WASHINGTON : A lawsuit against Boeing Co. was filed in US federal court on Thursday in what appeared to be the first suit over a March 10 Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX crash that killed 157 people.
The lawsuit was filed in Chicago federal court by the family of Jackson Musoni, a citizen of Rwanda, and alleges that Boeing, which manufactures the 737 MAX, had defectively designed the automated flight control system.
Boeing said it could not comment on the lawsuit.
“Boeing ... is working with the authorities to evaluate new information as it becomes available,” it said, adding all inquiries about the ongoing accident investigation must be directed to the investigating authorities.
The 737 MAX planes were grounded worldwide following the Ethiopian Airlines disaster, which came five months after a Lion Air crash in Indonesia that killed 189 people.
Boeing said on Wednesday it had reprogrammed software on its 737 MAX to prevent erroneous data from triggering an anti-stall system that is facing mounting scrutiny in the wake of two deadly nose-down crashes in the past five months.
The planemaker said the anti-stall system, which is believed to have repeatedly forced the nose lower in at least one of the accidents, in Indonesia last October, would only do so once per event after sensing a problem, giving pilots more control.
The crash of Boeing’s passenger jet in Ethiopia raised the chances that families of the victims, even non-US residents, will be able to sue in US courts, where payouts are much larger than in other countries, some legal experts have said.
Wednesday’s complaint was filed by Musoni’s three minor children, who are Dutch citizens residing in Belgium.
The lawsuit says Boeing failed to warn the public, airlines and pilots of the airplane’s allegedly erroneous sensors, causing the aircraft to dive automatically and uncontrollably.
Ethiopian officials and some analysts have said the Ethiopian Airlines jet behaved in a similar pattern as the 737 MAX involved in October’s Lion Air disaster. The investigation into the March crash, which is being led by the Ethiopian Transport Ministry, is still at an early stage.
US lawsuit filed against Boeing over Ethiopian Airlines crash
US lawsuit filed against Boeing over Ethiopian Airlines crash
- Jackson Musoni, a citizen of Rwanda, alleges that Boeing had defectively designed the 737 MAX's automated flight control system
- The 737 MAX planes were grounded worldwide following the Ethiopian Airlines disaster
’Survive, nothing more’: Cuba’s elderly live hand to mouth
As the communist island battles its deepest economic crisis in three decades, the state is finding it increasingly hard to care for some 2.4 million inhabitants — more than a quarter of the population — aged 60 and over.
Sixty is the age at which women — for men it’s 65 — qualify for the state pension which starts at 1,528 Cuban pesos per month.
This is less than $13 at the official exchange rate and a mere $4 on the informal street market where most Cubans do their shopping.
“Fight for life, for death is certain,” vendor Isidro Manuet, 73, told AFP sitting on a sidewalk in the heart of Havana, his skin battered by years in the sun, several of his front teeth missing.
“I manage to live, survive, nothing more,” he said of his meager income that allows him to buy a little food, and not much else.
As he spoke to AFP, Manuet looked on as small groups of people walked by his stall carrying bags full of food.
They were coming out of Casalinda, one of several part government-run megastores that sells goods exclusively to holders of US dollars — a small minority of Cubans.
Most rely instead on informal stalls such as the ones Manuet and other elderly Cubans set up on sidewalks every morning to sell fruit, coffee, cigarettes, candy, used clothes and other second-hand goods.
Near Manuet’s stall, 70-year-old Antonia Diez sells clothing and makeup.
“Things are bad, really bad,” she sighs, shaking her head.
Many of Cuba’s elderly have been without family support since 2022, when the biggest migratory exodus in the country’s history began amid a crisis marked by food, fuel and medicine shortages, power blackouts and rampant inflation.
More beggars can be seen on Havana’s streets — though there are no official figures — and every now and then an elderly person can be spotted rummaging through garbage bins for something to eat, or sell.
The Cuban crisis, which Havana blames on decades of US sanctions but analysts say was fueled by government economic mismanagement and tourism tanking under the Covid-19 pandemic, has affected the public purse too, with cuts in welfare spending.
As a result, the government has struggled to buy enough of the staples it has made available for decades to impoverished Cubans at heavily subsidized prices under the “libreta” ration book system.
It is the only way many people have to access affordable staples such as rice, sugar and beans — when there is any.
Diez said she used to receive an occasional state-sponsored food package, “but it’s been a while since they’ve sent anything.”
This all means that many products can only be found at “dollar stores” such as Casalinda, or private markets where most people cannot afford to shop.
According to the University of Havana’s Center for Cuban Economic Studies, in 2023 a Cuban family of three would have needed 12 to 14 times the average minimum monthly salary of 2,100 pesos (around $17) to meet their basic food needs.
Official figures show about 68,000 Cubans over 60 rely on soup kitchens run by the state Family Assistance System for one warm meal per day.
At one such facility, “Las Margaritas,” a plate of food costs about 13 pesos (11 dollar cents). Pensioner Eva Suarez, 78, has been going there daily for 18 months.
“The country is in such need. There’s no food, there’s nothing,” she told AFP, adding her pension is basically worthless “because everything is so expensive.”
Inflation rose by 190 percent between 2018 and 2023, but pensions have not kept pace.
Some are losing faith in communism, brought to the island by Fidel Castro’s revolution, and its unfulfilled promises such as a liter of subsidized milk for every child under seven per day.
“I have nothing, my house is falling apart,” said Lucy Perez, a 72-year-old economist who retired with 1,600 pesos (about 13 dollars) a month after a 36-year career.
“The situation is dire. The nation has no future.”
It’s not just the elderly suffering.
Cuba was rocked by unprecedented anti-government protests in 2021, and students have been rebelling in recent months due to a steep hike in the cost of mobile Internet — which only arrived on the island seven years ago.
In January, the government announced a partial dollarization of the economy that has angered many unable to lay their hands on greenbacks.
Japan scraps US meeting after Washington demands more defense spending: Report
- US asked Japan to boost defense spending to 3.5 percent of GDP, higher than an earlier request of 3 percent, FT reports
- Japan’s Nikkei also reported that Trump’s government was pressing its Asian allies, including Japan, to spend 5 percent of GDP on defense
WASHINGTON: Japan has canceled a regular high-level meeting with its key ally the United States after the Trump administration demanded it spend more on defense, the Financial Times reported on Friday.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had been expected to meet Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and Defense Minister Gen Nakatani in Washington on July 1 for the annual 2+2 security talks.
But Tokyo scrapped the meeting after the US asked Japan to boost defense spending to 3.5 percent of gross domestic product, higher than an earlier request of 3 percent, the newspaper said, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.
Japan’s Nikkei newspaper reported on Saturday that President Donald Trump’s government was demanding that its Asian allies, including Japan, spend 5 percent of GDP on defense.
A US official who asked not to be identified told Reuters that Japan had “postponed” the talks in a decision made several weeks ago. The official did not cite a reason. A non-government source familiar with the issue said he had also heard Japan had pulled out of the meeting but not the reason for it doing so.
State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said she had no comment on the FT report when asked about it at regular briefing. The Pentagon also had no immediate comment.
Japan’s embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment. The nation’s foreign and defense ministries and the Prime Minister’s Office did not answer phone calls seeking comment outside business hours on Saturday.
The FT said the higher spending demand was made in recent weeks by Elbridge Colby, the third-most senior Pentagon official, who has also recently upset another key US ally in the Indo-Pacific by launching a review of a project to provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines.
In March, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said that other nations do not decide Japan’s defense budget after Colby, in his nomination hearing to be under secretary of defense for policy, called for Tokyo to spend more to counter China.
Japan and other US allies have been engaged in difficult trade talks with the United States over President Donald Trump’s worldwide tariff offensive.
The FT said the decision to cancel the July 1 meeting was also related to Japan’s July 20 upper house elections, expected to be a major test for Ishiba’s minority coalition government.
Japan’s move on the 2+2 comes ahead of a meeting of the US-led NATO alliance in Europe next week, at which Trump is expected to press his demand that European allies boost their defense spending to 5 percent of GDP.
Trump confirms DR Congo-Rwanda peace deal, gripes about Nobels
- DR Congo and Rwanda officials expected to sign accord in Washington next week
- Trump's campaign promise to quickly end wars in Ukraine and Gaza have both failed
- But he believes he deserves a Nobel for his supposed mediating role in other conflicts
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump took credit Friday for a peace deal negotiated in Washington between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda — and complained that he would not get a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.
The warring African nations said in a joint statement on Wednesday that they had initialed an agreement aimed at ending the conflict in eastern DRC — to be formally signed in the US capital next week.
“This is a Great Day for Africa and, quite frankly, a Great Day for the World!” Trump said in a Truth Social post confirming the breakthrough.
But his triumphant tone darkened as he complained that he had been overlooked by the Norwegian Nobel Committee for his mediating role in conflicts between India and Pakistan, as well as Serbia and Kosovo.
He also demanded credit for “keeping peace” between Egypt and Ethiopia and brokering the Abraham Accords, a series of agreements aiming to normalize relations between Israel and several Arab nations.
Trump campaigned for office as a “peacemaker” who would use his negotiating skills to quickly end wars in Ukraine and Gaza, although both conflicts are still raging five months into his presidency.
Indian officials have denied that he had any role in its ceasefire with Pakistan.
And the Republican greatly exaggerated the significance of the 2020 Serbia-Kosovo agreements, which were statements of intent thin on detail and that quickly unraveled.
Trump’s claims for the Abraham Accords being able to “unify the Middle East” have also yet to be realized, with war breaking out between Israel and Iran, and no end in sight to the conflict in Gaza.
The president said officials from DR Congo and Rwanda would be in Washington on Monday for their signing, although their joint statement said they would put pen to paper on June 27.
The resource-rich eastern DRC, which borders Rwanda, has been plagued by violence for three decades, with a resurgence since the anti-government M23 armed group went on a renewed offensive at the end of 2021.
The deal — which builds on a declaration of principles signed in April — was reached during three days of talks between the neighbors in Washington, according to their statement.
Trump has received multiple Nobel Peace Prize nominations from supporters and loyal lawmakers over the years.
He has made no secret of his irritation at missing out on the prestigious award, bringing it up as recently as February during an Oval Office meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
President Barack Obama won the prize soon after taking office in 2009, and Trump complained during his 2024 election campaign that his Democratic predecessor was not worthy of the honor.
US federal judge blocks Trump effort to keep Harvard from hosting foreign students
- Homeland Security earlier withdrew the school’s certification to host foreign students after Harvard resisted Trump's interference
- Harvard hosts roughly 7,000 international students, about a quarter of its total enrollment
WASHINGTON: A federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to keep Harvard University from hosting international students, delivering the Ivy League school another victory as it challenges multiple government sanctions amid a battle with the White House.
The order from US District Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston preserves Harvard’s ability to host foreign students while the case is decided, but it falls short of resolving all of Harvard’s legal hurdles to hosting international students. Notably, Burroughs said the federal government still has authority to review Harvard’s ability to host international students through normal processes outlined in law.
Harvard sued the Department of Homeland Security in May after the agency abruptly withdrew the school’s certification to host foreign students and issue paperwork for their visas, skirting most of its usual procedures. The action would have forced Harvard’s roughly 7,000 international students — about a quarter of its total enrollment — to transfer or risk being in the US illegally. New foreign students would have been barred from coming to Harvard.
The university said it was experiencing illegal retaliation for rejecting the White House’s demands to overhaul Harvard policies related to campus protests, admissions, hiring and more. Burroughs temporarily had halted the government’s action hours after Harvard sued.
Less than two weeks later, in early June, President Donald Trump tried a new strategy. He issued a proclamation to block foreign students from entering the US to attend Harvard, citing a different legal justification. Harvard challenged the move, saying the president was attempting an end-run around the temporary court order. Burroughs temporarily blocked Trump’s proclamation as well. That emergency block remains in effect, and Burroughs did not address the proclamation in her order Friday.
“We expect the judge to issue a more enduring decision in the coming days,” Harvard said Friday in an email to international students. “Our Schools will continue to make contingency plans toward ensuring that our international students and scholars can pursue their academic work to the fullest extent possible, should there be a change to student visa eligibility or their ability to enroll at Harvard.”
Students in limbo
The stops and starts of the legal battle have unsettled current students and left others around the world waiting to find out whether they will be able to attend America’s oldest and wealthiest university.
The Trump administration’s efforts to stop Harvard from enrolling international students have created an environment of “profound fear, concern, and confusion,” the university said in a court filing. Countless international students have asked about transferring from the university, Harvard immigration services director Maureen Martin said.
Still, admissions consultants and students have indicated most current and prospective Harvard scholars are holding out hope they’ll be able to attend the university.
For one prospective graduate student, an admission to Harvard’s Graduate School of Education had rescued her educational dreams. Huang, who asked to be identified only by her surname for fear of being targeted, had seen her original doctoral offer at Vanderbilt University rescinded after federal cuts to research and programs related to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Harvard stepped in a few weeks later with a scholarship she couldn’t refuse. She rushed to schedule her visa interview in Beijing. More than a month after the appointment, despite court orders against the Trump administration’s policies, she still hasn’t heard back.
“Your personal effort and capability means nothing in this era,” Huang said in a social media post. “Why does it have to be so hard to go to school?”
An ongoing battle
Trump has been warring with Harvard for months after the university rejected a series of government demands meant to address conservative complaints that the school has become too liberal and has tolerated anti-Jewish harassment. Trump officials have cut more than $2.6 billion in research grants, ended federal contracts and threatened to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status.
On Friday, the president said in a post on Truth Social that the administration has been working with Harvard to address “their largescale improprieties” and that a deal with Harvard could be announced within the next week. “They have acted extremely appropriately during these negotiations, and appear to be committed to doing what is right,” Trump’s post said.
Trump’s administration first targeted Harvard’s international students in April. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem demanded that Harvard turn over a trove of records related to any dangerous or illegal activity by foreign students. Harvard says it complied, but Noem said the response fell short and on May 22 revoked Harvard’s certification in the Student and Exchange Visitor Program.
The sanction immediately put Harvard at a disadvantage as it competed for the world’s top students, the school said in its lawsuit, and it harmed Harvard’s reputation as a global research hub. “Without its international students, Harvard is not Harvard,” the lawsuit said.
The action would have upended some graduate schools that recruit heavily from abroad. Some schools overseas quickly offered invitations to Harvard’s students, including two universities in Hong Kong.
Harvard President Alan Garber previously said the university has made changes to combat antisemitism. But Harvard, he said, will not stray from its “core, legally-protected principles,” even after receiving federal ultimatums.
Trump says his intel chief was ‘wrong’ to believe Iran was not building a nuclear weapon
- Also says Israeli strikes could be ‘very hard to stop’ now that they are “winning”
- After Trump's remark, Tulsi Gabbard says her statement was taken out of context
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said Friday that his director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, was “wrong” when she previously said that the US believed Iran wasn’t building a nuclear weapon, and he suggested that it would be “very hard to stop” Israel’s strikes on Iran in order to negotiate a possible ceasefire.
Trump has recently taken a more aggressive public stance toward Tehran as he’s sought more time to weigh whether to attack Iran by striking its well-defended Fordo uranium enrichment facility. Buried under a mountain, the facility is believed to be out of the reach of all but America’s “bunker-buster” bombs.
After landing in New Jersey for an evening fundraiser for his super political action committee, Trump was asked about Gabbard’s comments to Congress in March that US spy agencies believed that Iran wasn’t working on nuclear warheads. The president responded, “Well then, my intelligence community is wrong. Who in the intelligence community said that?”
Informed that it had been Gabbard, Trump said, “She’s wrong.”
In a subsequent post on X, Gabbard said her testimony was taken out of context “as a way to manufacture division.”
“America has intelligence that Iran is at the point that it can produce a nuclear weapon within weeks to months, if they decide to finalize the assembly,” she wrote. “President Trump has been clear that can’t happen, and I agree.”
Still, disavowing Gabbard’s previous assessment came a day after the White House said Trump would decide within two weeks whether the US military would get directly involved in the conflict between Israel and Iran. It said seeking additional time was “based on the fact that there’s a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future.”
But on Friday, Trump himself seemed to cast doubts on the possibility of talks leading to a pause in fighting between Israel and Iran. He said that, while he might support a ceasefire, Israel’s strikes on Iran could be “very hard to stop.”
Asked about Iran suggesting that, if the US was serious about furthering negotiations, it could call on Israel to stop its strikes, Trump responded, “I think it’s very hard to make that request right now.”
“If somebody is winning, it’s a little bit harder to do than if somebody is losing,” Trump said. “But we’re ready, willing and able, and we’ve been speaking to Iran, and we’ll see what happens.”
The president later added, “It’s very hard to stop when you look at it.”
“Israel’s doing well in terms of war. And, I think, you would say that Iran is doing less well. It’s a little bit hard to get somebody to stop,” Trump said.
Trump campaigned on decrying “endless wars” and has vowed to be an international peacemaker. That’s led some, even among conservatives, to point to Trump’s past criticism of the US invasion of Iraq beginning in 2003 as being at odds with his more aggressive stance toward Iran now.
Trump suggested the two situations were very different, though.
“There were no weapons of mass destruction. I never thought there were. And that was somewhat pre-nuclear. You know, it was, it was a nuclear age, but nothing like it is today,” Trump said of his past criticism of the administration of President George W. Bush.
He added of Iran’s current nuclear program, “It looked like I’m right about the material that they’ve gathered already. It’s a tremendous amount of material.”
Trump also cast doubts on Iran’s developing nuclear capabilities for civilian pursuits, like power generation.
“You’re sitting on one of the largest oil piles anywhere in the world,” he said. “It’s a little bit hard to see why you’d need that.”
