DUBAI: The helicopter crash in which Iran’s late President Ebrahim Raisi was killed in May was caused by weather conditions and the aircraft’s inability to handle the weight it was carrying, Iran’s semi-official news agency reported on Wednesday, citing a security source informed of the final investigation results.
A preliminary report by Iran’s military had said in May that no evidence of foul play or attack had been found so far during investigations into the crash.
“The investigation in the case of Ayatollah Raisi’s helicopter crash have been completed ... there is complete certainty that what happened was an accident,” the security source that was not named told Fars news agency.
Two reasons for the accident were identified: the weather conditions were not suitable and the helicopter was unable to handle the weight, leading to it crashing into a mountain, the source added, according to Fars.
The investigations indicate that the helicopter was carrying two individuals more than the capacity that security protocols dictate, the source told Fars.
Raisi, a hard-liner and potential successor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in the crash in mountainous terrain near the Azerbaijan border.
Helicopter of Iran’s late President Raisi crashed due to weather, Fars says
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Helicopter of Iran’s late President Raisi crashed due to weather, Fars says
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- “The investigation in the case of Raisi’s helicopter crash have been completed ... there is complete certainty that what happened was an accident,” a security source said
Lufthansa extends Beirut flight suspension
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Lufthansa had also suspended flights to Tel Aviv in Israel due to the tensions, but resumed them on September 5
FRANKFURT: German airline group Lufthansa said Thursday it was extending a suspension of flights to Lebanese capital Beirut until October 15 due to heightened regional tensions.
Services to Beirut had previously been suspended until the end of September.
The Lufthansa group, whose carriers also include SWISS, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines, has not flown to Beirut since late July.
Lebanese group Hezbollah has traded near-daily fire with Israeli forces in support of ally Hamas since the Palestinian militant group's October 7 attack triggered war in the Gaza Strip.
Lufthansa had also suspended flights to Tel Aviv in Israel due to the tensions, but resumed them on September 5.
Flights to Tehran also resumed on September 5, although Austrian Airlines is currently the only airline in the group serving the Iranian capital, a Lufthansa spokesman told AFP.
Germany, France and Britain on Tuesday said they were taking steps to cancel air transport agreements with Iran because of what they said was Iran's delivery of ballistic missiles to Russia.
"The Lufthansa group is aware of the planned sanctions and is in contact with the relevant authorities," the spokesman said.
Germany's foreign ministry on Wednesday said the country was "currently in intensive consultation with its European and international partners about the imposition of new sanctions, including in the aviation sector".
EU top diplomat urges Lebanon and Israel to ease tensions along their border
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- “Since I lasted visited Lebanon in January the drums of war have not stopped pounding,” Borrell told reporters in Beirut
- Borrell said that according to the United Nations more than 4,000 residential buildings have been completely destroyed in Lebanon
BEIRUT: The European Union’s top diplomat on Thursday urged Lebanon and Israel to work on deescalating tensions along the border, saying that since his last trip to the region in January “the drums of war have not stopped pounding.”
The comments of Josep Borrell, the EU foreign policy chief, came as members of the militant Hezbollah group and Israel’s military carried out cross border attacks along the tense frontier on Thursday.
Western and Arab officials have visited Beirut over the past year to try to reduce tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border, but Hezbollah officials have said they will only stop carrying out attacks along the border when Israel stops its offensive in the Gaza Strip.
“Since I lasted visited Lebanon in January the drums of war have not stopped pounding,” Borrell told reporters in Beirut during a joint press conference with Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bouhabib. “Since then the fears I was outlining have been growing, more escalation, fears of a spillover of the war in Gaza and fears of more widespread human suffering.”
In late August, Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah pulled back after an exchange of heavy fire that briefly raised fears of an all-out war.
Borrell said that according to the United Nations more than 4,000 residential buildings have been completely destroyed in Lebanon and more than 110,000 Lebanese have been forced to leave their homes along the border. He said the same thing is happening on the Israeli side of the border.
The European official said that his message is that the European Union “stands on the side of the Lebanese people to help to overcome the threats and challenges as much as we can.”
More than 500 people have been killed in Lebanon by Israeli strikes since Oct. 8, most of them fighters with Hezbollah and other armed groups but also more than 100 civilians. In northern Israel, 23 soldiers and 26 civilians have been killed by strikes from Lebanon.
“We need to deescalate military tensions and I use this opportunity to urge all sides to pursue this path,” said Borrell, who on Tuesday visited UN peacekeepers deployed in southern Lebanon along the border with Israel.
He added that the “full and asymmetrical implementation” of the UN Security Council resolution that ended the summer 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war should pave the way for a comprehensive settlement including land border demarcation and allowing the return of people and reconstruction in the affected border areas.
“The European Union is doing a lot but we don’t have a magic wand,” he said.
UNESCO warns of possible looting from Sudan museums
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- “UNESCO is deeply concerned about the recent reports of possible looting and damage of several museums and heritage institutions in Sudan,” it said
- It said it had been monitoring the impact of fighting on Sudan’s heritage, cultural institutions and artists since hostilities broke out in 2023
PARIS: The UN cultural agency on Thursday raised the alarm over reports of armed groups looting several museums and heritage institutions in war-wracked Sudan.
“UNESCO is deeply concerned about the recent reports of possible looting and damage of several museums and heritage institutions in Sudan, including the National Museum, by armed groups,” it said.
It said it had been monitoring the impact of fighting on Sudan’s heritage, cultural institutions and artists since hostilities broke out in 2023.
“In recent weeks, this threat to culture appears to have reached an unprecedented level, with reports of looting of museums, heritage and archaeological sites and private collections.”
It said it was particularly concerned by reports of looting at the National Museum of Sudan, as well as the Khalifa House Museum in Omdurman and Nyala Museum in South Darfur.
The National Museum, which opened in the 1970s, has been home to more than 2,700 objects including some important pieces from the ancient Egyptian Pharaonic dynasties and Nubian culture.
“UNESCO reiterates its call upon the public and the art market involved in the trade of cultural property in the region and worldwide to refrain from acquiring or taking part in the import, export or transfer of ownership of cultural property from Sudan,” it said.
The agency said it was planning training in Cairo for members of law enforcement and the judiciary of Sudan’s neighboring countries by the end of the year.
War has raged since April 2023 between the army, under the country’s de facto ruler Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which are commanded by Burhan’s former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
Since the start of fighting, UNESCO says it has supported emergency measures in five other Sudanese archaeological museums, including packing “endangered collections” and preparing “safe havens” for them.
WHO says ‘confident’ target for Gaza polio vaccination campaign met
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- Disease has spread with Gaza lying in ruins and the majority of its 2.4 million residents forced to flee their homes
- WHO had initially said it aimed to vaccinate some 640,000 children, but that had likely been an overestimate of the target population
GENEVA: The World Health Organization said Thursday it was “confident” that a giant polio vaccination drive in Gaza had hit its target of reaching more than 90 percent of children under 10.
Disease has spread with Gaza lying in ruins and the majority of its 2.4 million residents forced to flee their homes due to Israel’s military assault — often taking refuge in cramped and unsanitary conditions.
After the first confirmed polio case in 25 years, a massive vaccination effort began last week targeting at least 90 percent of children under 10, aided by localized “humanitarian pauses” in fighting.
“We are confident that we probably reached the target,” Rik Peeperkorn, the WHO’s representative for the Palestinian territories, told reporters.
WHO had initially said it aimed to vaccinate some 640,000 children, but Peeperkorn said that had likely been an overestimate of the target population.
By Wednesday, he said, 552,451 children had been reached with a first dose of the vaccine, adding that WHO was still waiting for the numbers for the final day of the campaign on Thursday.
He said WHO was “satisfied” with the campaign, hailing the large numbers of parents who had turned out to ensure their children were protected against polio.
Poliovirus, most often spread through sewage and contaminated water, is highly infectious. It can cause deformities and paralysis, and is potentially fatal. It mainly affects children under the age of five.
A fresh campaign to provide a needed second dose is due to begin in about four weeks in Gaza, besieged for over 11 months.
The WHO has stressed that it is vital to reach at least 90 percent coverage to avoid the spread of the disease both within Gaza’s borders and beyond.
Peeperkorn said the WHO was “very much grateful that the area-specific humanitarian pauses have been respected” during the first phase of the campaign, which he said had been permitted to take place in “a polio bubble.”
He called for the respite afforded to be extended to “a much broader area,” allowing for the establishment of proper humanitarian corridors to ensure aid can reach those in need.
The October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Among the dead included in that count were hostages killed in captivity.
Israel’s retaliation has killed at least 41,118 people in Gaza, according to the territory’s health ministry. The UN rights office says most of the dead are women and children.
UAE ruler receives China’s Premier Li Qiang in Abu Dhabi
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ABU DHABI: UAE’s ruler Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed received China’s Premier Li Qiang in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, reported state news agency WAM.
In a statement on X, Sheikh Mohamed said the two discussed joint efforts to enhance comprehensive strategic partnership between their countries.
“The UAE is committed to building upon 40 years of deep-rooted cooperation with China to achieve enduring growth, development, and prosperity for our people,” said Sheikh Mohamed.
I was pleased to meet Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Abu Dhabi today to discuss joint efforts to further enhance the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between our countries. The UAE is committed to building upon 40 years of deep-rooted cooperation with China to achieve enduring… pic.twitter.com/4NTxISsjGU
— محمد بن زايد (@MohamedBinZayed) September 12, 2024