Boeing 737 Max: Indonesia lifts ban after 2018 Lion Air crash

 

 
Indonesia has lifted a ban on the Boeing 737 Max, more than three years after the Lion Air disaster that saw the loss of all 189 people on board. The plane maker saw its best-selling aircraft grounded globally after a deadly crash in March 2019 involving an Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max.
On Monday, Ethiopian Airlines said it will resume such flights in February.
The announcements come months after the aircraft returned to service in the US and Europe.
More than 180 countries now allow the use of the 737 Max, with Australia, Japan, India, Malaysia and Singapore lifting their bans this year.

Almost 40 people killed in Sudan Gold Mine collapse

 

Almost 40 miners were killed with eight missing in Sudan on Tuesday, December 28, when a rudimentary gold mine collapsed, a Sudanese government official has said.
The disaster occurred near Nuhud, a town about 500 kilometres (310 miles) west of capital Khartoum, said Khaled Dahwa, the head of the state-run Mineral Resources Company in West Kordofan.
“Thirty-one traditional miners were killed because of a mine collapsing,” he told AFP, adding one person survived and eight others were still missing.
Another company official said four miners were killed at the same mine in January 2021.

At least 20 dead in flooding in Brazil’s Bahia state

 

 
At least 20 people have been killed in floods in northeastern Brazil, local officials said on Monday, as the region braced for more rain. Home to about 15 million people, weeks of intermittent flooding have intensified in Bahia state in the last two days after a pair of dams collapsed, sending residents scrambling.
“Unfortunately, we’re living through the worst disaster that has ever occurred in the history of Bahia,” the state’s governor, Rui Costa, said on Monday on Twitter, adding that 72 municipalities in Bahia are in a state of emergency.

British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell convicted of s3x trafficking

 

 British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was found guilty in New York on Wednesday of recruiting and grooming young girls to be sexually abused by the late American financier Jeffrey Epstein. Maxwell faces spending the rest of her life behind bars after the 12-person jury convicted her on five of the six counts she was facing, including the most serious charge of sex trafficking a minor.
The conviction, just days after she turned 60 on Christmas, caps a remarkable fall from grace for the Oxford-educated daughter of the late British press baron Robert Maxwell, who grew up in wealth and privilege as a friend to royalty.

UAE issues first civil marriage licence for non-Muslim couple

 

The United Arab Emirates has issued its first civil marriage licence to a non-Muslim couple, state media reports. The Gulf state where foreigners make up 90 percent of the approximately 10-million population has been amending its laws to make it more inclusive.
The official WAM news agency said a Canadian couple were the first to marry under a new law on the personal status of non-Muslims in the Emirati capital of Abu Dhabi.

French zoo closed temporarily after pack of nine wolves escape

 

A French zoo has been temporarily shut down by local authorities after a pack of nine wolves escaped from their enclosure during visiting hours. No people were injured during incident last weekend at Trois Vallées zoo in Montredon-Labessonnie, southern France.
The animals destroyed safety hatches and climbed a fence, but never went outside the zoo.
Four were shot dead for "dangerous behaviour", local official Fabien Chollet told AFP news agency.
The remaining five were returned to their enclosure and anaesthetised by local officials who had been called to the scene.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu dies at 90

 

Archbishop Emeritus and anti-apartheid campaigner Desmond Tutu has died at the age of 90.
On Sunday, President Cyril Ramaphosa released a statement confirming his passing.
Archbishop Tutu, the last surviving South African laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize, passed away in Cape Town at the age of 90.
“President Ramaphosa expresses his heartfelt condolences to MAM Leah Tutu, the Tutu family, the board and staff of the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, the Elders and Nobel Laureate Group, and the friends, comrades and associates nationally and globally of the iconic spiritual leader, anti-apartheid activist and global human rights campaigner.”

Dubai king ordered to pay estranged wife $734m in royal divorce case

 

A London judge has ordered Dubai king,  Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to pay his estranged wife Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein at least 554 million pounds ($734 million) -the UK's biggest ever divorce settlement.
 The settlement concludes a long-running case that has played out in UK courts between Princess Haya Bint al-Hussein, 47, daughter of the late King Hussein of Jordan, and her ex-husband, multibillionaire Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum.
During the trial, the court heard details of the immense luxury in which the princess lived before she fled Dubai with her two children, Zayed, 9, and Jalila, 14.

Diddy buys Sean John brand out of bankruptcy for $7.5 Million

 

Music mogul and producer, Sean "Diddy" Combs has won the bid to buy back his fashion brand, Sean John. Diddy won the rights to Sean John for $7.5 million, after a bidding war with 4 other parties. The deal will be finalized this week, barring any objections.
The music producer's initial bid earlier this month in bankruptcy court was $3.3 million through an acquisition company named SLC Fashion LLC. His position made him the stalking horse which means any other offer on Sean Jean would have to outdo his.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang icon Sally Ann Howe dies

 

 Chitty Chitty Bang Bang icon Sally Ann Howes has died aged 91. The actress, who was best known for playing Truly Scrumptious in the 1968 musical film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, passed away on Sunday, December 19. The cause of death is yet to be confirmed.
 Her film and theatre spanned an impressive six decades, earning a Tony nomination for best lead actress in a musical for her performance in Brigadoon in 1963.
She also replaced Julie Andrews as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady on Broadway, shooting her into stardom.

Israel begins fourth Covid-19 dose vaccine rollout for people 60 and over as Omicron cases surge

 

 Israel is to begin rolling out a fourth dose of the coronavirus vaccine with immediate effect for people ages 60 and over, medical workers and people with suppressed immune systems, the Prime Minister's Office announced Tuesday, following a recommendation from the country's panel of coronavirus experts.
Those eligible for the fourth dose can receive it provided at least four months have passed since the third dose, it said. In Israel, almost all vaccinated citizens have received the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.
One of the members of the expert panel told Israeli radio Tuesday evening that the decision to recommend a fourth dose had not been an easy one.

Amid shortage, Canada taps into emergency maple syrup reserves

 

 Global supply shortages have hit toy shops in the US and coffee producers in Brazil. In Canada, the country's liquid gold - maple syrup - is running low. The Quebec Maple Syrup Producers (QMSP) - the so-called Opec of maple syrup - has released about 22m kg from its emergency larder, nearly half the total in reserve.
Booming demand and a shortened harvest had caused the shortfall, QMSP said.
It is the first time in three years the reserve has been used.

Madagascar boat accident kills at least 64; minister swims to safety from helicopter crash at site

 

 At least 64 people have died in a boat accident off the coast of northeastern Madagascar and searches were underway for 24 missing passengers, the maritime agency said on Wednesday.
Fifty survivors were found, the Maritime and River Port Agency (APMF) said.
The vessel, a cargo ship that was not authorized to transport people, was overloaded and water flooded the engine, said Mamy Randrianavony, APMF director of operations at sea.
It sank late on Monday night with 138 people on board, APMF said.

Barcelona's Alexia Putellas makes history as first Spanish Ballon d'Or winner since 1960

 

 
Barcelona's Alexia Putellas has become the first Spain international to win the Ballon d'Or since 1960 after leading her club to the Treble this year. She was named the best women's player in the world on Monday as she received the Ballon d'Or Feminin.
Putellas, who was also named UEFA Women's Player of the Year in August, is the first Spanish winner since Luis Suarez in 1960. "Honestly, it is a bit emotional. Very special. It is great to be here with all my teammates. We've lived and experienced so much together, especially last season," she said.
"I would like to thank all my teammates, all my teammates throughout my career and the ones I have right now. This is an individual prize but football is a team sport.