Circumstances of deaths raise concerns about pressure on gathering and departure facilities
The fatal shooting of two Eritrean men in Libya has raised concerns about overcrowding in UN facilities for refugees there.
The pair were reportedly killed in Tripoli last Thursday, days after the UN refugee agency had pressed them to leave a so-called gathering and departure facility (GDF).
Continue reading...Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau has promised justice for victims of the Ukraine Airlines flight shot down in Iran. Memorials were held across Canada for the 57 Canadians killed in the crash - including one interrupted by a protester in Toronto
Emotional prime minister tells Edmonton gathering that Canada ‘will not rest until there are answers’
Justin Trudeau, his voice sometimes breaking, has told a vigil for some of those killed in an Iranian plane disaster that he would “pursue justice and accountability” for what happened.
Iran says it mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian airliner on Wednesday, killing 176 people. At least 57 Canadians died, most of them of Iranian descent, in one of the biggest single losses of life Canada has suffered in 40 years.
Continue reading...Authorities break up second day of demonstrations that continued into the evening
Iran was facing a renewed crisis on Sunday night with authorities using teargas to break up a second straight day of protests in Tehran and demonstrations spreading to other cities, as the nation’s leadership struggled to contain public anger over the Iranian military’s shooting down of a commercial airliner with 176 people on board.
Britain also found itself caught up in the furore as pro-regime protesters set alight a union jack flag in front of the UK embassy in Tehran after the British ambassador was briefly detained the night before and accused of coordinating protests, which he denies. Chanting “death to Britain”, up to 200 protesters including members of a pro-regime paramilitary organisation rallied outside the mission calling for it to be closed a day after Rob Macaire was arrested. He was later summoned by the Iranian foreign ministry.
Continue reading...Warring sides also plan to deploy more troops despite Russian-Turkish brokered deal
A Russian-Turkish brokered ceasefire between the two warring groups in Libya was struggling to take hold in Tripoli as both sides accused the other of breaches and laid out plans to mobilise more forces.
In a breakthrough on Saturday, both sides in the civil war – the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), based in Tripoli, and the Libyan National Army (LNA) forces led from the east of Libya by Gen Khalifa Haftar – agreed to a ceasefire proposed last week by Russia and Turkey.
Continue reading...Trump and Pompeo should act with extreme caution in the wake of this terrible incident
The crash of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 over Iran, which killed all 176 people on board, is a tragedy. The human cost should not be obscured by the recriminations that have followed. Many families in Iran, Canada, Britain and elsewhere have suffered a devastating blow. In addition to the lives lost, countless more lives have been irreparably damaged.
The Iranian government’s admission of responsibility is welcome. It should have come sooner. Tehran’s hasty claim, within hours of the disaster, that mechanical problems were to blame provoked immediate suspicion. Within 24 hours, video and other evidence emerged, clearly indicating the airliner was hit by a ground-to-air missile, yet Iranian spokesmen and diplomats persisted with their implausible denials.
Continue reading...Trainees not involved in attack but reportedly accused of having extremist links or possessing child abuse images
The US will expel at least a dozen Saudi military students accused of extremist links and possessing child sexual abuse images, after an investigation into a shooting rampage by a Saudi officer in Florida, according to media reports.
In December Mohammed Alshamrani, who was in the US as part of a Saudi military training program, opened fire in a classroom at the Pensacola naval air station, killing three sailors and wounding eight other people before being shot dead by police.
Continue reading...Protesters speak out against supreme leader in response to deaths of Iranians in disaster
Iran’s embattled regime was shaken by a wave of international condemnation and domestic criticism on Saturday night after admitting its forces shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane with 176 people on board and lied in a bid to cover up its role in the tragedy.
Facing possibly the biggest crisis since the 1979 Islamic revolution, senior clerical, political and military leaders scrambled to contain the fallout from what President Hassan Rouhani termed a “disastrous mistake”.
Continue reading...Tehran says its military unintentionally shot down Ukraine International Airlines flight 752, killing all 176 people onboard
As Iranians protest over their government’s mishandling of the downing of Ukrainian International Airlines flight 752, in London Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn has addressed hundreds marching against the prospect of war with Iran.
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), which co-organised the demonstration with the Stop the War Coalition, is carrying photos of the protest on its Twitter feed.
Great to have @jeremycorbyn with us in Trafalgar Square calling for peace in the middle east and #NoWarOnIran! pic.twitter.com/ZiREqwadWO
Kate Hudson of @CNDuk and the legendary Tariq Ali speaking on #NoWarOnIran #NoWarWithIran platform pic.twitter.com/Veps8UjI0K
#NoWarOnIran protesters gathering in Trafalgar Square. Other protests taking place in Chesterfield, Manchester, Newcastle, Liverpool and Bristol today. Many more are planned. Thank you to you all. Let's rebuild our movement, get the troops out of Iraq and stop a war on Iran. pic.twitter.com/js7rbwgBli
Thousands marching down Regent Street in Central London to say #NoWarOnIran pic.twitter.com/STPXScEG0K
And we're off! Marching to Trafalgar Square to say #NoWarOnIran! pic.twitter.com/QNAhy3kUAV
Following on from the previous report about domestic reaction to the Iranian mea culpa, reports are emerging on Twitter of protests in the street in Tehran over the government’s handling of the fiasco.
Protest at Tehran's Amir Kabir university, students shouting "Shameless" #Iranplanecrash https://t.co/FtdC1GeTqI
Another video from the protest at a university in the Iranian capital where students call for justice over #Iranplanecrash "Resignation is not enough. Prosecution is necessary." https://t.co/Z4FzVSX60W
Images from #Tehran today. People chanting “down with the liar” #UkrainePlainCrash https://t.co/eugROR45Bo
ساعت ۴ و ۵۰ دقیقه: جمعیت اولیه جلوی دانشگاه امیرکبیر.
نه خودمان مسلحیم نه #عموهایمان.
اویی که مسلح است شمایید، اویی که میکشد، اویی که دروغ میگوید، اویی که فریب میدهد، و اویی باز میکشد شمایید.
اینبار کمتر خون بریزید..#دروغ_سخت pic.twitter.com/AcmNDg07pR
Ukrainian president also calls for full admission of guilt, justice and compensation
Iran’s admission that it accidentally shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane has been met with international demands for a full investigation into the disaster, in which 176 people died during a period of soaring tensions between Tehran and Washington.
A statement carried on Iran’s official IRNA news agency on Saturday morning said the military had made an “unforgivable mistake” in targeting Ukraine International Airlines flight 752 shortly after it took off from Tehran’s international airport on Wednesday. It was followed by condolences from Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and an apology from the country’s president, Hassan Rouhani.
Continue reading...Country has shaped an ‘axis of resistance’ with proxy forces and influence in Middle East
There has been a calibrated de-escalation of tensions between the US and Iran, after a drone strike killed General Qassem Suleimani, the second most powerful man in Iran and most influential military commander in the region. Missile strikes on US bases allowed Iran to claim it had responded in kind, without causing any American casualties that could have prompted a further US attack.
But there is little expectation that this will be the end of Iran’s response to such a significant loss. The country has spent years honing its assets and expertise in asymmetric warfare, to strike against better armed, better funded opponents.
Continue reading...Reports say Haitham bin Tariq al-Said will replace Sultan Qaboos bin Said, who had no children
Oman’s Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the Arab world’s longest-serving ruler and with a reputation for quiet diplomacy, has died at the age of 79.
His cousin, Haitham bin Tariq al-Said, will be sworn in as the new sultan, ending decades of speculation over who would succeed the popular ruler.
Continue reading...The strike on Suleimani represented a significant victory for Pompeo, his outsize influence on Trump and his Iran fixation
When the US embassy in Baghdad was mobbed on the last day of 2019, a rattled Donald Trump turned to his most hawkish aide, Mike Pompeo, and finally agreed to the extreme measure the secretary of state had long advocated: the assassination of Qassem Suleimani.
The drone strike on the Iranian general a week ago may well turn out to be one of the most consequential decisions of the Trump presidency. It represented a significant victory for Pompeo, reflecting his ascendancy in foreign policy and national security spheres.
Continue reading...There are suspicions in the west, denials in Tehran, grim echoes for Ukraine, and grief spread far and wide
It was still dark when Ukraine International Airlines flight 752 took off on Wednesday from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini airport. Onboard were 176 people. Most were returning home after holidays spent with families and friends in Iran. They were couples, newlyweds, students.
A mother and a daughter – Sahar Hagjjoo and her eight-year-old child Elsa – posed for a photograph together after taking their seats. A sweet one, with the pair relaxed, smiling, a little tired from the early start. Everyone on the plane would have known of the strained diplomatic circumstances swirling before them.
Continue reading...Secretary of state says US is only willing to discuss future structure of forces in country
Washington is not willing to bow to Iraqi demands to withdraw its troops and any future discussions with Baghdad will be purely confined to the future structure of its forces in the country, the US state department has said.
The recommitment to US troops in Iraq defies an Iraqi parliament vote last week demanding all US forces leave in the wake of the killing of the Iranian general Qassem Suleimani by a drone strike in Baghdad. The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, said the US was only willing to discuss force reconfiguration with the Iraqis, and a greater contribution by Nato forces.
Continue reading...Flight came down shortly after take off from airport in Tehran on 8 January
Ukraine International Airlines flight 752 took off at 6.12am on 8 January after nearly an hour’s delay at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport. It gained altitude heading west, reaching nearly 8,000ft, according to flight-tracking data.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Darryn Frost tells of fighting terrorist with narwhal tusk and of dangers of US policy
The man who used a narwhal tusk to tackle the London Bridge terrorist Usman Khan has accused Donald Trump of “feeding terror” with his belligerent Middle East policy, warning it will breed more murderous attackers like the one he and others faced.
In his first interview since Khan killed two people and injured several more at a criminal justice conference on 29 November, Darryn Frost said the US president’s decision to assassinate General Qassem Suleimani would cost lives and added: “The next generation of terrorists will rise as a direct result of these actions and we must condemn them now.”
Continue reading...Volodymyr Zelenskiy to discuss investigation with US secretary of state Mike Pompeo
The head of Iran’s Civil Aviation body has told reporters that authorities examining the contents of the Flight 752’s black box today at a laboratory at Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport.
The will attempt to assess whether it is possible to reconstruct and analyse the information inside the country, according to Iran’s IRNA news agency.
A British-Iranian woman jailed in Iran has had panic attacks since tensions between the country and the US escalated, her husband has said.
Richard Ratcliffe said the fallout from Donald Trump’s assassination of the Iranian general Qassem Suleimani was taking a toll on the mental health of his wife, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.
Continue reading...As president and foreign minister, we always advocated peace. In war, all victories are pyrrhic ones
The assassination of Qassem Suleimani by drone bombs, at the express request of the president of the United States, has thrown the Middle East – and the world – into the most serious global security crisis since the end of the cold war. By unilaterally ordering the execution of a senior Iranian military on Iraqi soil, Donald Trump violated international law and took a reckless and dangerous step in escalating conflict, with potential impact all over the planet.
Related: Justin Trudeau calls for investigation into Iran plane crash as Canada mourns
Continue reading...Qassem Suleimani, who was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad, was widely considered to be the most powerful man in Iran after the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – and Iran's leading military figure.
Suleimani’s assassination has plunged the Middle East into a crisis that seems likely to lead to further escalation between Washington and Tehran. The Guardian's Middle East correspondent Martin Chulov examines what motivated Donald Trump to order the assassination
Continue reading...