USA

International transfers of heavy weapons increased by almost 8 percent in the 2014-2018 period compared with 2009-2013, according to a report published by the Sweden-based Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) on Monday.

The United States bolstered its status as the world's biggest arms supplier, transferring more than a third of all weapons sold during the past five years.

SIPRI's findings

The Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed all 157 people on board on Friday was the second fatal crash involving a Boeing 737 MAX 8 within the past six months. In October, a Lion Air flight crashed shortly after taking off from Jakarta, Indonesia, killing all 189 passengers and crew.

The two incidents have raised concerns about the MAX, which Boeing launched less than two years ago. Here is what we know about the aircraft and the two crashes it has been involved in.

What is the Boeing 737 MAX?

WASHINGTON, March 10 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Sunday that he didn't think President Donald Trump could fire him, re-emphasizing the Fed's monetary policy independence.

"The law is clear that I have a four-year term, and I fully intend to serve it," Powell told the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) news show "60 Minutes." When asked if he thought the president could fire him, he said "no."

SAN FRANCISCO, March 10 (Xinhua) -- U.S. aircraft manufacturing giant Boeing Sunday promised to offer technical assistance to Ethiopia over a deadly air crash of Ethiopian Airlines.

"A Boeing technical team will be traveling to the crash site to provide technical assistance under the direction of the Ethiopia Accident Investigation Bureau and U.S. National Transportation Safety Board," Boeing said in a short statement.

It also offered condolences to the families of the passengers and crew on board Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 (ET 302).

WASHINGTON, March 10 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump is open to a third summit with Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), National Security Adviser John Bolton said on Sunday.

In an interview with ABC on Sunday, Bolton said that President Trump had invested a lot of time in trying to develop a personal relationship with Kim, and Trump is confident in that relationship.

"He said he's open to a third summit, none has been scheduled, and some time they have to go by," Bolton added.

WASHINGTON, March 9. /TASS/. Most countries want to acquire technologies instead of just buying defense products, director for international cooperation and regional policy at Russia's Rostec defense and technology company Viktor Kladov told Defense News in an interview published on Friday.

MOSCOW, March 9. /TASS/. A US embassy staff member attempted to enter Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport on Saturday morning carrying a bomb with a fuse but with no explosives in his luggage, a source in the Russian Foreign Ministry told TASS.

"On the morning of March 9, personnel scanning the luggage of a US embassy staff member detected an item that looked like a mortar bomb," the source said. "They called bomb technicians who confirmed it was indeed a bomb with a fuse but without explosives, though there were traces of explosives inside the bomb’s body," he added.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Recordings of several 911 calls made after a series of deadly package bombings in Austin last year show the chaos and panic that gripped the city.

In one 911 call after the first bomb detonated March 2, 2018, relatives, neighbors and first responders struggled to discern what happened after a packaged exploded in the hands of Anthony Stephan House, 39.

“I don’t know what is going on,” a 911 caller reported. “My neighbor, something exploded. There is blood everywhere. We need an ambulance immediately.”

NEW YORK (AP) — Severe turbulence tossed terrified passengers and crew around a Turkish Airlines plane cabin as it passed over Maine on Saturday, with 30 people suffering bumps, bruises, cuts and a broken leg before the flight landed safely at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, officials said.

Dozens of ambulances lined up in front of a terminal to quickly treat the injured coming off the flight that left Istanbul for the 10-hour trip.

NAIROBI, March 9 (Xinhua) -- The improvement in air quality that has been recorded in Chinese capital of Beijing in the last two decades could serve as an inspiration to world's mega cities grappling with atmospheric pollution, said a UN Environment report launched in Nairobi on Saturday.

According to a report titled "Review of 20 years' Air Pollution Control in Beijing," Beijing has leveraged on new technologies, strong regulatory tools, public education and enhanced monitoring to boost air quality.