Briefly

UNITED STATES

Boeing 737 Max won't fly again this year

The top US air transport regulator on Wednesday doused Boeing's hopes that its 737 Max aircraft would return to the skies this year while lawmakers probed why the agency failed to ground the plane after the first of two crashes. In an interview ahead of a congressional hearing, Federal Aviation Administration chief Steve Dickson said the aircraft will not be cleared to fly before 2020. The Max has been grounded since March following the second of two crashes that killed a total of 346 people. The process for approving the Max's return to the skies still has 10 or 11 milestones left to complete, including a certification flight.

SPAIN

Thunberg named Time's Person of the Year

Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg said she was surprised and honored on Wednesday to be named Time's youngest Person of the Year. The Swede, who is in Madrid for the UN climate conference, has become the face of a new generation of environmental activists, drawing large crowds with her appearances at protests and conferences over the past year and a half. Some have welcomed her work, including her speeches challenging world leaders to do more to stop global warming. But others have criticized her sometimes combative tone.