Belgium

BRUSSELS, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Many European countries announced on Tuesday to ground Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft following an Ethiopian Airlines plane crash on Sunday.

The Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 bound for Nairobi, Kenya, crashed shortly after taking off from the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, killing all 157 people on board, drawing renewed scrutiny of the plane after an 2018 crash of the same model in Indonesia claimed 189 lives.

12 Mar 2019; DW: A Belgium court on Monday sentenced a French jihadist to life in prison for murdering four people at Brussel's Jewish Museum in 2014.

Mehdi Nemmouche, 33, was found guilty earlier this month of committing "four terrorist murders" when he gunned down an Israeli couple and two museum workers in cold blood in less than 90 seconds on May 24, 2014.

08 Mar 2019; DW: The European Union should make concessions in Brexit talks to convince British lawmakers to back a controversial exit deal next week, British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Friday. The call came as Brussels and London struggle to reach an agreement to avoid a potentially damaging "no-deal" Brexit at the end of March.

LONDON, March 7 (Xinhua) -- British Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond said Thursday a crucial vote on Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal by next Tuesday could be the last chance for Britain to leave the European Union (EU) on its planned March 29 departure date.

06 Mar 2019; AFP: Trade tensions and political uncertainty including Brexit are weighing on the world's economy, the OECD warned Wednesday as it again cut its 2019 forecast for global economic growth.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development lowered its forecast to 3.3 percent for this year, down from the 3.5 percent it predicted in November, which was itself a downgrade from a previous 3.7 percent.

07 Mar 2019; DW: Chinese investments in the European Union fell sharply for the second consecutive year in 2018, a report by the Berlin-based Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS) and US consulting firm Rhodium Group showed.

Chinese companies completed FDI deals worth €17.3 billion ($19.6 billion) last year, down 40 percent from 2017 levels and way below the record €37.2 billion investment seen in 2016.

05 Mar 2019; DW: German political leaders have reacted positively to a raft of suggestions by French President Emmanuel Macron for strengthening the European Union.

In an official statement by Angela Merkel's government to Reuters news agency, a spokesperson said: "It's important ahead of the European election (in May) for pro-European forces to present their ideas. The German government supports the lively discussion about the orientation of the European Union."

06 Mar 2019; DW: Two manufacturers of seatbelts, airbags and steering wheels were fined €368 million ($416 million) by the European Commission on Tuesday, in the latest antitrust case against car-part suppliers.

The US, Michigan-headquartered TRW Automotive will pay €189 million, while Autoliv, based in Stockholm, Sweden, has been fined €179 million penalty.

06 Mar 2019; DW: EU lawmaker Manfred Weber pledged to "try one last time" to keep Hungary's Fidesz party in the European People's Party (EPP), the association of center-right parties in the European Parliament, as it prepares to debate Fidesz's exclusion.

The EPP, which also includes Germany's Christian Democrats and Christian Social Union, has more lawmakers than any other group in the Brussels assembly. German-born Weber leads the conservative faction.

05 Mar 2019; DW: Time is up for European Union-mandated daylight savings time. The European Commission and European Parliament have agreed on that. All the relevant committees in Parliament are for the change, according to Germany's conservative Christian Democrat (CDU) MEP Peter Liese, who has devoted a lot of time to the issue.