Aircraft Ban
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 all 157 people on board. It was the second fatal accident involving the 737 Max 8 model in less than five months.
US officials say the aircraft are still safe to fly.
However, the US Association of Flight Attendants is now calling for the Federal Aviation Administration “to temporarily ground the 737 Max fleet in the US out of an abundance of caution”.
Investigators have recovered the flight recorders from the Ethiopian Airlines plane and are currently examining the data to determine what caused the crash.
The EU Aviation Safety Agency said: “The accident investigation is currently ongoing, and it is too early to draw any conclusions as to the cause of the accident.”
Tui Airways and Norwegian both operate the Boeing Max 8 as part of their fleets .. the last one to land in Spain was a TUI flight into Alicante airport yesterday afternoon.
Well Death Appeal
LAWYERS of the uncle of Julen Rosello .. the Two year old who died after falling down a Well near Malaga – have appealed against a judge’s decision to reject evidence suggesting that the tot was killed by a rescue worker’s pickaxe.
The attorneys are representing the relative of Julen, David Serrano, who owns the farm where the well is and faces charges of ‘reckless homicide’.
In their appeal, Serrano’s team said their report was made ‘in good faith’ and is also based on reports by the Guardia Civil.
The lawyers argue that the judge’s decision to reject their report puts Serrano at a ‘clear disadvantage’.
Carles Puigdemont
The former president of Catalonia who fled Spain after leading an attempt to secede in 2017 says he will return if he is elected to the European Parliament in May.
Spanish authorities consider Carles Puigdemont a fugitive, but he told Catalan radio Yesterday that being a member of the European Parliament would entitle him to immunity from prosecution in the bloc.
Spanish officials made no immediate comment.
The 56-year-old politician fled to Brussels after the failed secession effort, which has landed other Catalan officials in court.
He has successfully fought his extradition to Spain from both Germany and Belgium.
Together for Catalonia, which includes the conservative separatist PDeCat party – says Puigdemont will be its main candidate in the May 26 ballot.
Football Fan Trouble
Dutch Football club Ajax is facing a fourth UEFA punishment this season for fan misconduct at Champions League games.
UEFA says Ajax has been charged with fans throwing objects and “acts of damage” at Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in a 4-1 victory last week.
UEFA’s disciplinary panel will judge the case on March 28, ahead of the quarter-finals.
Ajax has been ordered to pay a total of 77,000 euros for crowd disturbances and other incidents at three games earlier in the competition.
After a group game at Benfica, UEFA put Ajax on probation for one year with a threat to ban selling tickets to fans for an away game.