damage from the worst wildfires the country has seen in years. Kangwon Ilbo Via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption

Kangwon Ilbo Via Getty Images

Overall, the flames burned some 529 hectares (1,307 acres), the Yonhap news agency reports, citing fire control officials in Gangwon.

The firefighting effort includes more than 13,000 rescue workers, according to Yonhap, which adds that 16,500 military troops are also part of the push to bring the fire under control.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://www.npr.org/2019/04/05/710197740/wildfire-rips-along-south-koreas-eastern-coast-prompting-national-emergency

2019-04-05 12:39:00Z
52780260373651