Iran: Radio silence and a desperate turn: The final moments of Flight PS752

Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 lifted off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini airport at 6:12 a.m. local time Wednesday — almost an hour late.

The regularly scheduled trip to Kyiv was supposed to take just under four hours. But something went disastrously wrong for the Boeing 737-800 within minutes.

Tracking data suggests the flight climbed to just over 2,400 metres and reached a speed of 500 km/h before it plunged back to earth, crashing near a soccer field and irrigation canal outside the town of Parand, about 30 kilometres northwest of the airport

Video broadcast by Iranian state TV shows what purports to be the final moments of the flight, with flames coming from an aircraft, then a blinding flash lighting up the pre-dawn darkness as the plane carrying nine crew and 167 passengers — 63 Canadians among them —  slams into the ground.

By the time the sun rose, an hour later, the search for survivors had already been abandoned.

The plane, fully loaded with fuel for a 2,300-kilometreflight, exploded on impact. Footage from the scene shows smoldering piles of debris scattered across a wide area.

Read more: Radio silence and a desperate turn: The final moments of Flight PS752 | CBC News

Israel: Netanyahu: "Europe might ignore Iran threat until nuclear missiles hit"

Netanyahu: 'Europe might ignore Iran threat until nuclear missiles hit'

Read more at:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-49001946

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Turkey-USA Relations: Turkey confirms Russia S-400 missile deal and ignores US warning

Turkey confirms Russia S-400 missile deal, ignores US warning

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https://p.dw.com/p/3KIsg

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North Korea: another diplomatic failure for the US Trump

Trump says 'nobody's happy' about North Korea missile launches

Read more at:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/09/north-korea-has-fired-second-projectile-in-five-days-says-south-korea?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Blogger

Russia-US relations: If Trump Administration leaves treaty Russia will build missiles

Russia will build missiles if US leaves treaty, Putin warns -

Read more: 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-46458604

US- North Korea Relations: North Korea Is Still Developing Its Deadly Missile Program at 16 Hidden Bases - by David Brennan

New satellite images indicated that North Korea was continuing work on its ballistic missile program, despite President Donald Trump’s assurances that the regime no longer posed a security threat.

At least 16 different bases were identified in the images, The New York Times reported, all of which were part of an existing network known to American intelligence services.

It would appear that North Korea's highly publicized promise to dismantle a major missile research center was in fact a cover for upgrades and continued work at other locations. The research aims to improve the North’s missile arsenal, allowing it to carry larger warheads, whether conventional or nuclear, farther.

The ballistic missile sites were identified in a new study published Monday by the Beyond Parallel program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank.

That flies in the face of Trump’s assertions that he has neutralized the North Korea threat. The president may tout improved relations with Pyongyang as one of his greatest foreign policy achievements, but the U.S. has achieved nothing of substance in disarming or denuclearizing the secretive dictatorship.

Though no new nuclear or missile tests have taken place for almost a year, U.S. intelligence officials believe research in both areas is continuing. Meanwhile, Pyongyang’s trade with China and Russia is helping it sidestep the worst effects of the sanctions Trump appears to believe will bring Kim Jong Un to the negotiating table.

The report included a map of North Korea indicating three belts of missile bases with varying ranges, from short-range to the longest-range missiles that could hit the continental U.S.

Read more: North Korea Is Still Developing Its Deadly Missile Program at 16 Hidden Bases

North Korea: ‘The fate of the sinful U.S. ends here’: North Korea threatens to envelop Guam in missiles in new video

The Trump administration should be “keeping its eyes and ears open from now on,” North Korea has warned in an incendiary new video that shows senior security officials being engulfed in flames and U.S. President Donald Trump looking over a field of white crosses with the warning: “The fate of the sinful United States ends here.”

North Korea is not known for subtlety in its propaganda videos, and the latest clip, published by the Uriminzokkiri outlet, shows a North Korean missile headed toward the U.S. territory of Guam, which Pyongyang has been threatening to “envelop” with missiles.

The video was released on the eve of the Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercises between the American and South Korean militaries, which started Monday. The annual drills are mainly computer-based, but they nevertheless annoy North Korea and come at a particularly sensitive time.

Read more: ‘The fate of the sinful U.S. ends here’: North Korea threatens to envelop Guam in missiles in new video | National Post

North Korea: Kim Jong Un’s rockets are getting an important boost — from China - by Joby Warrick

North Korea’s missile capability inceasing

When North Korea launched its Kwangmyongsong-4 satellite into space last February, officials heralded the event as a birthday gift for dead leader Kim Jong Il. But the day also brought an unexpected prize for the country’s adversaries: priceless intelligence in the form of rocket parts that fell into the Yellow Sea.

Entire sections of booster rocket were snagged by South Korea’s navy and then scrutinized by international weapons experts for clues about the state of North Korea’s missile program. Along with motor parts and wiring, investigators discerned a pattern. Many key components were foreign-made, acquired from businesses based in China.

The trove “demonstrates the continuing critical importance of high-end, foreign-sourced components” in building the missiles North Korea uses to threaten its neighbors, a U.N. expert team concluded in a report released last month. When U.N. officials contacted the implicated Chinese firms to ask about the parts, the report said, they received only silence.

China’s complex relationship with North Korea was a key topic during last week’s U.S. visit by President Xi Jinping, as Trump administration officials urged Chinese counterparts to apply more pressure on Pyongyang to halt its work on nuclear weapons and long-range delivery systems. Yet, despite China’s public efforts to rein in North Korea’s provocative behavior, Chinese companies continue to act as enablers, supplying the isolated communist regime with technology and hardware that allow its missiles to take flight, according to current and former U.S. and U.N. officials and independent weapons experts.

Read more: Kim Jong Un’s rockets are getting an important boost — from China - The Washington Post

Syria: Russia Placed S-300 Missiles in Syria After Learning of US Plan to Bomb Airbases

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the decision to deploy S-300 anti-air missile system in Syria came after receiving leaked data on US intentions to bomb Syrian airbases.

Russian mobile S-300 missile launchers protecting Syrian airfields

"The S-300 appeared there [in Syria] after experts close to the American establishment had started leaking information…that the US could hit Syrian airfields with cruise missiles,"

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in an interview with Russia's Dozhd TV channel.

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that a battery of S-300 air defense systems had been delivered to Syria to protect the naval base at Tartus, as well as Russiawarships deployed off the Syrian coast.

Earlier, Zakharova critized US Secretary of State John Kerry's statements on launching an investigation into "war crimes of the Russian Federation."

"If it comes to war crimes, US officials must begin with Iraq. And then go to Libya, be sure to go to Yemen — find out what's there. I want to say to juggle these words is very dangerous, because behind the American representatives really are war crimes."

Zakharova added that "the American side simply could not fulfill the ceasefire agreement" in Syria. "They themselves have told us that they have no levers of pressure on the opposition."

On Friday, US State Department spokesman John Kirby dialed back Kerry's accusations

Read more:Russia Placed S-300 Missiles in Syria After Learning of US Plan to Bomb Airbases

Crimea - Ukrain: Russia deploys S-400 missiles to Crimea

Russia has deployed a regiment of its advanced S-400 air defense missile system to Crimea as a dispute deepens between Moscow and Kiev over the security situation in the Black Sea peninsula.

Russian news agencies made the announcement on Friday, citing a statement from Russia’s Defense Ministry.

The ministry had earlier in the day announced that its navy would start to hold three-day military exercises in the Black Sea to practice repelling underwater attacks by saboteurs.

Russia's Black Sea Fleet based in Crimea is taking part in the military exercises. More than 10 warships, MI-8 and Ka-27PS helicopters are participating in the training.

“During the drill we are going to practice the issues of both operational and technical support. These include operations to counter underwater sabotage, navigational and hydrographic exercise, search and rescue missions,” said Russian Navy Commander Admiral Viktor Chirkov.

Read more: PressTV-Russia deploys S-400 missiles to Crimea

South China Sea: China's Supersonic Ship Killer Is Making U.S. Navy's Job Harder - by David Tweed

Increased interactions between the the Chinese and U.S. navy in the contested South China Sea risk becoming more complicated by the increasingly sophisticated missiles being carried by submarines.

A new report to the U.S. Congress assessing a Chinese submarine-launched missile known as the YJ-18 highlights the danger, noting the missile accelerates to supersonic speed just before hitting its target, making it harder for a crew to defend their ship.

Defense chiefs from several countries in Southeast Asia have warned in recent months of the danger of undersea “clutter” as countries build up submarine fleets and the U.S. challenges China over its claim to a large swath of the South China Sea. This week’s U.S. patrol inside the 12-nautical mile zone that China claims around its man-made islands in the waters saw the USS Lassen shadowed by two Chinese naval vessels.

The YJ-18 missile can cruise at about 600 miles an hour, or just under the speed of sound, only a few meters above the surface of the sea and then, about 20 nautical miles from its target, accelerate to as much as three times the speed of sound, according to an Oct. 28 report from the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

“The supersonic speed makes it harder to hit with on-board guns,” according to Larry Wortzel, a member of the commission. “It also makes it a faster target for radars.”

Read more: China's Supersonic Ship Killer Is Making U.S. Navy's Job Harder - Bloomberg Business

Russia Has Become Dangerous Again - by David Frum

Vladimir Putin

It was not even a month ago that Vladimir Putin stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the elected leaders of the Western world to commemorate the D-Day invasion.

I hope whoever issued that invitation has the decency to feel some embarrassment today. Through the past eight months of escalating Russian violence against Ukraine, too many European governments have treated the Ukraine issue as remote and marginal: regrettable, yes, but not a threat to the peace of the continent. It was more important, they felt, to sustain a normal relationship with Russia. That illusion died yesterday along with the murdered passengers of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17.

Russia is funding, arming, and urging forward a violent insurgency against an elected European government. In Crimea, Russia sent troops across an internationally recognized border, seized territory, and intimidated and abused the conquered population. This is not a bilateral Ukraine-Russia conflict, in the way that, for example, the conflict between Russia and Georgia in 2008 could be dismissed as a bilateral conflict. It’s a challenge to the stability of the whole continent.

For a decade after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Europeans hoped that Russia would and could evolve into a country at peace with itself and its neighbors, as Germany has so notably done since 1945. Russia was invited to join the Group of Seven industrialized nations (G7).

NATO redefined its mission, reorienting itself as a global peacekeeping organization rather than a Western alliance designed to contain Russia. NATO extended a kind of associate status to Russia, and Russia was assured that no U.S. troops would be stationed in former Warsaw Pact territories.

Vladimir Putin’s ascent to power crushed those hopes.


Read more: Russia Has Become Dangerous Again - David Frum - The Atlantic

Ukraine: NATO should not waiver : destroy Buk and other missile launchers in and around the border of Ukraine

"Come on NATO do what you are supposed to do"

A missile launcher allegedly used to destroy Flight MH17 has been smuggled across the Ukrainian border into Russia to cover up its role in the strike, Ukraine’s interior minister claimed Friday.

Amid mounting evidence that Russian-backed separatists were behind the disaster, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said “technical assistance” from Russia could not be ruled out.

In a pointed reference to Moscow, Samantha Power added that the perpetrators should not be “sheltered” by any UN member state.

In a day of claim and counter-claim, Ukraine’s interior minister, Arsen Avakov, said a Buk mobile launch vehicle had been moved since the destruction of the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200 on Thursday, and that it was missing at least one rocket. He claimed the launcher had been tracked by Ukrainian intelligence agents as it passed by the town of Krasnodon in the Luhansk region.

A 13-second video showed a tarpaulin-covered vehicle being driven through a semi-rural location with green and white missiles still visible, but it was not possible to confirm the veracity of the claim.

Mr. Avakov wrote on Facebook: “To all appearance, this is exactly the Buk rocket complex which fired at the aircraft flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.”

Photographs also emerged purportedly showing a Buk battery being moved in a rebel-held area close to the crash site.

Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, dismissed suggestions that Moscow was involved in the alleged strike. The separatists also denied involvement, claiming that they did not have a weapon capable of such an attack.

However, the separatists themselves announced last month that they had seized at least one Buk missile launcher from a Ukrainian army base in Donetsk.

Ms. Power told the UN Security Council: “We assess Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 … was likely downed by a surface-to-air missile, [likely] an SA-11 [the U.S. designation for a Buk missile], operated from a separatist location in eastern Ukraine.” She added: “We cannot rule out technical assistance from the Russians.

The perpetrators must be brought to justice, they must not be sheltered by any member state of the United Nations.”

The father in a Dutch family which had lost relatives in the Russian missile shoot down of the Malaysian Airliner above Ukraine said:   "Why doesn't NATO, which never hesitates to us drone attacks on anything they find suspicious or smell of terrorism, doesn't destroy these Buck bases in and on the border of Russia". 

"What will Russia do? Probably nothing. Mr. Putin certainly can't be that stupid to risk the third world war by striking back ? - the world owes it to the victims to do something dramatic, so the perpetrators never do this again."

EU-Digest

The Netherlands: Dutch struggle with loss of 189 - by Jacquelin Magnay

Relatives of Dutch victims killed in the Malaysia Airlines crash have struggled to come to grips with the horrific loss of family and friends as they demand a thorough investigation. 
 
The country woke up in shock yesterday and flags were flying at half-mast as they digested the loss of 189 Dutch passengers as the toll grew throughout the day.

“I expect there to be a thorough investigation by the authorities into what has happened,” Sander Essers, who lost several relatives in the crash, said in The Hague.

Mr Essers lost his brother Peter, 66, Peter’s wife Jolette Nuesink, 60, and their two children, Emma, 20, and Valentijn, 17.

Their story is like those of many other Dutch citizens on the plane in the country’s second-worst air disaster.
The Essers family were on holiday travelling to Borneo to explore the jungle for three weeks with a group of friends when they ­boarded the ill-fated flight MH17.

“I spoke to my brother 20 minutes before he boarded the flight,” Mr Essers said. “But I can’t tell you what he told me” he said, as tears welled up in his eyes.

An Amsterdam man said he hadn’t been able to sleep since the disaster and had gone to Schiphol Airport to pay his respects to a Balinese friend who had died.

Artur Laumann, 36, arrived with a bunch of tropical flowers — “for tulips aren’t appropriate’’ — to ensure one of his friends would be remembered. He placed the flowers with a picture of his colleague Wayan Sujana and a message of condolence written in Indonesian, and then acknowledged the Australian reaction to the disaster had been more in keeping with the strength of the atrocity.

“Your Prime Minister Tony Abbott has spoken in very strong language but here, we are in shock,’’ Mr Laumann said. “I think we should be as angry as Australia and I think that very soon we will see our politicians speak out loudly too.

“I haven’t slept since hearing about the plane going down and it is only now that I am starting to tremble a bit and realise what has happened.’’

Mr Sujan was just 24 and had been visiting The Netherlands for several weeks with his boss, a hotel manager. Both were on board the ill-fated MH17.

Mr Laumann said he wanted to highlight the plight of the Indonesian victims, whom he felt may have been overlooked in the catastrophic loss of Dutch nationals.

‘’Wayan was from a little village called Periteran at the norther top of Bali where the ferry comes in from Java and his family were only told a few hours ago that he was on board,’’ said Mr Laumann, who promised his Balinese friend Susili that he would represent Mr Sujan and try and find out as many details as possible.

‘’They are from a poor country and don’t have access to information. It took many hours for the family to discover that Wayan had died. I just decided I should try and help and create a small memorial for him.’’

But another Dutchman, Henri Karsten, who was checking in for a flight to New York, said: “The Dutch people are still in a state of shock.

Read more: Dutch struggle with loss of 189 | The Australian

Turkey: Made in China? US warns Turkey its missile deal with Beijing may be incompatible with NATO

Washington is talking to Ankara over a $3.4 billion Turkish-Chinese deal, in which the two countries agreed to co-produce a long-range air and missile defense system. The US claims the outcome may not be compatible with the existing NATO defense network.

In a surprise move for its NATO allies, Turkey announced in September it was going to award a new missile defense contract to China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corp (CPMIEC).

The Chinese defense firm, which has been sanctioned by the US for alleged violations of the Iran, North Korea and Syria Non-proliferation Act, has been chosen to co-produce the FD-2000 system with Turkish specialists. CPMIEC claims the system not only beats in price, but also comes up to the quality of its rivals – the Russian S-300, the French-Italian Eurosam SAMP/T, and the American Patriots.

Now the US has started “expert discussions” with Turkey regarding the defense tender, according to US Ambassador Francis Ricciardone quoted by Reuters.

“We are very concerned about the prospective deal with the sanctioned Chinese firm. Yes this is a commercial decision, it is Turkey’s sovereign right, but we are concerned about what it means for allied air defense,” Ricciardone told reporters on Thursday.

Read more: Made in China? US warns Turkey its missile deal with Beijing may be incompatible with NATO — RT News

Syria: Russia Provides Syria With Advanced Missiles to defend themselves- by Micheal Gordon and Eric Smith

Russia has sent advanced antiship cruise missiles to Syria, a move that illustrates the depth of its support for the Syrian government led by President Bashar al-Assad, American officials said Thursday. 

Russia has previously provided a version of the missiles, called Yakhonts, to Syria. But those delivered recently are outfitted with an advanced radar that makes them more effective, according to American officials who are familiar with classified intelligence reports and would only discuss the shipment on the basis of anonymity. 

Unlike Scud and other longer-range surface-to-surface missiles that the Assad government has used against opposition forces, the Yakhont antiship missile system provides the Syrian military a formidable weapon to counter any effort by international forces to reinforce Syrian opposition fighters by imposing a naval embargo, establishing a no-fly zone or carrying out limited airstrikes.

Read more: Russia Provides Syria With Advanced Missiles - NYTimes.com

Turkey has located 700 Syrian missiles, minister says

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told the Turkish daily Sabah in a recent interview that his ministry has located some 700 missiles in Syria and knows who controls them.

The Syrian regime has 700 missiles and their location, storage method and who controls them are no secret to Ankara, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in a recent interview with the Turkish daily Sabah.

Davutoğlu added that Turkey’s request to NATO for a Patriot missile system on its border with Syria was made as a precaution against any threat that might arise from whatever factions might end up in control of the country.

Davutoğlu said that a psychological line had been crossed in the civil war now engulfing its southern neighbour. In the past, he said, observers were concerned about what Damascus might do to exact revenge on regional neighbours following the unrest.

Read more: Turkey has located 700 Syrian missiles, minister says - TURKEY - SYRIA - FRANCE 24

NATO approves Turkish anti-missile defence for Syrian border

NATO gave the go-ahead on Tuesday to stationing Patriot surface-to-air missiles in Turkey to protect the country from any spillover of the civil war in neighbouring Syria.

“In response to Turkey’s request, NATO has decided to augment Turkey’s air defence capabilities in order to defend the population and territory of Turkey,” NATO foreign ministers said in a statement.

Russia, Syria and Iran have criticised Turkey’s request to the alliance to send the Patriots which can be used to intercept missiles.

Turkey asked NATO for the missiles in November after weeks of talks with allies about how to shore up security on its 900-km (560-mile) border. It has repeatedly scrambled fighter jets along the frontier and responded in kind to stray Syrian shells flying into its territory.

A major player in supporting Syria’s opposition and planning for the post-conflict era, Turkey is worried about Syria’s chemical weapons, the refugee crisis along its border, and what it says is Syrian support for Kurdish militants on its own soil.

Read more: NATO approves Turkish anti-missile defence for Syrian border - Turkey - Syria - FRANCE 24

Israel convinces Russia to cancel Syrian S-300 deal

Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Thursday that Israel played a major role in influencing Russia to cancel its planned sale of a crucial missile system to Syria.

The deal to sell the advanced S-300 surface-to-air missile system to Damascus was canceled close to Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Israel on Monday, according to a report published Wednesday in the Russian daily, Vedomisti.

"Putin listened perfectly to what we said," Barak told Army radio, adding that the 100-million-U.S. dollar deal's suspension was the outcome of talks between Russian and Israeli officials.

Read more: Israel convinces Russia to cancel Syrian S-300 deal |Middle East |chinadaily.com.cn