Effigy burned on streets of Tehran as diplomat accused of ‘interfering in internal affairs’
Iran’s judiciary has described the UK’s ambassador to Tehran as “persona non grata” and called for his expulsion, while crowds of regime supporters burned his effigy alongside the British flag.
The actions came after the envoy, Rob Macaire, was briefly arrested at the weekend and accused of “coordinating” anti-government protests.
Continue reading...A leak of stolen data could potentially affect the impeachment process and the US election contest
Russian military hackers tried to steal emails from the Ukrainian energy firm where Hunter Biden, the son of the Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden, had a seat on the board, a US cybersecurity firm said.
The energy company Burisma Holdings was at the center of attempts by president Donald Trump last July to pressure Ukrainian authorities to announce an investigation into the Bidens for purported corruption, an effort that has led to the Republican being impeached by the US House of Representatives on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
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
A vigil in front of Tehran's Amikabir University for the victims of flight 752 that Iran said it accidentally downed turned into an anti-government protest on Saturday. Demonstrators called for the resignation of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, chanting 'death to the dictator'
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...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...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...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...A new video has emerged which appears to show the moment a Ukrainian passenger jet was shot down in Iran. Originally obtained by the New York Times, the phone footage shows a tiny spec suddenly exploding. The light disappears before the sound of impact can be heard just over 20 seconds later. All 176 people on board were killed. The plane crashed hours after Iran targeted US military assets in neighbouring Iraq. The US and other western allies believe the passenger jet was accidentally shot down by an Iranian missile
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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...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...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...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...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
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 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...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.
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