The statement on Saturday morning blames “human error” for the incident, adding that the military mistook Flight 752 for a “hostile target”.

Press TV also quoted Iran’s General Staff of the Armed Forces as saying that the plane had flown close to a “sensitive military site”.

Ukranian plane crash site

The military said it was at its “highest level of readiness” amid the heightened tensions with the United States.

“In such a condition, because of human error and in a unintentional way, the flight was hit,” the military said. It apologised and said it would upgrade its systems to prevent future tragedies.

In a statement posted on social media, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani wrote that the country “deeply regrets this disastrous mistake”.

“My thoughts and prayers go to all the mourning families. I offer my sincerest condolences,” he said, adding that “investigations continue to identify and prosecute this great tragedy and unforgivable mistake”.

Iran had denied for several days that a missile downed the aircraft. But then the US and Canada, citing intelligence, said they believe Iran shot down the aircraft.

On Friday, Ali Abedzadeh, head of Iran’s civil aviation authority, said it was impossible due to close coordination between Iran’s air defence and the civil aviation department.

“What is obvious for us, and what we can say with certainty, is that no missile hit the plane,” Abedzadeh told reporters in Tehran.

The jetliner, a Boeing 737 operated by Ukraine International Airlines, went down on the outskirts of Tehran during takeoff just hours after Iran launched a barrage of missiles at US forces in Iraq.

Al Jazeera’s Assed Baig, reporting from Tehran, said questions were now being raised as to why Iranian authorities kept the country’s air space open during a military operation.

“There’s a lot of explaining to do by Iranian authorities. People want to know why and how it happened.”

In a social media post, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that “human error at time of crisis caused by US adventurism led to the disaster”.

“Our profound regrets, apologies and condolences to our people, to the families of all victims and to other affected nations.”

A team from Iran’s Red Crescent searched the debris for victims

The plane, en route to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, was carrying 167 passengers and nine crew members from several countries, including 82 Iranians, 57 Canadians and 11 Ukrainians, when it was shot down.

“This is the right step for the Iranian government to admit responsibility and it gives people a step toward closure with this admission,” said Payman Parseyan, a prominent Iranian-Canadian in western Canada who lost a number of friends in the crash.

“I think the investigation would have disclosed it whether they admitted it or not. This will give them an opportunity to save face,” he told AP news agency.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

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Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 to Kyiv has today 8th January 2020 crashed after taking off from Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran at 06:12 local time (02:42 GMT) according to BBC sources.

The majority of passengers were from Iran and Canada.

Ukraine’s Tehran embassy initially blamed engine failure but later removed the statement.

It said any comment regarding the cause of the accident prior to a commission’s inquiry was not official. Iranian media blamed technical problems and quoted an aviation official who said no emergency had been declared.

Ukrainian Plane that crashed in Iran killing 176 passengers and crew members

Debris and engine parts from the Boeing 737-800 NG plane were found some 10km (6 miles) from the airport and rescue workers with face masks searched the wreckage for victims.

Throughout the morning, Red Crescent workers laid out a long line of body bags.

Hours before the plane came down Iran carried out a ballistic missile attack on two air bases housing US forces in Iraq. There is no evidence that the two incidents were linked.

A team from Iran’s Red Crescent searched the debris for victims

A series of airlines announced on Wednesday that they were avoiding both Iranian and Iraqi airspace.

Air France and KLM said they would use alternative routes while Lufthansa said it was also cancelling its daily flight to Tehran. Qantas, Air India, Japan Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines were among other airlines taking action.

Who was on board?

Among the victims were 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians including all nine crew, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Britons and three Germans, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said.
Ukrainian officials said that 169 people had bought tickets for the flight but two had not boarded the plane.
It was unclear why such a large number of Canadians were on board, however the airline provides relatively inexpensive flights via Kyiv to Toronto.
Sweden’s foreign ministry said its embassy in Tehran was seeking further information about the crash. Foreign Minister Ann Linde said she had spoken to Mr Prystaiko.
Iran’s head of emergency operations said 147 of the victims were Iranian. That would suggest that 65 of the foreign nationals had dual nationalities.

• Three British nationals among dead in plane crash

President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was cutting short a trip to Oman and flying back to Kyiv. He warned against “speculation or unchecked theories regarding the catastrophe” until official reports were ready.

“My sincere condolences to the relatives and friends of all passengers and crew,” he said in a statement.

Ukraine International Airlines has suspended flights to Tehran indefinitely. The airline said that the Boeing 737-800 was built in 2016 and had its last scheduled maintenance on Monday.

There was no sign of any problems with the plane before take-off and the airline’s president said it had an “excellent, reliable crew”. UIA has never had a fatal crash before.

Mr Zelensky said Ukraine’s entire civil aviation fleet would be checked for airworthiness and criminal proceedings would be opened into the disaster.

Crash scene

Rescue teams have been sent to the crash site but the head of Iran’s Red Crescent told state media that it was “impossible” for anyone to have survived the crash.

Rescue workers had found one of the airliner’s black boxes, Iranian media reported.

Ukraine has organised special planes to fly to Iran to take back the bodies of those killed, pending Iran’s agreement, Mr Zelensky said.

This type of Boeing is one of the most widely-used commercial airliners in the world. Aviation safety analyst Todd Curtis told the BBC: “The airplane was heavily fragmented which means either there was an intense impact on the ground or something happened in the sky,” he said.

What went wrong?

Flight data from the Ukrainian Airlines Boeing 737-800 is openly available online. It shows that the plane climbed normally after taking-off from Tehran.

It reached nearly 8,000ft (2,400m) before the aircraft’s data suddenly disappears.

This is unusual and would suggest some type of catastrophic incident on board the plane. We have no evidence at this stage to tell us what caused the incident.

According to a former air crash investigator, any suggestion of engine failure feels premature. This possibility can’t be ruled out at this early stage but an airliner such as the Boeing 737-800 is designed to keep flying if there is an engine failure.

Plus, if there was a failure then we would normally expect the flight data to show the plane’s climb becoming less steep.

What do we know about the airline?

By Vitaliy Shevchenko, BBC Monitoring

Ukraine International is a well-established private airline with a very good safety record. The Tehran crash is its first such accident since it was founded in 1992.

Although it is not strictly speaking a budget airline, many of its worldwide flights are keenly priced and therefore popular with travellers.

There is no Iranian community of any size in Ukraine and few Ukrainians in Iran, so the Tehran-Kyiv flight is above all a connecting service to destinations beyond Ukraine.

The 63 Canadians killed in the crash had most likely intended to board a later flight from Kyiv to Toronto. Canada’s biggest city is home to a large Iranian community and is even referred to by some Iranians as “Tehran-to”.

After the crash, Ukraine International suspended its services to and from Tehran until further notice.

There are several thousand Boeing 737-800s in operation around the world which have completed tens of millions of flights. They have been involved in 10 incidents, including this crash, where at least one passenger was killed, Mr Curtis said.

Mr Curtis said Iranian, Ukrainian, US and French authorities would all be involved in the investigation, but it was unclear how they would work together. Iran is currently under US sanctions and there are severe tensions between the two countries.

Normally the US National Transportation Safety Board would have a role to play in the investigation.

“From all appearances this was an airplane that had been properly cared for and there were no outstanding issues with respect to European authorities or American authorities so at this point there is nothing that points to a particular cause,” Mr Curtis said.

“And also one cannot discount the possibility that something outside the aircraft, a mid-air collision or some other issue, may have been involved.”

Source: BBC 

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She said that government needs to look into the possibility of making sure that the policy is changed to make it easy for Ugandans in the Diaspora to bring their money into the country for investment purposes.
“We need to look into our incentives to attract business in order for us to compete with other economies which have set up good investment packages that enable people invest in their economies,” she said.

Kadaga cited Canada which grants citizenship to persons who have potential in investing into the Canadian economy.
“I have looked into our system for something that can attract people to invest at home and have not found it. We have concentrated more on tax holidays which alone cannot encourage our diaspora people to invest,” she said.

The Speaker(2nd R) tours some of the stalls at the Canada Uganda Business Expo and Convention taking place in Toronto, Canada. Kadaga was impressed that some of the items on display are made from materials locally sourced in Uganda

She said that people in the diaspora have individually made investments but called on government to tap into this potential which will contribute to the development of the country.
“In Ethiopia, the construction of the Inga Dam was a contribution of the people in the Diaspora, whose government put up an investment vehicle which the Ugandan government should copy in order to develop some of our major projects,” Kadaga said.

In a related development, unfavourable cross border trade laws and high taxes on agricultural products have been cited as the biggest hindrances to expansion of the food industry by Ugandans living in the diaspora.

Fugi Taliisa, a partner with Gumax International, a company owned by Ugandans that has invested in the food industry in North America, noted that the high taxes limit the business community in the diaspora from importing large quantities.
“The current process of acquiring licenses for importation of food stuff is so long. This therefore, means that if we are to start importing in large quantities, we shall need such processes to be reduced,” said Taliisa.

He added that reduction of taxes on importation of agricultural products and favourable trade laws will go a long way in creating more income generating opportunities for farmers in Uganda.

“We plan to establish centres in different parts of the country after identifying farmers that we can work with. This will not only enable us import in large quantities, but also provide market to the local farmer while promoting value addition,” said Taliisa.

The Speaker noted the need to expeditiously re-evaluate the Food and Drug Administration Act as one of the ways of encouraging Ugandans in the Diaspora to expand their investments in the food industry.
“Some countries have been able to make a breakthrough and officially import their items in other countries, Uganda should also be able to address such issues. Parliament will discuss this matter once we resume, “said Kadaga.
She further recognized the efforts of the Ugandans in the Diaspora in promoting value addition and creating a value chain.
“If you are going to grow food in Uganda and it ends up in the North American market that is encouraging. You have our full support in that regard,” said Kadaga.

READ ALSO:

Leave the peace negotiations free – Fungaroo

Kadaga wants NSSF Act reviewed

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Dr David Margolis, ViiV Healthcare, USA

An injectable antiretroviral therapy (ART) consisting of two drugs (cabotegravir and rilpivirine) administered every four or eight weeks may be as effective as a daily oral dose of the drugs in maintaining viral suppression in patients with HIV, according to a new phase 2 trial published in The Lancet.

In the study, patients were given injectable ART as a maintenance therapy over 96 weeks once they had achieved viral suppression after 20 weeks of daily oral medication.

In Uganda many patients have complained of not being comfortable in swallowing the ARV drugs with some reports indicating some patients abandon treatment along the way.

However, reports suggest that the potential for a long-acting injectable ART could ease the burden faced by people living with HIV of having to take daily oral medication lifelong to manage the disease. Phase 3 trials are ongoing and are needed to confirm the results, and further trials will be needed in wider groups of patients to generalise the findings.

The trial is presented at the International AIDS Society meeting in Paris, France.

An estimated 36.7 million people worldwide are living with HIV, and advances in ART have led to improved survival and quality of life for people with HIV. However, current treatment requires taking a daily dose of medication lifelong, and poor compliance can result in treatment failure or the emergence of drug-resistant mutations. Long-acting injectable drugs potentially offer a more convenient way of managing the disease.

“Adherence to medication remains an important challenge in HIV treatment. Long-acting injectable ART could provide some patients with a more convenient approach to manage HIV infection that avoids daily oral dosing, and the need to keep, store, and transport medications as they go about their daily lives,” explains author of the LATTE-2 study Dr David Margolis, ViiV Healthcare, USA.

“The introduction of single tablet medication represented a leap forward in ART dosing, and long-acting antiretroviral injections may represent the next revolution in HIV therapy by providing an option that circumvents the burden of daily dosing. The results through to 96 weeks with this two-drug regimen are encouraging, and we now need further research, including the ongoing phase 3 trial, to confirm these findings,” Dr Margolis adds.

HIV injectable drugs

According to the report, the  trial began with an induction phase in order to identify any potential adverse events to the drugs before administering a long-acting injectable. 309 participants were included in the initial induction phase of the trial, during which they were given daily oral doses of cabotegravir (30mg) and abacavir-lamivudine (600mg-300mg) over 20 weeks.

The majority of participants tolerated the drugs and reached viral suppression (plasma HIV-1 RNA less than 50 copies per mL) and was therefore eligible to enter the maintenance phase.

286 participants were included in the maintenance phase, where they were randomly assigned to receive injectable cabotegravir plus rilpivirine at 4-week intervals (115 patients), at 8-week intervals (115 patients) or continue on the daily oral dose of cabotegravir and abacavir-lamivudine (56 patients).

32 weeks after randomisation, viral suppression was maintained in 91% (51/56) of patients in the oral medication group, 94% (108/115) in the 4-week group, and 95% (109/115) in the 8-week group.

At 96 weeks, viral suppression was maintained in 84% (47/56) of patients in the oral medication group, 87% (100/115) in the 4-week group, and 94% (108/115) in the 8-week group.

Pain at the site of the injection was the most commonly reported adverse event (97% of patients in the 4-week group, and 96% in the 8-week group). Most reactions were mild or moderate and lasted an average of 3 days. In total, 2 of 230 (<1%) patients receiving the injectable two-drug regimen discontinued due to injection intolerance.

Other adverse events reported included nasopharyngitis, diarrhoea, and headache, and rates were similar in all three groups. A total of 11 patients (4%) developed an adverse event during the maintenance phase which led to withdrawal from the study: 8 patients (7%) in the 4-week group, two (2%) in the 8-week group, and one (2%) in the oral treatment group. Two deaths occurred during the study: one from a motor vehicle accident, and the other following an epileptic seizure which was not thought to be due to the treatment.

The trial was done at 50 sites in the USA, Germany, Canada, Spain, France and Germany. Although it included patients from five countries, most (91%) of the participants were male. Also, participants were only eligible for the trial if they had a CD4+ cell count of at least 200 cells per mm3, which does not necessarily represent the global population living with HIV. Further research in more diverse groups of patients is now needed.

Professor Joe Eron, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA, author of the study, says: “The results of LATTE-2 show that a long-acting injectable antiretroviral regimen has the potential to be both highly effective and well tolerated over a long period of time. These data provide a strong foundation for the ongoing and planned phase 3 trials which will hopefully lead to an effective, well tolerated alternative to daily antiretroviral therapy.”

Writing in a linked Comment, Professor Mark A. Boyd, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia, and Professor David A. Cooper from the Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, say:

“While injectable ART might be attractive for some or perhaps many people living with HIV (….), there will inevitably be a trade-off between the convenience of not having to adhere to oral therapy and the inconvenience and discomfort associated with injectable long-acting ART. It is possible that injectable ART will be more attractive the less one must be injected. This is particularly the case in the current era when oral therapy is administered as one pill, once daily, and (at least in Australia) people living with HIV can be dispensed anywhere from 2 to 6 months’ supply of ART at a time. This scenario, compared with having to seek health care to be injected on a monthly basis, might make the injectable option seem less convenient than conventional oral therapy for some people. This is compounded by the fact that health-care systems are generally not configured to facilitate regular, recurrent injections in a timely and convenient way to people who are well. Changing this will take innovation, political will, and time.”

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Canadian Harambee Education Society Scholarships: The Canadian Harambee Education Society (CHES) mission is to improve the quality of life of women and their communities in Kenya and Tanzania by providing secondary education scholarships for girls.

CHES helps girls get an education by;

• Providing scholarships to Kenyan and Tanzanian girls who qualify for Secondary School placements, but who need financial assistance in order to attend
• Striving to maximize students’ success in school and in their communities by supporting their learning and their transition into adult community life
• Promoting the global commitment of supporters through sponsorship of individual students and projects
• Building relationships and promote understanding between supporters and sponsors on the one hand and students and their communities on the other
• Supporting special projects, such as the construction of libraries, dormitories, and computer buildings
• Sending volunteers from the ranks of retired teachers and other professionals to act as agents
• Raising and administering donated funds
• Providing income tax receipts to all donors, no matter what size of donation, as a group, individual or organisation.

Contact Details: Canadian Harambee Education Society, 446 Kelly Street, New Westminster BC V3L 3T9, Canada. Telephone and fax: 1 (778 )565 5261. Email: canadianharambee[at]shaw.ca

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USC Canada was founded by Dr. Lotta Hitschmanova in 1945 as the Unitarian Service Committee of Canada.

USC Canada promotes vibrant family farms, strong rural communities, and healthy ecosystems around the world.

With engaged Canadians and partners in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, USC supports programs, training, and policies that strengthen biodiversity, food sovereignty, and the rights of those at the heart of resilient food systems; women, indigenous peoples and small-scale farmers.

You can find out more about the projects we’re involved with in the “What We Do” section of the website.

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CANADA-HOPE Scholarship Program: The primary goal of the CANADA-HOPE Scholarship Program is to further develop international collaborative efforts between researchers.

The short term goal is to enable promising individuals to be mentored by prominent Canadian researchers.

The long term objective of the Program is to enable promising scientists and clinicians from Low and Middle Income Countries (LMIC), as identified by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the United Nations (UN), to be exposed to some of the best science, laboratories and training environments in Canada.

Scholarship Application Eligibility Criteria:

In order to be eligible for this award, the scholar must have a mentor in a related field at an eligible Canadian institution and the sponsorship of an eligible institution in sub-continental South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan) or in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The scholarships are intended for men and women of high intellectual promise who may be expected to make a significant contribution to their own countries following their return from study in Canada.

Anyone who has obtained Canadian citizenship or who has applied for permanent residency in Canada shall not be eligible for the award.

For more scholarship information and application: CANADA-HOPE Scholarship Program

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Margaret McNamara Memorial Fund Scholarships: Each year, the MMMF awards grants to women from developing countries engaged in graduate studies in the United States or Canada.

The applicants must be at least 25 years of age, must have demonstrated a commitment to work for the benefit of women and children in the developing world, and must plan to return to their countries within two years of receiving the grant.

The following documents are required and must be mailed together to the MMMF, postmarked no later than February 29:

• Your most recent transcript (available from your college or university Registrar’s Office)
• A copy of your Registration
• Two (2) letters of recommendation

Margaret McNamara Memorial Fund Scholarships Grant amount: About US$11,000

For study in: USA and Canada

Not renewable:

Must be 25 years and above.

Must be a national of a developing country that is currently eligible to borrow from the World Bank.

Cannot be a U.S. Green Card holder.

• Official estimate of expenses for foreign students as published by your institution. (available from the Foreign Student Advisor or Financial Aid office of your college or university)
• One (1) passport-size photograph.
• Copy of your Visa.

For further details, and application materials, contact: Margaret McNamara Memorial Fund

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Margaret McNamara Memorial Fund Scholarships: Each year, the MMMF awards grants to women from developing countries engaged in graduate studies in the United States or Canada.

The applicants must be at least 25 years of age, must have demonstrated a commitment to work for the benefit of women and children in the developing world, and must plan to return to their countries within two years of receiving the grant.

The following documents are required and must be mailed together to the MMMF, postmarked no later than February 29:

• Your most recent transcript (available from your college or university Registrar’s Office)
• A copy of your Registration
• Two (2) letters of recommendation

Margaret McNamara Memorial Fund Scholarships Grant amount: About US$11,000

For study in: USA and Canada

Not renewable:

Must be 25 years and above.

Must be a national of a developing country that is currently eligible to borrow from the World Bank.

Cannot be a U.S. Green Card holder.

• Official estimate of expenses for foreign students as published by your institution. (available from the Foreign Student Advisor or Financial Aid office of your college or university)
• One (1) passport-size photograph.
• Copy of your Visa.

For further details, and application materials, contact: Margaret McNamara Memorial Fund

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Sauve Scholars Program: Sauve Scholars is an opportunity for highly-motivated people, under thirty, of demonstrated leadership potential, to come to Montreal for eight months to research, reflect, question and enlarge upon their understanding of the state of the world and their roles in effecting positive change.

McGill University, amongst the most international of North American universities, represented on campus by over 150 countries, is the home of the Program.

McGill opens the doors of all its courses and resources to the Scholars.

The Program itself, in addition, will provide intimate weekly seminars with eminent journalists, political figures and innovators in business, academia and the arts.

Scholars will be awarded a stipend valued at $30,000 Canadian for travel, tuition, housing, meals and supplies.

In addition, the Program provides the costs of group excursions to academically and culturally stimulating sites in the northeastern United States, as well as adventure trips in Canada‘s dramatic north.

Scholarship Eligibility

The Program seeks highly-motivated candidates who have completed their undergraduate education, or the equivalent, but who have not necessarily attained an advanced degree.

Focusing on the unrealized potential of their youth, but with a solid academic or experiential foundation, candidates should be under thirty years of age.

Candidates will be expected to have a solid academic record, and while attending university, to have taken an active role in campus life as a student organizer or leader, or have taken an active role in the community.

Application deadline – December 31.

For more information and application materials, visit; Sauve Scholars Program Website

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