Iran has admitted that its military unintentionally shot down the passenger jet that crashed shortly after takeoff from Tehran on Wednesday. Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 went down minutes into its flight, killing all 176 people onboard.
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Catastrophic failure of Ukraine jet in Iran suggests missile strike
Experts say debris fragments and sudden loss of fail-safe systems point to missile
To civil aviation professionals, including pilots, engineers and former crash investigators, there was something immediately puzzling about the crash of the Ukraine International Airlines passenger jet that fell burning out of the sky minutes after takeoff from Tehran.
Conversation on forums, and in a risk assessment that was rapidly produced by the organisations OpsGroup, pointed to the sudden and catastrophic nature of the event, including the loss of both communications and tracking systems.
Continue reading...Iran plane crash: drone collision and terrorism being explored
Ukraine investigators also cite engine failure and Russian missile among possible causes
A senior Ukrainian security official has said his country’s investigators will explore a range of possible reasons why one of its passenger jets crashed in Iran, including a drone collision, a terrorist bomb and a missile attack, but did not rule out a technical fault was to blame.
Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s national security council, cited unconfirmed reports circulating on social media that debris from a Russian-made missile had been found at the site, on the outskirts of Tehran, where the Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 crashed on Wednesday, killing all 176 passengers and staff onboard.
Continue reading...Iran says it will not give black box from crashed airliner to Boeing
Leaders of Ukraine and Canada vow to find cause of crash that killed dozens of their citizens
Iran’s aviation authority has said it will not hand over flight recorders from the Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 plane that crashed moments after takeoff from Tehran, killing all 176 passengers and crew onboard, either to the aircraft’s manufacturer or US aviation authorities.
The statement was issued on Wednesday as the leaders of Ukraine and Canada, from which dozens of citizens died, vowed to identify the cause of the crash amid contradictory statements and swirling speculation.
Continue reading...Ukraine passenger plane crashes in Iran, killing 176 people – video report
A passenger plane bound for Kyiv has crashed close to Tehran's main international airport, killing 176 people. Video circulated by Iranian news agencies appears to show the Boeing 737-800 bursting into flame minutes after takeoff and plummeting to earth. There was no early indication the crash was linked to Iran's Wednesday morning missile strikes on bases in Iraq hosting US and coalition troops
Continue reading...Iran plane crash: footage appears to show burning wreckage – video
Footage released by Iran Press TV appears to show burning wreckage from moments after a Ukrainian passenger jet crashed near Tehran.
The Ukrainian airliner, which had 176 people onboard, crashed soon after taking off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini airport. Iran's Red Crescent said there was no chance of finding survivors
Iran crash: Ukraine Boeing with 176 onboard comes down near Tehran
Iranians, Canadians, Ukrainians, Swedes, Afghans, Germans and three Britons killed in crash, reports say
A passenger plane carrying 176 people bound for the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, has crashed a few minutes after taking off from Tehran’s main international airport.
Iran’s Red Crescent has said there was no chance of finding survivors, and Pir Hossein Kulivand, an Iranian emergency official, later told state TV all those on board were killed in the crash.
Continue reading...Water-related violence rises globally in past decade
Water shortages and extreme weather contribute to tension in Middle East and India
Violence associated with water has surged in the past decade driven by attacks on civilian water systems in Syria’s civil war and increasing disputes over supplies in India, according to a comprehensive database of conflicts linked to the vital resource.
Recorded incidents of water-related violence have more than doubled in the past 10 years compared with previous decades, the statistics maintained by the California-based Pacific Institute thinktank show.
Continue reading...Ukraine and Russia-backed separatists exchange 200 prisoners
Five riot police suspected of killings among those handed to separatists, provoking outrage
Ukrainian authorities and Russia-backed separatists in the war-torn east of Ukraine have exchanged 200 prisoners, swapping detained fighters for civilians and service personnel held captive in some cases for years.
The exchange provoked outrage in government-held Ukraine after Kyiv handed over to separatists five riot police suspected of killing protesters during a pro-western uprising in 2014 as part of the swap.
Continue reading...Trump condemned for tweets pointing to name of Ukraine whistleblower
President posted link to article that identifies official – then sent a further tweet containing the name
Donald Trump has retweeted material that publicly names the purported whistleblower whose complaint about the US president’s dealings with Ukraine led to his impeachment.
The president on Friday night sent a retweet from one of his supporters containing the alleged name of the individual. Trump drew the attention of his 68 million Twitter followers to the post which, along with publicising the name, inaccurately claimed that the whistleblower “committed perjury by making false statements” and is being protected by Adam Schiff, chairman of the House intelligence committee. There is no evidence to support these assertions.
Earlier, on Thursday, Trump had also retweeted a post by his re-election campaign’s “war room” that linked to an article by the conservative Washington Examiner news website. The article, published on 3 December, has the name of the alleged whistleblower in its headline.
Ukraine aid blocked soon after Trump’s phone call with Zelenskiy, emails show
Trump acted about 90 minutes after the ‘do us a favor’ phone call behind the scenes to freeze aid from the Pentagon
As Republicans and Democrats continue to squabble on the terms of Trump’s impeachment trial in the Senate, newly-released government emails show that it took only about 90 minutes after Donald Trump’s infamous July telephone call to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy for White House officials to order the Pentagon to freeze military funding for Ukraine.
Related: Republican rush to defend Trump reveals a party in thrall to its leader
Continue reading...Vladimir Putin says Trump impeachment grounds are ‘made up’ – video
Speaking at his annual end-of-the-year press conference, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, said pressure on Ukraine by Donald Trump was 'made up' by the Democrats in order to impeach the US president
Continue reading...Impeachment: Trump faces up to history as House prepares to vote
As the president rages, Democrats in the House get ready to vote against him
No volume of howling by Donald Trump could prevent the shadow of history from falling over his White House on Wednesday, as the House of Representatives prepared to approve articles of impeachment against a president for only the third time.
Related: More than 700 historians call for Trump to be impeached as key vote looms
Continue reading...Surgeon and musician held over Ukraine journalist’s murder
Killing of Pavel Sheremet in 2016 car bombing was attempt to destabilise country, say officials
Ukrainian police have detained five people, including a paediatric surgeon and a rock musician, over a 2016 car bomb attack that killed the investigative journalist Pavel Sheremet.
Senior law enforcement officials said the motive for killing 44-year-old Pavel Sheremet was to destabilise the country but declined to say who might have ordered the murder.
Continue reading...Russian TV axes show starring Ukraine’s leader after Putin joke
Zelenskiy sitcom lasted just one night after alluding to Putin in crude sub-language
A Russian television channel has abruptly cancelled a sitcom starring Ukraine’s president after an allusion to a crude joke about Vladimir Putin was aired in Russia’s far east.
The political satire Servant of the People served as a platform for the former comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy to gain popularity and eventually win the Ukrainian presidency, in a vote largely driven by anger at the country’s previous leaders.
Continue reading...Trump-Russia: DoJ watchdog insists ‘We stand by our report’ despite Barr criticism – live
Inspector general Michael Horowitz defends report that found FBI investigation into 2016 Trump campaign was justified – follow live
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Two sources told CNN that the whistleblower whose account led to the impeachment inquiry is prepping for a potential subpoena from the Senate to testify. Donald Trump and his allies have made thinly veiled threats to the whistleblower, who is still anonymous, making some question the safety of revealing the whistleblower’s identity. Here’s more from CNN:
A subpoena would put the whistleblower in uncharted territory, and raise the risk that his or her identity could come out in the course of the trial in the Senate -- where, unlike in the Democrat-led House, some Republicans have expressed a desire to hear from the whistleblower. ...
Depending on how senators structure their likely trial, a subpoena could compel the whistleblower to cooperate with anything from written questions to a closed-door interview in a secure location to a public hearing that would expose the whistleblower’s identity.
Friendly reminder that the House judiciary committee’s debate on the two articles of impeachment will begin tonight at 7pm. Reports say that House Democrats plan to vote on each article separately.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler said there will be separate House votes on each article of impeachment when they go to the floor next week, even though the articles are written into a single resolution, per @jeremyherb
Continue reading...‘Solemn step’: Democrats unveil articles of impeachment against Trump
- Articles concern abuse of power and obstruction of Congress
- Trump set to become third US president to be impeached
- Democrats unveil articles of impeachment – follow live
Democratic congressional leaders have unveiled articles of impeachment against Donald Trump, a historic move set in motion by a whistleblower complaint warning the president was using the power of his office to solicit foreign interference in a US election.
Related: Democrats unveil articles of impeachment against Trump – live
Continue reading...Ukraine’s new president comes face to face with Putin in Paris
Volodymyr Zelenskiy to meet Russian counterpart at summit on Kyiv’s five-year war with Russian separatists
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, faces a major test at a high-stakes summit with Vladimir Putin in Paris as he pursues a campaign promise to negotiate an end to the war in south-east Ukraine despite vocal opposition at home.
Zelenskiy and his Russian counterpart will meet at the Élysée Palace on Monday alongside European leaders for their first face-to-face talks since the comedian-turned-president took office in May.
Continue reading...Making the case for impeaching Trump: a look back at the key testimony – video
Donald Trump "abused the power of his office for personal and political gain, at the expense of [US] national security", congressional Democrats have alleged in a report laying out damning conclusions after two weeks of public hearings in the impeachment inquiry. Here's a look back at some of the key testimony heard by the House Intelligence Committee that led to this point
Continue reading...Trump abused presidency for own gain, Democrats’ impeachment report concludes
- Democrats vote to adopt the report, moving the inquiry forward
- They say evidence shows president improperly pressured Ukraine to influence 2020 election
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The US House intelligence committee voted on Tuesday evening to adopt Democrats’ damning 300-page impeachment report, moving the inquiry into Donald Trump into its next phase.
Trump “abused the power of his office for personal and political gain, at the expense of [US] national security”, congressional Democrats concluded in the report released on Tuesday, which laid out incriminating conclusions after two weeks of public hearings.
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