World Geography And Politics Daily News | 11 Jul 2023
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Boeing 737 crash: Coroner rules Britons unlawfully killed
A coroner has ruled the three Britons who died in the 2019 crash in Ethiopia were killed unlawfully.
Three British people who died in a plane crash were unlawfully killed, a coroner has ruled.
Sam Pegram, Oliver Vick and Joanna Toole were among 157 people who died aboard a Boeing 737 Max airliner in Ethiopia in 2019.
The court heard flight ET302 from Addis Ababa to Kenya crashed shortly after take-off because of a design flaw.
A sensor failure meant that flight control software, designed to make the plane easier and more predictable to fly, deployed at the wrong time and pushed the aircraft into a catastrophic dive.
Despite the pilots' efforts to regain control of the plane, it crashed in remote farmland outside the Ethiopian capital.
West Sussex coroner Penelope Schofield said the incident occurred as a result of a series of failures relating to the development and operation of the flight control software, known as MCAS.
Two employees of the manufacturer, she said, had deliberately deceived regulators and operators of the 737 Max over the operation of a safety critical system.
The inquest heard Mr Pegram's parents describe the 25-year-old humanitarian worker as a kind, compassionate man with an infectious sense of humour.
"He had a passion for human rights, but also had the drive and inner strength to make a difference," his father Mark said.
Ms Toole's father explained how his 36-year-old daughter, a sustainability campaigner, had "the rare combination of empathy for animals and people".
The death of a child, he said was "like losing a part of yourself," he added.
Mr Vick, who was also a humanitarian worker, was described by his mother Cheryl as a devoted father to his daughters, who had an "unwavering focus on making the world a better place for as many people as possible".
Abdulqadir Qasim, a former Somali refugee, who arrived in the UK aged 25 had been on his way to Kenya to have a meeting about a new job when he died in the crash.
There was no inquest into his death, but in a video statement in court on Monday, his wife Qamar described how he had been a "wonderful husband and father".
His youngest son, she said, had been a toddler at the time of the crash and could not remember his dad.
Prior to the Ethiopia crash, an identical failure caused another Boeing 737 Max to crash into the sea off Indonesia, killing 189 people.
The 737 Max was eventually grounded for 20 months after the two crashes.
The company has admitted responsibility for the loss of the Ethiopian flight, but in an agreement with the US government it gained immunity from prosecution in exchange for $2.5bn (£1.9bn) in fines and compensation.
North Korea threatens to down US spy planes violating its airspace
North Korea on Monday threatened to shoot down any US spy planes violating its airspace and condemned Washington's plans to deploy a nuclear missile submarine near the Korean peninsula.Late on Monday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's powerful sister Kim Yo Jong said that a US spy aircraft had violated the country's eastern airspace twice on Monday morning, according to a statement.
North Korea on Monday threatened to shoot down any US spy planes violating its airspace and condemned Washington's plans to deploy a nuclear missile submarine near the Korean peninsula.
A spokesperson for the North's Ministry of National Defence said the United States has "intensified espionage activities beyond the wartime level", with "provocative" flights made by US spy aircraft over eight straight days this month, and one reconnaissance plane intruding into its airspace over the East Sea "several times".
"There is no guarantee that such shocking accident as downing of the US Air Force strategic reconnaissance plane will not happen in the East Sea of Korea," the spokesperson said in a statement, carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.
The spokesperson cited past incidents when Pyongyang shot down US aircraft, and warned the United States would pay for its "frantically staged" air espionage.
Late on Monday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's powerful sister Kim Yo Jong said that a US spy aircraft had violated the country's eastern airspace twice on Monday morning, according to a statement.
Kim Yo Jong said that the North would not respond directly to US reconnaissance activities outside of the country's exclusive economic zone, but warned that it would take "decisive action" if the US military crosses its maritime military demarcation line.
In a separate statement carried by KCNA Tuesday, Kim Yo Jong warned that the US military would face "a very critical flight" in case of a new intrusion by a US aircraft.
The earlier KCNA statement also slammed the planned deployment of US strategic nuclear assets to the Korean peninsula as "the most undisguised nuclear blackmail" against North Korea, saying it posed a grave threat to regional and global security.
"The present situation clearly proves that the situation of the Korean peninsula is coming closer to the threshold of nuclear conflict due to the US provocative military action," it read.
Washington said in April that it would send a nuclear-armed ballistic submarine to make the first visit to a South Korean port in decades, without specifying the exact timing.
North Korea has conducted multiple sanctions-defying launches this year, including test-firing its most powerful intercontinental ballistic missiles, and in May attempting to put a military spy satellite into orbit.
South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol has ramped up defence cooperation with Washington in response, staging joint military exercises with advanced stealth jets and powerful US strategic assets.
Yoon is set to attend a NATO summit in Lithuania this week, seeking stronger cooperation with NATO members over North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats, his office said.
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Iran accuses Ukraine of ‘pursuing political goals’ over lawsuit with UN court
Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has accused Ukraine, Canada, Sweden, and the UK of allegedly "pursuing political goals" through their lawsuit against Iran filed with the UN International Court of Justice, Iranian news agency IRNA reported on July 10. This lawsuit pertains to Iran downing the Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 in 2020.
The Iranian ministry's statement asserts that the country immediately established an "independent technical group" after the plane was shot down. The statement also claims that Iran is undertaking necessary measures "in good faith, with transparency, and utmost seriousness" to conduct an investigation and ascertain all elements of this tragic incident.
Furthermore, the statement alleges that Iran has provided assistance and promptly facilitated visas for over 50 specialists and experts from Ukraine and Canada to visit the crash site.
Iran's government said that a technical report, prepared with the involvement of experts from France, the United States, Ukraine, Canada, and the UK, was compiled following the conclusion of the investigation. The statement further highlights that the report was "well-received" by the majority of these experts.
According to the statement, Tehran's military prosecutor's office conducted a detailed and thorough investigation independently, objectively, and in accordance with Iran's internal laws and regulations, based on its legal jurisdiction.
Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also declared its willingness to participate in joint negotiations with the governments of the four countries, with the aim to "demonstrate goodwill and prevent the use of this tragic incident for political purposes."
The ministry stated that it awaits a response from these countries to continue negotiations at a determined time.
"Their request for negotiations was essentially a means to achieve their political goals and interests, as they referred the case to the UN International Court of Justice," added the statement.
On June 29, Ukraine and other participants of the International Coordination Group filed a lawsuit against Iran with the UN International Court of Justice over the downing of flight PS752.
The Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800, flying from Tehran to Kyiv, was shot down on January 8, 2020, shortly after taking off from the Tehran airport. All 176 people aboard, including 11 Ukrainians, were killed. Most of the victims were Iranian and Canadian citizens.
Four days after the crash, Iran officially admitted that its military mistakenly shot down the airliner, mistaking it for a hostile target. The plane’s flight recorders confirmed that the aircraft was in good condition and the crash occurred due to two surface-to-air missile hits.
Iran maintains that the plane crash was due to a mistake by an air defense operator, not an order from the military leadership. Ukraine disputes this stance, demanding participation in the investigation and financial compensation.
In April 2023, an Iranian court sentenced 10 Iranian military personnel implicated in the plane crash to prison terms. One commander received a 10-year sentence, while the other nine military personnel were given sentences ranging from one to three years.
The International Assistance Coordination Group that represents the victims of the plane crash characterized the trial as fictitious and non-transparent, asserting that the victims' families are still awaiting justice.
Nobel Laureate Matviichuk asks South Africa for clear position on Putin's arrest warrant
Oleksandra Matviichuk, a human rights lawyer and a Nobel Prize laureate, asked South African President Cyril Ramaphosa for a clear position on Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's arrest warrant on July 10.
"A BRICS summit will be held in the South African Republic in August. There are intense discussions in the country itself and on the international level about whether the country's leadership will execute the arrest warrant if the Russian president dares to come," the head of the Center for Civil Liberties wrote on social media.
According to the civil society leader, partners in South Africa are putting up banners calling for Putin's arrest, and many more locals are offering to help.
"Because when you can't rely on legal instruments, you can always rely on people anyway. Solidarity has no state borders and does not depend on social status, political views, citizenship, skin color, religion, etc. First of all, we are people," Matviichuk said.
‘Whistleblower’ who accused Bidens of corruption is charged with arms trafficking and violating Iran sanctions
A “whistleblower” who has repeatedly accused the Bidens of corruption has been charged by the Justice Department with arms trafficking, acting as a foreign agent for China and violating Iran sanctions. Gal Luft, who is a citizen of both the United States and Israel, is accused of paying a former adviser to Donald Trump on behalf of principals in China in 2016 without registering as a foreign agent.
Prosecutors say that Mr Luft pushed the former government employee, who is not named, to push policies that were favourable to China.
Mr Luft, 57, was arrested in Cyprus in February on US charges but fled after being released on bail while awaiting extradition, stated prosecutors. He is not currently in US custody.
Prosecutors also allege that he set up meetings between officials of Iran and a Chinese energy company to discuss oil deals, which would violate US sanctions on the
Putin met Prigozhin for private talks in Moscow after mutiny
Vladimir Putin held a secret meeting with Yevgeny Prigozhin five days after the Wagner chief’s failed mutiny, despite promising to punish him over the rebellion.
The Kremlin said that Putin had called the meeting to hear first-hand why the group had rebelled five days earlier.
“Putin listened to the explanations of the [Wagner] commanders and offered them further options for employment and combat options,” Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s spokesman, said.
Putin, meanwhile, had an unusually light public schedule on the day of the meeting. His only official engagement was a speech at a strategy forum in the Russian capital.
Putin agreed to allow the Wagner founder and his men to move to Belarus and to drop criminal cases of armed mutiny against them as part of the arrangement.
Mr Peskov said that Prigozhin and his commanders had apologised to Putin at last month’s meeting and insisted that the target of their rebellion was the Russian Ministry of Defence.
“They emphasised that they were staunch supporters and soldiers of the head of state and the supreme commander in chief, and also said that they were ready to continue to fight for the Motherland,” Mr Peskov said.
Peskov’s confirmation of the meeting came after French newspaper Libération reported that Putin and Prigozhin had held in-person talks on Jul 1, citing an unnamed Western intelligence source.
Analysts said the move to meet with Prigozhin indicated Putin may still be reliant on the Wagner chief despite the recent turmoil.
Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which Wagner mercenaries were heavily involved in, has continued to falter in recent weeks and Russia’s president appears increasingly isolated following the Jun 24 rebellion.
The apparent inaction of the Russian military to stop Prigozhin’s uprising has raised questions over whether Putin can count on the loyalty of his security forces.
Putin has already promised to beef up the National Guard, which reports directly to him, and may also want to ensure the loyalty of battle-hardened Wagner fighters.
Russian officials have made only a half-hearted effort to close Wagner down since its rebellion, pressuring its fighters to sign contracts with the military or relocate to Belarus and pulling down roadside advertising, although its recruiting systems are still working.
Lukashenko said last week that Prigozhin was back in Russia and that Wagner fighters had not yet taken up the offer to relocate to Belarus, raising questions about the implementation of the agreement.
Konstantin Sonin, professor of public policy at the University of Chicago, said that Putin’s apparent rapprochement with his former ally showed him to be a “dysfunctional autocrat”.
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