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Beijing court orders Malaysia Airlines to pay damages to families of MH370 victims

BEIJING (AP) — A Beijing court has ruled Malaysia Airlines must pay 2.9 million yuan ($410,000) each to the families of eight passengers who went missing in the disappearance of Flight 370 more than a decade ago.

The court ordered the airline to pay each family compensation for the death of their loved one, funeral expenses, and damages stemming from emotional distress, it said in a statement Monday. Although it is not known what happened to the passengers, they have been declared legally dead.

There were 239 passengers and crew members on the flight that disappeared after departing Kuala Lumpur for Beijing in 2014. Despite years of searches, it’s unknown why the plane went down or what happened to the people on board. Most of the passengers were Chinese, and their families in China have continued to seek answers.

The court said that another 23 cases remain pending. In 47 other cases, families have reached agreements with the airlines and withdrawn their suits.

Last Wednesday, the Malaysian government said a search for the plane would resume Dec. 30.

Beijing bans 4 New Zealand lawmakers from entering China because they visited Taiwan

By WTOP Staff
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Beijing banned four New Zealand lawmakers from traveling to China for a year and demanded they apologize because they visited Taiwan on a parliamentary trip, according to a message from the Chinese embassy conveyed via parliamentary officials and shown to The Associated Press on Thursday. China has hit lawmakers from other countries with sanctions related to contact with Taiwan before, but it's the first time for New Zealand parliamentarians, the government in Wellington said. Beijing has been increasing pressure in recent years on the democratically governed island that it claims as its own territory. Two lawmakers reached by the AP on Thursday rejected the demand for an apology, while the other two could not be immediately reached. New Zealand's government said it would express concern about the travel bans to Beijing. The elected officials visited Taipei in May, as New Zealand parliamentarians have done “for decades,” a spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.
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