Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday.
The helicopter in which he was travelling crashed amid heavy fog and rain in Iran's East Azerbaijan province.
His death has shocked Iran and the wider world, with some asking why the helicopter was allowed to be flown in such poor weather.
Mr Raisi is not the first head of state to have been killed in an aircraft crash.
Here is a list of previous incidents.
Pakistan President Muhammad Zia-ul Haq, 1988
Pakistan President Muhammad Zia-ul Haq was killed in a plane crash, alongside the US ambassador and several top Pakistani military officials, in August 1988.
The C-130 plane exploded minutes after it took off from an airbase in the Pakistani city of Bahawalpur.
Pakistani and US authorities called the crash an accident, despite speculation.
Rwanda President Juvenal Habyarimana, 1994
Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana was killed when his plane was shot down in 1994, in an event widely considered to be the start of the genocide in the country.
Habyarimana – of the Hutu majority – had signed a peace deal with the Tutsi rebels and was flying to the Rwandan capital when a missile hit his plane.
An investigation was launched four years later at the request of the relatives of the French crew members on board.
The investigation was a major point of contention between France and Rwanda.
In December 2016, French judges dropped the long-running investigation. Then in 2020, the appeals court in Paris rejected a request to reopen the inquiry.
President of North Macedonia Boris Trajkovski, 2004
A plane crash, attributed to pilot errors and technical failures, killed North Macedonia’s President Boris Trajkovski and eight others in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The crash occurred in Stolac in February 2004. According to local media, an investigation released by Bosnian experts blamed the crash on technical problems and errors in procedure by the pilots.
Poland President Lech Kaczynski, 2010
Polish President Lech Kaczynski and 95 others were killed when their plane crashed on April 10, 2010, as it approached the airport in the Russian town of Smolensk. T
The crash was attributed at the time to thick fog, according to local media.
The Polish Foreign Ministry said that the plane caught fire after the crash. Kaczynski’s wife, the head of the Polish army and the governor of the central bank were also on the plane.
In April 2022, a Polish government special commission released a report alleging that the crash was the result of a Russian assassination plan.
The plane crash was the result of “an act of unlawful interference by the Russian side,” the head of the commission, Antoni Macierewicz, said at the time.
The report followed years of allegations made by government officials and was just two months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Two separate Russian and Polish investigations that had been previously conducted found no evidence of an deliberate assassination attempt.
Former Chilean President Sebastian Pinera, 2024
Chile’s former president Sebastian Pinera died from drowning after his helicopter crashed into a lake in the south of the country in February.
Pinera, 74, was flying the helicopter that crashed into Lake Ranco, about 900km from the capital Santiago, according to AP.
Four other people were on board, three of whom survived the crash, according to the Chilean Interior Ministry.
Bad weather was reported in the area.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
Silent Hill f
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
How the bonus system works
The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.
The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.
There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).
All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.
Polarised public
31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is biased to right-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all
Source: YouGov
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Babumoshai Bandookbaaz
Director: Kushan Nandy
Starring: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bidita Bag, Jatin Goswami
Three stars
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Company profile
Name: Thndr
Started: October 2020
Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000
Funding stage: series A; $20 million
Investors: Tiger Global, Beco Capital, Prosus Ventures, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Plus VC, Rabacap and MSA Capital
The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The specs: Macan Turbo
Engine: Dual synchronous electric motors
Power: 639hp
Torque: 1,130Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Touring range: 591km
Price: From Dh412,500
On sale: Deliveries start in October
The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ
Price, base: Dh1,731,672
Engine: 6.5-litre V12
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm
Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm
Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km
Tips for entertaining with ease
· Set the table the night before. It’s a small job but it will make you feel more organised once done.
· As the host, your mood sets the tone. If people arrive to find you red-faced and harried, they’re not going to relax until you do. Take a deep breath and try to exude calm energy.
· Guests tend to turn up thirsty. Fill a big jug with iced water and lemon or lime slices and encourage people to help themselves.
· Have some background music on to help create a bit of ambience and fill any initial lulls in conversations.
· The meal certainly doesn’t need to be ready the moment your guests step through the door, but if there’s a nibble or two that can be passed around it will ward off hunger pangs and buy you a bit more time in the kitchen.
· You absolutely don’t have to make every element of the brunch from scratch. Take inspiration from our ideas for ready-made extras and by all means pick up a store-bought dessert.
THE SPECS
2020 Toyota Corolla Hybrid LE
Engine: 1.8 litre combined with 16-volt electric motors
Transmission: Automatic with manual shifting mode
Power: 121hp
Torque: 142Nm
Price: Dh95,900
