Asia

Cousin of late Oman sultan sworn in as new ruler

  Haitham bin Tariq, Oman’s culture minister and the 65-year-old cousin of late Sultan Qaboos, has been sworn in as the new royal ruler, the government said Saturday. “Haitham bin Tariq was sworn in as the new sultan of the country… after a meeting of the family which decided to appoint the one who was chosen by the sultan,” the government said in a tweet. Sultan Qaboos, the longest-reigning leader of the modern Arab world […]

Oman Sultan Qaboos, longest reigning leader of modern Arab world, has died: state media

  MUSCAT, Oman (AFP) — Sultan Qaboos, the longest-reigning leader of the modern Arab world, has died at the age of 79, the royal court said Saturday. “With great sorrow and deep sadness… the royal court mourns His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, who passed away on Friday,” the court said in a statement. Qaboos, who has ruled since 1970 when he deposed his father in a palace coup, had been ill for some time […]

US piles on sanctions pain against Iran

  by Sebastian Smith Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States piled new sanctions on Iran’s already crippled economy Friday and defended the killing of a top Iranian leader, saying he had been planning an “imminent” attack on US embassies. The sanctions, announced at the White House, marked the latest salvo in a US-Iranian confrontation that risked sliding into war a week ago with the deadly US drone attack on general […]

“Unforgivable mistake” says Iran’s President Rouhani on military’s “human error” in downing Ukraine plane

(Eagle News) – Iranian president Hassan Rouhani said that the “human error” on the part of Iran’s military that caused the crash of a Ukrainian plane carrying 176 people was a “great tragedy” and an “unforgivable mistake.” In a tweet posted after the Iranian military’s admission of its “unintentionally” firing a missile at the Ukraine plane, president Rouhani said: “Armed Forces’ internal investigation has concluded that regrettably missiles fired due to human error caused the […]

JUST IN: Iran admits it “unintentionally” shot down Ukrainian plane, issues apology

(Eagle News) — Iran admitted that it had “unintentionally” shot down a Ukrainian plane carrying 176 people after the jet flew close to a “sensitive military center.” The statement by the Iran military was read on state TV, and was immediately reported by various news agencies. It said that people responsible for this would be held accountable. Iran’s armed forces said it mistook the Ukraine jet that just took off from an airport in Tehran […]

Top Ukrainian diplomat wants to find truth behind jet crash as missile strike claims mount

  Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said Friday his country wanted to know facts about the crash of its jetliner near Tehran after several nations pointed the finger at Iran. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo became the latest senior official to say that the Ukrainian jet was likely downed by an Iranian missile, after Canadian, Australian and UK leaders voiced similar conclusions. “We have many reasons to be fair in our investigation. First, we […]

China reports first death from mystery pneumonia outbreak

SHANGHAI, China (AFP) — Health authorities in central China reported the first death on Saturday from a mysterious pneumonia outbreak that has been blamed on a new strain of virus from the same family as SARS. Out of 41 people diagnosed with the new type of coronavirus in the city of Wuhan where it was first confirmed, one had died, two were discharged from treatment, and seven remained in serious condition, the Wuhan Municipal Health […]

Crash of PS752 in Iran: Was the aircraft shot down?

  by Daphne BENOIT and Stuart WILLIAMS Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — A Boeing passenger jet crashed in Iran early on January 8, hours after Tehran had launched a barrage of missiles at bases housing American troops in Iraq, in retaliation for the killing of commander Qasem Soleimani in a US strike. All 176 on board the Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) flight PS752 — mainly Iranian-Canadian dual nationals but also Ukrainians, Afghans, Britons […]

Iran denies missile downed Ukrainian plane

by Amir Havasi Agence France Presse TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iran’s civil aviation chief denied Friday that a missile downed a Ukrainian airliner which crashed killing all 176 people on board, rejecting Western claims of a catastrophic mistake by Tehran’s air defences. The cause of the crash is to be announced Saturday after an investigating committee meeting in the presence of foreign and local parties involved, Iran’s Fars news agency said, quoting an “informed source”. […]

UK PM says information suggests Ukraine jet hit by Iran missile

  LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Thursday that there was now “a body of information” that the Ukrainian Boeing 747 that crashed in Iran, killing all 176 people aboard, was brought down by an Iranian missile. His comments follow a similar message by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. “There is now a body of information that the flight was shot down by an Iranian Surface to Air Missile. This […]

Canadian PM: Iranian missile brought down airliner

  by Dave Chan Agence France Presse OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday multiple intelligence sources indicate that Iran shot down a Ukrainian airliner after it took off from Tehran, killing all 176 on board, including 63 Canadians. Trudeau’s comments came as video emerged that appeared to show the moment the airliner was hit. That and other footage posted on social media increasingly pointed to a catastrophic mistake by Tehran’s air […]

Thousands, including OFWs, attend relaunch of INC’s “My Countrymen, My Brethren” in Japan

  By Tyra’nell Pille Lu EBC Japan Bureau/Eagle News Service   TOKYO, Japan (Eagle News) — The new year opened with a simultaneous relaunching of the humanitarian worldwide project, “My Countrymen, My Brethren” (Kabayan Ko, Kapatid Ko) (organized by the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ), which here in Japan was held in five locations. The event also reached out to various Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) worldwide. In Japan, the event gathered thousands of people […]