TORONTO, Canada (AFP) — Thousands of people attended vigils Sunday in Canada for the 57 Canadian victims of the Ukrainian airliner crash in Iran, most of them from the Iranian community. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a memorial in Edmonton that “this tragedy struck our Iranian-Canadian community, leaving cities like Edmonton reeling, but this was truly a Canadian tragedy.” “We want to assure all families and all Canadians that we will not rest until there […]
Tag: US
Trump warns Iran not to kill protesters, says door still open to talks
by Jim MANNION Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump warned Iran Sunday against killing protesters who have risen up over the regime’s downing of a civilian airliner as his defense secretary left the door open to talks with Tehran without preconditions. Trump’s salvo came as Iran’s Islamic regime faced a challenge from angry street protests, having come to the brink of war with the US after a series […]
Iran agrees de-escalation ‘only solution’ to solve crisis with US
by David Vujanovic TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iran signaled Sunday it favors a de-escalation after 10 days of heightened tensions with the United States during which both sides fired missiles and Tehran accidentally shot down a passenger aircraft. Security was stepped up in Iran’s capital after a vigil the previous night for those killed in the air disaster turned into an angry protest and police temporarily arrested the British ambassador for being there. US President […]
In the words of a general: how Iran downed airliner (excerpts of 12-minute explanation of Iran military)
TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — The aerospace commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Saturday accepted full responsibility for the shooting down of a Ukrainian passenger jet. In remarks aired on state television, Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh said the missile operator who fired on the plane did so independently because of communications “jamming”. It came as Iran acknowledged the Boeing 737 had been shot down, after denying for days Western claims that it was likely to […]
EU aviation agency warns against flying over Iran ‘until futher notice’
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — The EU’s air safety agency on Saturday advised airlines to avoid flying over Iran, after Tehran admitted mistakenly shooting down a passenger jet, killing 176 people. After days of denials, Iranian authorities finally acknowledged that air defences had brought the Ukrainian airliner down with missiles, blaming “human error”. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said it had re-evaluated the dangers to commercial airline operations in light of Tehran’s admission. “On the […]
Ukraine demands punishment, compensation for airliner downed by Iran
KIEV, Ukraine (AFP) — President Volodymyr Zelensky demanded Saturday that Iran punish those responsible for the downing of a Ukrainian airliner, pay compensation and apologise. “We expect Iran… to bring the guilty to the courts,” the Ukrainian leader wrote on Facebook, calling also for the “payment of compensation” and the return of remains. Tehran admitted Saturday that it accidentally downed the Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) plane, killing all 176 people on board on Wednesday, […]
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 […]
Planes brought down by missiles since 1973
Iran on Saturday said its armed forces had “unintentionally” shot down the Ukrainian airliner which crashed outside Tehran. The admission came a day after the country’s civil aviation chief had denied that the plane was brought down by a missile. The Boeing 737 crashed on Wednesday, killing all 176 passengers and crew on board, shortly after Iran launched missiles at American forces in Iraq in response to the killing of top Iranian general Qasem […]
‘Damning’ Boeing emails say 737 MAX was ‘designed by clowns’
by Luc OLINGA Agence France Presse Boeing employees bantered about whether the 737 MAX was safe to fly and joked that the aircraft was “designed by clowns who in turn are supervised by monkeys,” according to emails released late Thursday. “Would you put your family on a MAX simulator trained aircraft? I wouldn’t,” a Boeing employee wrote to a colleague in one newly-released exchange conducted about eight months before the first of two fatal […]
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”. […]
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 […]
California governor seeks $1.4 billion for homelessness crisis
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — California Governor Gavin Newsom is seeking $1.4 billion dollars from lawmakers to tackle the escalating homelessness crisis in his state and plans to use the money to open shelters, pay rent and provide health care, his office said. The Democratic governor, who plans to formally submit his proposal on Friday, this week also signed an executive order directing agencies to identify state-owned land that can be used as temporary […]





